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All applicants must submit a single-authored writing sample with an appendix, endnotes, and bibliography. The writing sample should highlight your strongest research and writing abilities, as well as your capacity for additional sociological study and potential as a future sociological researcher. Writing samples that link theoretical claims with empirical research, like a term paper from a social science course or a B.A. or M.A. thesis, are especially suitable. 

Writing samples should be single-authored and up to 8,000 words (or 30 pages), double-spaced in a 12-point font with one-inch margins. There is no minimum page requirement. If submitting an excerpt from a longer manuscript, please indicate this clearly within the text and provide a brief summary of the omitted sections and overall conclusions.

Official GRE scores are optional. Official GRE scores are optional. Applicants may submit scores to highlight strong quantitative, verbal, or analytical reasoning skills that complement their overall application. Choosing not to submit scores will not negatively impact your application.

A minimum of three (maximum of five) letters of recommendation is required from individuals who are familiar with your recent work and who can speak to your potential for future success in sociology. Letter writers should be able to speak to your recent work, such as thesis advisers and other faculty familiar with your academic work, research, and interests. Successful letters of recommendation also address the merits of past/current research, coursework, and written content. Letters from faculty specializing in the social sciences are preferred.

Your resume/curriculum vitae should detail your prior education, degree-granting institutions and dates, relevant research, work and teaching experience, skills, and languages pertinent to your proposed research trajectory.

The admissions committee is interested in candidate statements that clearly and specifically address the following: 1) your specific research interests, questions, and academic objectives; 2) the personal and educational trajectory that led you to these interests and equipped or prepared you to address them; and 3) the reasons why the University of Chicago's Department of Sociology’s doctoral program and its faculty are an excellent fit for you to pursue your interests. Approximately 500–1,000 words (2–4 pages), double-spaced.

Write a concise, well-articulated research proposal articulating a precise research question aligned with what might become your dissertation project. The committee recognizes that research trajectories may evolve during subsequent coursework and understands that you may or may not actually undertake this specific project. Applicants should address the following: a) the project's relevance to sociological literature, your subject for sociology, and broader societal contexts; b) proposed methodological approaches alongside their structural advantages, disadvantages, and limitations; c) the theoretical frameworks brought to bear to address the query; and d) potential or prospective data sources you could use. Maximum of 750 words (or up to 3 pages), 12-point font, one-inch margins, double-spaced.

Provide a concise summary of any research conducted outside of coursework. If collaborating within a research team, please clearly indicate your precise contributions. Additionally, you should highlight the scholarship outcomes and explain how this preparation supports your graduate goals. Please avoid copying text verbatim or heavily duplicating detailed summaries from this section into your candidate statement; use your candidate statement instead to explain how these experiences fit into your broader academic trajectory. Maximum of 1,000 words (or up to 4 pages), 12-point font, one-inch margins, double-spaced.

Applicants are required to provide unofficial transcripts for all post-secondary schools attended. Transferred coursework or study abroad coursework does not require a transcript if all courses and grades are listed on the transcript from your degree-granting school. If you are newly enrolled in an academic program and do not have a transcript available at the time of application, you must upload confirmation of enrollment in lieu of the required transcript.

Final transcripts are required from any school from which you have received a degree and should list the degree name and date conferred. For any program in which you are currently enrolled but have not yet graduated, transcripts current as of the application deadline will suffice. Updated transcripts can be sent to the admissions office after the application deadline; however, we cannot guarantee admissions committees will consider materials submitted after the deadline.

Applicants to the Division of the Social Sciences at the University of Chicago who do not qualify for a waiver of the English language proficiency requirements must submit official IELTS Academic or TOEFL iBT scores. Acceptable test variations, score requirements, and a detailed explanation of the waiver options can be found on the Division of the Social Sciences website.