About

Welcome

Welcome to the Department of Sociology & Interdisciplinary Social Sciences. Our outstanding faculty and academic programs provide high quality education, professional development, and research opportunities to our students, as well as innovative and influential research -- both basic and applied -- to share with USF, various local and national constituencies, and the broader academic community. 

Our department has four academic degree programs:

1) B.A. in Sociology;
2) B.A. in Interdisciplinary Social Sciences (ISS), which is available on all three USF campuses; 
3) M.A. in Sociology; and
4) Ph.D. in Sociology.

Through these programs, we prepare students to succeed in an increasingly diverse world that demands skills in communication, leadership, problem solving, critical and analytical reasoning, methodological thinking, statistical analysis, and multicultural and global understanding. These skill sets align exceedingly well with the skills that 21st century employers value and seek.

Our department’s teaching and research focus broadly on identity and community - that is, how individuals, communities, and environments shape and are shaped by one another within cultural, economic, historical, and social contexts.

We conduct research, teach undergraduate and graduate courses, and mentor students on a variety of topics including four key interdisciplinary content areas that align directly with the USF strategic plan: 

o   Environment and society including climate change, disasters, and food security/sovereignty (contributes to USF Focus on Sustainability, Environmental, and Oceanographic Sciences) 

o   Global and transnational processes including citizenship, conflict, migration/immigration, place, politics, power, social movements, and food and human security (contributes to USF Focus on Global and National Security) 

o  Health and well-being of individuals, families, and communities (contributes to USF Focus on Health, Society, and Biomedical Science) 

o   Inequality and social justice across a number of domains (contributes to USF Focus on Social Justice and Human Rights) 

Please continue reading to learn about what makes us unique.