15 Social Science PhD Degree Programs

The Doctor of Social Sciences program is the first degree of its kind in North America. It approaches the study of complex, real-world problems within an interdisciplinary and Trans disciplinary framework. The program design brings the research intensity of a traditional doctorate to an applied, professional focus. In this program, you will explore interdisciplinary applications of the social sciences for practical, sustainable transformation across organizations and society.

Upon successful completion of the study program students receive an international private Doctorate in Global Studies degree awarded by the school's headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, based on the recommendation of the faculty of the local campuses where credits were earned.

The PhD on Urban Development & Governance is a 4-year flexible trajectory programme that fuses urban management with governance.

At present, there is a consensus that just having a comprehensive understanding of the planet’s natural system does not suffice. It is necessary to understand the complex interactions between the socio-economic system and the vital planetary systems which provide society with ecosystem and natural services. The Social Ecology doctoral programme contributes to the development of the environmental approaches characteristic in their interdisciplinary nature. The goal of the programme is the advancement of knowledge, which should contribute to the creation of a theoretical base from within the strategy of making economic, social, and cultural development sustainable, especially from an environmental perspective.

The Public and Social Policy (PSP) doctoral study program prepares students for basic and applied research and teaching in academia as well as other types of activities requiring a high level of theoretical and methodological education in PSP. This program is open to all master's degree graduates or equivalent.

The study program is primarily designated for the graduates with a Master’s degree in Political Science or any other field of Social Sciences who intend to deepen their knowledge in Political Science, focusing on the issue of democratic and nondemocratic forms of government (changes in political systems, with a special emphasis on development trends connected with modernization and democratization, other issues of comparative analysis, including national and regional identities, or the analysis of individual elements of political systems).

Transform your practice and make a powerful impact in your chosen field with our Doctorate in Applied Social Research. Fit our flexible course around your career commitments and gain expert research skills tailored to your ambitions.

The main topics of historical sociology lie in questions of social change, modernisation, modernisation processes, civilizational analysis, the formation of states and nations, the formation of the world system, and globalization trends. These questions are studied through an extensive comparative analysis involving a wide geographical perspective and long-time intervals. Part of the field of historical sociology comprises a number of partial, specific research areas, which include issues such as collective mentalities, habits and social memory. Historical sociology is a very diverse and internally differentiated discipline that has general theoretical approaches, a number of special theories, a variety of specialised research directions, and develops research at an empirical level.

The broadly conceived doctoral study programme of (general) anthropology focuses on human behaviour, action, and cognition both in their biological (genetic) aspects and evolutionary, social, and/or environmentally conditioned variability. Its general anthropological approach stems from an assumption that (a) it is only a variety and variability of behaviour, action, and cognition that can speak of the character of human existence, and that (b) it is necessary to speak of this existence by way of a synthetizing combination of biological-empirical, cultural-interpretative and reflexively philosophical methods. It is supported by the (Anglo-American) conception of integral general anthropology as a discipline studying both biological and socio-cultural aspects of human beings conceived as complex organisms endowed with language, thought and culture (endowed with a capacity of semiotic, symbolical representation). This assumption is broadened by certain aspects of (German and French) philosophical and historical anthropology. Such conception of (general) anthropology takes into account both the diversity of human cultures and common characteristic features of humanity (both partial evolutional processes and general qualities of biological and cultural evolution of human).

The Ph.D. study program Sociology is focused on scientific inquiry, independent creative work, and deepening of theoretical knowledge. The aim of this program is to prepare the students for a scientific career and teaching in the field of basic and applied research.

Doctoral studies at the FSS are primarily research-based. However, students are also expected to attend a certain number of graduate seminars and lectures (the exact number depends on the subject), so it is not possible for students to complete their doctorate by research alone.

The doctoral study program Area Studies focuses on various aspects of the contemporary (since 1990) development of Europe and North America, as well as on theoretical and methodological issues in the field of Area Studies.

The Doctor of International Relations (DIR) Programme is the highest degree offered by the Geneva School of Diplomacy and brings together academic excellence through meticulous independent research, and real-world applicability.

The Doctor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Gratz College is designed for students already holding a graduate degree in Holocaust and Genocide Studies, history, or another related discipline. Doctoral students will engage in a meta-study of genocide to understand the phenomenon from a comprehensive range of academic approaches—historical, sociological, geographical, psychological, legal, theological and scientific—to inform their dissertations while reviewing the significant literature and conducting in-depth original research in the field.

The International Development Doctoral (IDV) is dedicated to providing a hybrid doctoral program that encompasses the content and academic rigor of a traditional on-campus program, yet in a flexible delivery format. Our curriculum includes majors and minors in Economic Development, Political Development, Security Studies, and Social/Cultural Development.