Scott M. Lynch, Ph.D.

MA in Sociology | 1995 | Professor, Department of Sociology and Population Research Institute (DUPRI), Duke University

 

Why did you choose to purse an MA in Sociology at the UofA?

I was an undergraduate sociology/criminal justice major at Arkansas, and I wanted to go on to graduate school in sociology.  However, my early undergraduate GPA was not strong enough to get admitted to top PhD programs with funding, and I felt like I was not necessarily prepared to enter such a program, so I opted to stay at Arkansas for another two years to work on the MA.

 

What did you do upon graduating from the MA in Sociology program?

In my second year of the MA program, I applied to six PhD programs based on geographic considerations and my interests.  I was admitted to three of them and opted to go to Duke University for the PhD.  I spent six years in the PhD program, earning an MS in statistics along the way.  After I graduated (2001), I took an assistant professor position in the sociology department at Princeton University.  I was tenured there and promoted to associate professor in 2007 and full professor in 2010.  I remained there until 2014, when I took a position back at Duke University.  I’m currently a professor of sociology at Duke, have a courtesy appointment in the department of Community and Family Medicine in the medical school, and am the training director for Duke’s Population Research Institute.

 

What is your greatest professional accomplishment?

I’m not sure what my greatest professional accomplishment is.  Perhaps helping play a role in introducing Bayesian statistics to sociology.  My 2007 book on Bayesian statistics and estimation, as well as some of my methodological work in demography and sociology helped me earn the Leo Goodman award for early-career contributions to sociological methodology from the ASA’s methodology section in 2014. 

 

How did your education in the MA Sociology Program prepare you for what you are doing today?

My MA training at Arkansas was crucial in preparing me for a PhD program.  I am not sure what the structure of the MA program is like now, but when I was a student, the program provided a general, but detailed education in contemporary sociological theory and methods.  I was also fortunate enough to get first hand research experience as an RA my first year in the program, TA experience in the first semester of my second year, and teaching experience in the second semester of my second year, teaching introduction to sociology.  The RA position involved the full research process, from designing a survey, to collecting data, to analyzing it.  In fact, I used the data in my masters thesis.  Frankly, I’m not sure I could’ve received any better training both for subsequent graduate work and for what I do now.  My job, as a professor at an R1 institution primarily involves research and teaching.  I do not engage in primary data collection, but after my RA experience, I know how it is done and teach it.  Further, a crucial component of being a professor is learning how to manage your time, including switching between roles as a researcher and a teacher.  The best way to learn how to do that is to do it, and I had that experience at Arkansas.

 

What advice would you give current students or recent graduates interested in pursuing a career in your field?

There are two parts to my recommendation.  First, take advantage of every opportunity you have to be involved in research and teaching.  Simply going to classes is not preparation enough for a career as an academic.  Part of being involved in research means writing papers, and not simply collecting data or helping a faculty member analyze data.  So, try to write publishable papers to gain experience in that process.  That process gets easier the more you work at it AND the more published papers you read—so read a lot.  Second, take every opportunity you can to learn about professionalization.  That means talking with faculty and asking them questions about how they managed graduate school, what the job market is like, what they think is important for getting a job, etc.  Especially ask the younger faculty who have graduated more recently, because they have had more recent exposure to what the discipline looks like at other institutions.  Most of succeeding in this business is working hard, but part of it is also working smart—being strategic about how you spend your time.  For example, writing and publishing book reviews is not a productive use of time.  Collecting one’s own data involves a huge time investment and may not be necessary, so look to see if data sets already exist that can help you address your research questions.  Try to kill more than one bird with every stone.  If a course requires writing a paper, try to make it a publishable one, rather than just writing to satisfy a course requirement.  Etc.