Welcome
Welcome to the homepage of the Department of Sociology at Bowling Green State University. Sociology is the scientific study of human relationships—how people work, play, cooperate, compete, and live together in many different groups and settings—offices, homes, gangs, teams, neighborhoods, and cities.

The department’s comprehensive undergraduate curriculum begins with exposure to the sociological perspective and covers a wide range of social relationships. Undergraduate students learn to use sociological concepts and methods to help them better understand real-world social phenomena. Alumni of our undergraduate program are well prepared to enter many occupations, based on the knowledge of social relationships and the communication and critical thinking skills they learn in our program.

Our two graduate programs, leading to M.A. and Ph.D. degrees, are organized around four major areas: Criminology and Deviance, Family Studies, Demography, and Social Psychology. We also offer an M.A. in Applied Demography. Graduate students receive extensive training and experience in the latest theories, research methods, and techniques of data analysis, as well as mentoring and experience in teaching. The Center for Family and Demographic Research, funded by the National Institutes of Health, provides graduate students opportunities for involvement in grant-funded research. Alumni of our graduate program hold teaching, research, and administrative positions in universities, businesses, non-profit organizations, and governments throughout the world.

Our permanent faculty consists of nineteen members, whose scholarship is highly respected nationally and internationally. All have Ph.D.s, all teach, and all involve students in their research. Currently we have 50 students in our graduate program and about 200 undergraduate majors.

Gary R. Lee, Chair