Our mission: "We believe in a sociology engaged in the real world, employing a diversity of methods and perspectives, in the quest for greater understanding of, and solutions to, critical issues in social life."
Sociological Hokies wear red in solidarity with Northern Illinois Huskies in 2008
Our degree programs:
We offer a Bachelor of Science undergraduate degree, and Master of Science and Ph.D. graduate degrees. The first Masters degree in sociology was granted in the 1920s; its first Ph.D. was awarded in 1974. The Department also offers a minor in sociology.
The department is also home to programs in Africana Studies, American Indian Studies, and Women's & Gender Studies, which offer their own minors, degree options, and graduate-degree emphases. At both the graduate and undergraduate level, the department has one of the most diverse student bodies on the Virginia Tech campus.
The Department of Sociology at Virginia Tech has strong interdisciplinary connections across thecampus. We share courses and faculty with Science and Technology in Society, the Center for Gerontology, the Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention, and many other programs. These connections allow our students to pursue programs specifically tailored to their interests, while maintaining a strong central grounding in sociology.
Our faculty:
The department includes thirty full- time as well as nine affiliated and adjunct faculty from across the campus.
Those faculty have earned degrees from some of the finest doctoral programs in their fields. They have authored or edited 45 books on such topics as workplace relations, delinquent behavior, research methods, Appalachian development, deviance, professional ethics, gender, aging, sociology of knowledge, world systems, household crowding, and the mass media. Departmental faculty have participated in more than 65 externally funded projects.
Our department also has the distinction of including two Alumni Distinguished Professors, having received Fulbright Scholar awards, and having been home to three presidents of the Southern Sociological Society.
Contact: John Ryan (Chair),
Email: johnryan@vt.edu
Department of Sociology
560 McBryde Hall (0137)
Blacksburg, VA, 24061
office phone (540) 231-8971
fax (540) 231-3860