Sociology

Letter from our Department Head

Welcome to the Department of Sociology at UIC!

Inaugurated in 1982, and as part of Chicago’s only public R1 institution, our department supports faculty and students from all over the United States, and the world including Egypt, India, Iran, Russia, and South Korea. Sociology faculty have a global reputation for socially relevant, publicly engaged sociology supported by prestigious grants, and recognized with both internal and external awards. The US News and World Report Guide to Graduate Departments ranks UIC Sociology 45th among public universities, and among the most diverse graduate programs in the country. We range between 4th-12th out of the 118 programs in the NRC’s diversity ranking. Our faculty research in social movements, gender/sexuality, organizations, work and the economy, migration, race/ ethnicity, medical sociology, political sociology, and urban sociology offer a range of learning and research opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students both inside and outside the classroom.

The Department of Sociology, through the Soc Club, Capstone Seminar that partners with local organizations, and other research opportunities, nurtures its 120 or so undergraduate majors to prepare them either for graduate school in professional or academic programs, or a wide range of careers in state and local governments, the private sector, and the nonprofit sector. At the graduate level, the department prepares students for careers in teaching and research in both public and private academic and non-academic sectors.

Today, sociology as a discipline could not be more relevant than ever. We invite you to join us in researching, teaching, and working collectively toward more equitable worlds.

– Sharmila Rudrappa, Department Head and Professor of Sociology