Alumni Stories
Fei Yan
Assistant Professor in Sociology, Tsinghua University; Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center at Stanford University, PhD Alumni, 2011-2015
Oxford Sociology is one of the best sociology programs in the world. It helped me build a very strong and solid academic foundation and prepared me effectively for an academic career at a research university. The renowned faculties are the core asset. I am extremely proud to work with my supervisor and many other distinguished professors in the last four years. Their wisdom, knowledge, and commitment to the highest standards inspired and motivated me to become a true scholar.
Funda Ustek-Spilda
Post-doctoral Researcher, Goldsmiths, University of London, PhD Alumna 2010-2015
Research excellency and academic rigour are the two most important skills I have taken on from my postgraduate studies at Oxford. With extensive research interests of the academic staff and collaboration opportunities, Oxford has prepared me for the next stages of my academic career.
Mark Williams
I did my MSc in the Dept 2006/7, then DPhil 2007-2011. After that, I became an LSE Fellow in the Employment Relations and Organisational Behaviour Group in the Department of Management at LSE. In 2013, I became a Lecturer in the Department of People and Organisations, Surrey Business School, University of Surrey (my present position).
The Department of Sociology at Oxford provides a solid quantitative training coupled with exposure to a trademark tradition of doing sociology. What sets Oxford apart its vibrant intellectual environment: from the endless streams of interesting research seminars (more often than not from top scholars in whatever field you do) to the general buzz of daily college life. Studying in the Department and at Nuffield has left a very big intellectual impression on me which only seems to strengthen as I progress in my career. In fact, many of my subsequent collaborators also did their DPhil in the Department.
Samir Sinha
MD, DPhil, FRCPC
Peter and Shelagh Godsoe Chair in Geriatrics and Director of Geriatrics, Sinai Health System and the University Health Network Hospitals; Assistant Professor of Medicine, Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
As a physician interested in health policy and gerontology, the Department of Sociology became the perfect environment to broaden my thinking and understanding of health and health care with a sociological lens. I owe much of my success in my clinical, leadership, policy and research roles post Oxford from the knowledge and skills I acquired in learning how to look at important issues from a variety of important perspectives.
Sumeet Mhaskar
Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellow based at the Centre for Modern Indian Studies, University of Göttingen, Germany. D.Phil: November 2012
The Department of Sociology at Oxford, with its rigorous training and infrastructure, is an ideal place to carry out multi-method research. During my D.Phil, I gained enormously from the intellectually stimulating environment in the university.
Timothy Phakathi
Head of Safety and Sustainable Development, Chamber of Mines of South Africa, DPhil 2011
The Oxford Department of Sociology has provided me with a conducive learning environment that has significantly accelerated my career development in the world of work.
