The basic study period for the Ph.D. Program is 4 years. Students are required to complete 18 credits during their studies, including 4 credits in Public Courses, 4 credits in Compulsory Sociology Courses, 10 credits from elective courses, and a Doctoral Dissertation that carries no credits.
Academic Curriculum
1) Public Courses: 4 credits
| Course Name | Credits |
| Marxism and Contemporary Society | 2 |
| English | 2 |
Note:
1. Re-arrangement of Public Courses for International students:
a) International students are required to take the Chinese Language Class. Students who are not exempted are required to take the 2 credits "Foundational Chinese" course (04411002).
b) "Introduction to China" (61410008) is a 2-credit compulsory course for international students, offered in the fall semester. Class 01 is taught in English, and Class 02 is taught in Chinese.
2) Compulsory Courses: 4 credits
| Course Name | Credits |
| Research Proposal and Paper Writing | 2 |
| Seminar On Dissertation Topics Selection | 2 |
3) Elective Courses: 10 credits
1. All courses are classified into the following categories: Public Courses [A], Sociology/Anthropology Compulsory Courses [B], Restricted Elective Courses [C], Sociology/Anthropology Elective/Cross-disciplinary Elective/Foreign Language [D], and Foundational Courses [E], which is further divided into three subcategories: E1, E2, and E3.
2. Student categories and respective course requirements:
A. Students are classified into the following categories:
1) Group I: Students in the Sociology PhD program, holding a master’s degree in Sociology
2) Group II: Students in the Sociology PhD program, without a master’s degree in Sociology
3) Group III: Students in the Anthropology PhD program, holding a master’s degree in Anthropology
4) Group IV: Students in the Anthropology PhD program, without a master’s degree in Anthropology
B. Students in different categories have specific course requirements, with course selections to be made under the guidance of their advisors. All students must complete 4 credits in both Category A and 4 credits in Category B. The requirements for the remaining categories are as follows:
1) Group I: 10 credits from Categories C and D, with at least 4 credits from category C (2 credits on Seminar on Fundamental Texts of Social Theory, 2 credits on reading seminars)
2) Group II: 3-4 credits from category E1; 6-7 credits from category C and D, with at least 4 credits from category C (2 credits on Seminar on Fundamental Texts of Social Theory, 2 credits on reading seminars)
3) Group III: 10 credits from category C, D and E3, with at least 2 credits from category C
4) Group IV: 3-4 credits from category E2; 6-7 credits from C, D and E3, with at least 2 credits from category C
| Category | Course | Course Offered | Credits | Length of Course (Semester) | Note |
| APublic Courses (for non-international students) | Marxism and Contemporary Society | School of Marxism | 2 | 1 | |
| A Public Courses (for non-international students) | Foreign Language | School of Foreign Languages | 2 | 1 | |
| B Sociology/ Anthropology Compulsory Courses | Research Proposal and Paper Writing | Department of Sociology | 2 | 2 | |
| B Sociology/ Anthropology Compulsory Courses | Seminar On Dissertation Topics Selection | Department of Sociology | 2 | 2 | This course is designed to help students to choose their PhD dissertation topics. Students will present their topic and feedback will be provided by their advisor and committee members. |
| C Restricted Elective Courses | Seminar on Fundamental Texts of Social Theory | Department of Sociology | 2 | 1-4 | This course aims to deepen students’ understanding of classical social theories through focused reading and in-depth analysis. |
| CRestricted Elective Courses | Doctoral Reading Seminars | Department of Sociology | 2-10 | 1-4 | Reading seminars in various fields will be facilitated by our professors, covering topics such as Political Sociology, Technology and Society, Social Movements and Collective Action, Anthropology, Demography, and Labor Studies. |
| D1Sociology/Anthropology Elective Courses | Any graduate elective courses offered by the department | Department of Sociology | 0-6 | 1-4 | |
| D2 Cross-disciplinary Elective Courses | Any courses on Sociology/ Economics/ Politics/ Social theory / Special topics in Social History/ Intellectual History/ Comparative Institutional Analysis | Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies/ Department of History/ School of Economics/ Department of Political Science / School of International Studies and more | 0-6 | 1-4 | Students may select cross-disciplinary courses related to their research field after consulting their advisors. |
| D3Foreign Language | Foreign Language | Graduate School | 2 | Consult with your advisor before selecting the language course. | |
| E1Foundation Sociology Courses | Sociological Theory/ Sociological Methodology/ Advanced Social Statistics/ Data Analysis/ Western Sociological Theory | Department of Sociology | 0-4 | 1-4 | These foundational courses are designed for students without sociology background. The specific courses offered each semester will be released in advance by the department. |
| E2 Foundation Anthropology Courses | Theories in Social Anthropology/ Anthropological Methodology | Department of Sociology | 0-4 | 1-4 | These foundational courses are designed for students without anthropology background. The specific courses offered each semester will be released in advance by the department. |
| E3Anthropology Elective Courses | Minority languages | School of Foreign Languages | 0-2 | 2-4 | Consult with your advisor before selecting the language course. |
4) Foreign Language
Students are required to study a foreign language as part of their program. For students whose first foreign language is not English, they must select English as their language of study.
Additional Notes
Registration
Students must complete their registration at the Dean's Office within the given period each semester (visit our homepage at: http://www.shehui.pku.edu.cn/). Failure to do so will result in the forfeiture of scholarships. If a student is unable to register on time due to reasons such as fieldwork, overseas exchange or training programs, they must inform the Dean's Office by email or phone at least 3 days in advance and submit a leave application form for approval.
Components of Ph.D. Curriculum
Key components for the approval of the final dissertation defense includes the General Examination, Dissertation Proposal, Pre-Defense, and publication of articles. For more information, please refer to the Graduate Student Handbook.
Mailing Address :
No. 5, Yiheyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing, China, Peking University, Science Building No. 5
Postal code :
100871
Feedback :
shweb@pku.edu.cn
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