The Heller School participates in two joint doctoral programs with Brandeis University's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the Joint Ph.D./M.A. in Social Policy and Women's and Gender Studies and the Joint Ph.D. in Social Policy and Sociology.

Joint Ph.D./M.A. in Social Policy and Women's and Gender Studies

The Heller School offers a joint Ph.D./M.A. with Brandeis University's Women's and Gender Studies Program. The joint degree provides an opportunity to mesh the Heller School's research and analytical training, along with a focus on a social policy issue, with issues that affect women.

The Ph.D./M.A. is for a select group of students who essentially wish for one more interdisciplinary perspective. You must be willing to do additional coursework, take part in a colloquium series, and write a thesis. If you choose to do this program, you do so in place of the M.A. in Social Policy awarded as part of the Heller doctoral program.

Enrollment in the Ph.D./M.A. takes place after formally enrolling and being accepted to the Heller Ph.D. in Social Policy program.

To inquire about applying to this joint program, please contact the Heller Admissions Office by phone at 781-736-3820 or by email at HellerAdmissions@Brandeis.edu.

The Joint Ph.D. in Social Policy and Sociology

The Heller School, in conjunction with Brandeis's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, offers a joint Ph.D. program with the Department of Sociology. This degree reflects the increasingly emergent crossover between the two areas. Leading scholarly works in sociology are dealing with policy issues related to current transformations in the structure of the family, work, and population trends, among others, and their implications for children, health issues, immigration policy, and welfare reform. Students must first be enrolled either in the Sociology Department or at Heller for one year prior to applying to the joint program. Admission to one does not guarantee admission to the other.

To inquire about applying to this program, please contact the Heller Admissions Office by phone at 781-736-3820 or by email at HellerAdmissions@Brandeis.edu.