Graduate Admissions Advisor (5156C), Sociology #89161

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Departmental Overview

The Department of Sociology is recognized for its educational and research excellence, consistently ranking among the top programs in the United States. It is a large, dynamic and diverse academic department in the Social Sciences Division of the College of Letters and Science at the University of California, Berkeley, consisting of 30 tenure-track faculty,

16 career staff, 14 visiting instructors, 18 visiting scholars, and approximately 150 ASE appointments. The Department of Sociology has approximately 650 undergraduate majors and 100 doctoral degree students.

The Department of Demography is widely regarded as among the best and most creative demography programs in the world, occupying a unique niche in the population studies landscape, with a strong focus on formal demography, population theory, and on the relationship between demographic dynamics and social, cultural, and economic dynamics. The Department has 4 tenure-track faculty, 4 emerti faculty, 4 career staff, and 2 visiting instructors, 1 visiting scholar, 5 postdocs. The Department administers a Demography Ph.D., a Sociology-Demography Ph.D., a Demography M.A. degree and an undergraduate minor, and hosts the Bay Area Colloquium in Population.

Position Summary

The Graduate Admissions Advisor performs a wide range of student services duties and responsibilities for an academic department, school, college or organization. This position provides assistance to the dean/chair, faculty, and students in academic advising, recruitment, admissions, financial aid, visa/immigration matters, the evaluation and awarding of fellowships and block grant funds, student orientation and events, career counseling, and related programs.

Application Review Date

The First Review Date for this job is October 14, 2026. For full consideration, please apply on or before the first review date.

Responsibilities

Recruitment and Admissions - 45%

• Develops, and implements and improves programs for graduate student outreach, recruitment, admissions and funding support for the Department of Sociology.
• Working with the Graduate Diversity Office, plans and implements outreach programs; advises all prospective applicants on necessary academic preparation.
• Manages all administrative and financial aspects of graduate admissions for approximately 400 applicants annually.
• Plans, evaluates, and manages events to enhance recruitment and yield, including Recruitment Weekend.
• Evaluates effectiveness of recruitment programs and provides suggestions for effective and cost-saving alternatives.
• Writes all instructional materials and communications regarding admissions processes, including materials for print, and web and social media.
• Educates the public about admissions requirements, policies, and processes.
• Responds to individual inquiries from prospective students regarding academic preparation, financial support availability and eligibility criteria, housing, cost of living, career opportunities, use of the online application, and other information specific to sociology and graduate study at Berkeley.
• Manages and maintains application systems, including the departmental section of the online graduate application and review system (SLATE).
• Utilizing in-depth knowledge of the organization's admissions criteria, assesses academic preparedness of applicants and helps rank applicants for admissions.
• Advises program faculty and staff on legitimacy of international degrees, GPA equivalency, and TOEFL standards necessary for academic success.
• Uses professional judgment when reviewing complex or unusual applications for admission, knowing when to escalate an issue and when to act independently.
• Advises admissions committee regarding trends in annual tuition increases and funds availability.
• Maintains accurate records regarding award offers and acceptances.
• Creates and updates cohort budgets, enters awards for new students, and works with Director of Student Services and Graduate Advisor to provide reports regarding fiscal health of the departments financial aid package.
• Collects and evaluates data on financial support packages of peer institutions.
• Provides evaluative reports regarding success of admissions and recruitment tactics and suggestions for increased success in areas such as diversity and areas of specialization.

Financial Aid - 15%

• In coordination with the Director of Student Services and Graduate Advisor, oversees the administration, evaluation, and awarding of student fellowships, grants, and other awards pertaining to the Department of Sociology for incoming cohorts.
• Creates and maintains complex spreadsheets to project and track the funding, including the departmental multi-year fellowships and award packages.
• Tracks and administers a complex mix of funding that utilizes the Graduate Division block grant, department restricted awards, department endowments and external awards.
• Advises students concerning campus and extramural financial aid options, fellowship opportunities, and academic student employment as GSIs, GSRs and/or readers.
• Assists in troubleshooting financial aid and student fund management problems, including issues with SIS/MYF and EFT.
• Keeps students, faculty and staff informed of changes in Graduate Division, Registrar and Financial Aid and other relevant funding and financial aid policies.

Curriculum Support and ASE Management - 15%

ASE Hiring/Management

• Advises readers and instructors on job expectations and workload issues.
• Hires approximately 100 readers annually via the Campus Shared Services Smartsheet and acts as liaison with Campus Shared Services HR and payroll staff.
• Generates all appointment letters using Employee and Labor Relations ASE offer letter templates.
• In conjunction with the Director of Student Services and/or the Graduate Advisor, addresses any ASE performance issues that may arise in the course of a semester and resolves intricate student employee issues/grievances such as workload and leave issues.
• Oversees all reader work time reporting in CalTime/TRS serving as staff expert, troubleshooting issues as they arise.

DeCal Support

• Collaborates closely with Curriculum Planner on management of an extensive suite of DeCal courses.
• Updates departmental website, elaborates detailed requirements to constituents, communicates with student facilitators and faculty.
• Establishes deadlines, reviews DeCal proposals and submits to the Department Chair for approval.

Graduate Student Placement - 10%

• Manages all graduate student placement services.
• Coordinates with each year's new Faculty Placement Chair to schedule and plan the Department's placement-related activities.
• Advises students on job search processes and graduate placement services.
• Counsels graduate students seeking faculty positions in higher education and non-academic industry positions.
• Recruits graduate students to assist with the Job Market Practice Talks (JMPT) program.
• Prepares reports on current status as well as history of graduate student recruitment.
• Researches, collects and verifies data related to available positions and trends in higher education.
• Acts as a liaison between Interfolio and graduate students who are on the job market.
• Provide information on how to sign up for Interfolio Dossier Deliver membership.
• Tracks memberships and coordinates membership payments to Interfolio.
• Maintains the Job Market section of the department's website and checks graduate students' profiles to make sure profiles are up to date.

