Dear Peter,
I've just done the whole grad thing this year, for Sociology in the US -
I've just finished a social sciences degree at Cambridge (UK). Sociology
depts. in the US and the UK tend predominately to be research/empirical
orientated, theory is a means to an ends, not the ends in itself. However,
the Berkeley dept. of Rhetoric is world class if you're main interest is
theory, it's headed by Judith Butler (one of the leading
interpreters/advocates of Foucault - not an interpretation I agree with
tho!!) and has some big names. Butler also runs a Critical Theory grad
seminar with Martin Jay (big expert on the Frankfurt School) and Silverman
(semiotics/post-structuralism) - sounds as good as you're going to get.
http://rhetoric.berkeley.edu/graduate.html
As for the whole "brand" element of universities it depends ultimately on
what your career goals are. If its academia find the best dept. with the
prof. you want to work with, where you will produce the best thesis. If you
want to do something outside the academic field then the branding of the
university becomes increasingly important. Essex probably has a better
sociology dept. that Cambridge, but Cambridge is "Cambridge" as they say.
I would also recommend you apply to as many programs as you possible can and
afford to. Good, well funded programmes are incredibly competitive - you
cannot underestimate the competition. I applied to four and got one offer,
I know people who have applied to 7 with top grades from Cambridge and been
rejected from every one. The key is to target your personal
statement/interests to the particular dept. in question, contact professors
and if possible visit them and apply to a lot, there is always a bit of
lottery element to these things.
Good luck!
Rupert
I've just done the whole grad thing this year, for Sociology in the US -
I've just finished a social sciences degree at Cambridge (UK). Sociology
depts. in the US and the UK tend predominately to be research/empirical
orientated, theory is a means to an ends, not the ends in itself. However,
the Berkeley dept. of Rhetoric is world class if you're main interest is
theory, it's headed by Judith Butler (one of the leading
interpreters/advocates of Foucault - not an interpretation I agree with
tho!!) and has some big names. Butler also runs a Critical Theory grad
seminar with Martin Jay (big expert on the Frankfurt School) and Silverman
(semiotics/post-structuralism) - sounds as good as you're going to get.
http://rhetoric.berkeley.edu/graduate.html
As for the whole "brand" element of universities it depends ultimately on
what your career goals are. If its academia find the best dept. with the
prof. you want to work with, where you will produce the best thesis. If you
want to do something outside the academic field then the branding of the
university becomes increasingly important. Essex probably has a better
sociology dept. that Cambridge, but Cambridge is "Cambridge" as they say.
I would also recommend you apply to as many programs as you possible can and
afford to. Good, well funded programmes are incredibly competitive - you
cannot underestimate the competition. I applied to four and got one offer,
I know people who have applied to 7 with top grades from Cambridge and been
rejected from every one. The key is to target your personal
statement/interests to the particular dept. in question, contact professors
and if possible visit them and apply to a lot, there is always a bit of
lottery element to these things.
Good luck!
Rupert