This qualitative study reports findings from a comparative analysis of the methodological socialization of doctoral students in the social sciences at two universities: one in China and one in the USA. Relying primarily on theories of organizational socialization, the study focuses on formal and informal processes students report as part of developing their methodological knowledge and skills toward the goal of successfully completing their dissertations. The primary goal is to generate insight potentially helpful to university reform efforts in China and the quest to build world-class research universities. As China further seeks to upgrade research capacity and quality at its leading research universities, it is likely that greater attention will need to be given to doctoral education.