Events and Conferences - 10%

• Plans and implements complex, high-visibility Sociology events such as Graduate Admissions Diversity Fair, Admissions Committee Meetings, Visiting Weekend, New Student Orientation, and assists with Commencement and Graduate Commencement Receptions.
• Plans, designs, and provides workshops for prospective or current students, providing information about the program, the campus, funding, academic strategies and enrichment programs.

Professional Development - 5%

• May supervise student workers and/or delegate to professional staff colleagues.
• In consultation with the Director of Student Services, identifies and implements annual professional development goals.
• Examples might include special projects, or participation in professional associations, special task forces, training programs or classes, or campus committees.
• Workshops and seminars may focus on topics such as professional skills development, planning and assessment in higher education, and developing and maintaining expertise in various computer systems and computer software.
• Active member of the Sociology and Demography Advising Team, participating in scheduled meetings and devising team goals.

Required Qualifications

• Working knowledge of advising and counseling techniques.
• Ability to interpret and convey policies and procedures to prospective, matriculated and graduated students, faculty, staff and the public.
• Ability to keep track of and communicate about multiple programs.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills, including demonstrated experience in multicultural competencies, and ability to work collaboratively with other individuals or in teams; highly developed oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to correctly identify problems and to develop and implement original ideas for solving them.
• Possesses good judgment and can assess and handle non-routine situations while minimizing disruption to general work flow.
• Thorough knowledge and experience working with a diverse student population.
• Understanding of and commitment to strategies to increase student diversity.
• Exceptional computer skills, including strong knowledge of GoogleWorkspace, Microsoft Excel, Word, Drupal, Filemaker Pro and database technology.
• Excellent comfort and proficiency with new technology and ability to teach others to use it.
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to accuracy at all times.
• Organized and service oriented, with ability to remain courteous at all times, and to serve diverse populations with care and sensitivity.
• Skills in project management.
• Able to work independently and effectively to manage multiple important priorities.
• Ability to exercise consummate discretion regarding management of confidential student records and privileged information within the department.
• General working knowledge of career trajectory and placement strategy for graduate students in sociology.
• Advanced knowledge of and/or ability to learn policies and procedures pertaining to graduate study and professional education; thorough knowledge of and/or ability to learn university policies, procedures, processes and requirements.
• Knowledge of and/or ability to learn University-specific computer application programs, such as SIS/Campus Solutions, MYF, CalCentral, SLATE and GLOW, and knowledge of and/or ability to learn University and departmental principles and procedures involved in risk assessment and evaluating risks as to likelihood and consequences.

Preferred Qualifications

• Working knowledge of academic advising experience at the graduate level.
• Thorough and comprehensive knowledge of and/or ability to learn academic programs, including curricula, admissions requirements, and financial aid programs, at competing institutions and specifically at UC Berkeley and the Department of Sociology.

Education / Training

• Bachelor's degree in related area and / or equivalent experience / training. (Required)
• Masters degree in Student Affairs, Counseling or related Social Science field and / or equivalent experience / training. (Preferred)

Salary & Benefits

For information on the comprehensive benefits package offered by the University, please visit the University of California's Compensation & Benefits website.

Under California law, the University of California, Berkeley is required to provide a reasonable estimate of the compensation range for this role and should not offer a salary outside of the range posted in this job announcement. This range takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions, including but not limited to experience, skills, knowledge, abilities, education, licensure and certifications, analysis of internal equity, and other business and organizational needs. It is not typical for an individual to be offered a salary at or near the top of the range for a position. Salary offers are determined based on final candidate qualifications and experience.

The budgeted annual salary range that the University reasonably expects to pay for this position is $64,260.00 - $75,000.00.

• This is an exempt, monthly-paid position.
• This is a part-time (30 hours/week) Career position eligible for UC benefits.

How to Apply

To apply, please submit your resume and cover letter.

Other Information

• This is not a visa opportunity. This position does not include sponsorship of a new consular H-1B visa petition that would require payment of the $100,000 supplemental fee.
• This position is covered by the collective bargaining agreement between UAW (United Auto Workers) and the University of California Regents for SV. The current bargaining agreement manual can be found at: https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/resources/employment-policies-contracts/bargaining-units/sv-student-services-and-advising-professionals/

Conviction History Background

This is a designated position requiring fingerprinting and a background check due to the nature of the job responsibilities. Berkeley does hire people with conviction histories and reviews information received in the context of the job responsibilities. The University reserves the right to make employment contingent upon successful completion of the background check.

Misconduct

As a condition of employment, the final candidate who accepts a conditional offer of employment will be required to disclose if they have been subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct; received notice of any allegations or are currently the subject of any administrative or disciplinary proceedings involving misconduct; have left a position after receiving notice of allegations or while under investigation in an administrative or disciplinary proceeding involving misconduct; or have filed an appeal of a finding of misconduct with a previous employer.

"Misconduct" means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant's previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment, discrimination, dishonesty, or unethical conduct, as defined by the employer. For reference, below are UC's policies addressing some forms of misconduct:

UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy

UC Anti-Discrimination Policy

Abusive Conduct in the Workplace

Equal Employment Opportunity

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected status under state or federal law.