How To Apply

Please note that the online application system is being overloaded with many applicants trying to submit today.  Please be patient and keep trying.  Thank you.

Provide the required application materials as indicated by December 15.

1. Official transcripts will be requested from the Graduate School. You will receive an email from the Graduate School with instructions on how to send your transcripts. Please do not send official transcripts to the Department of Sociology or the Graduate School until requested.
2. Three letters of recommendation, submitted through the Graduate School electronic application form. See the Graduate School web link for instructions. We prefer recommendations from academic sources. If you find it necessary to send paper letters, use the same address as for transcripts (see above). More than three letters may be submitted, if needed.
3. We are not accepting the GRE for the current (Fall 2024 entry) admissions cycle.
4. English proficiency test scores (TOEFL, MELAB, or IELTS) for international applicants. See Graduate School Admission Requirements, English Proficiency. Request that test scores be sent to UW-Madison, school code ETS #1846. To know whether your scores have arrived, check your Graduate School electronic application, the Test Scores section at the bottom of the page, where your scores will appear. (see FAQ #7)
5. COMPLETE and SUBMIT an electronic application on the Graduate School website. Due to the way information is handled electronically, indicate either Sociology or Community and Environmental Sociology on your application form. DO NOT APPLY TO BOTH. If your intent is to receive a Ph.D. degree, then choose Sociology, Ph.D. (see FAQ #3). Upload your statement of reasons for graduate study in the Statements section.
6. COMPLETE and SUBMIT the Sociology Supplemental Application. The supplemental application is located within the Graduate School electronic application, under the tab, Supplemental Application. Select Sociology and submit the requested materials and respond to the questions. Note: You may submit the Graduate School electronic application before completing two sections, and only these two sections, 1) the recommender, and 2) the supplemental application. You may re-enter these two sections, and only these two sections, at any later time, keeping in mind the December 15 deadline.
7. UPLOAD THE FOLLOWING MATERIAL to the Sociology Supplemental Application:
   1. Resume or curriculum vitae (See FAQ #12)
      
   2. Writing sample (See FAQ #10)
      
   3. Transcripts: Upload copies of your unofficial academic transcripts.