Department of Sociology
Where social understanding drives change. Explore how groups, institutions and social forces shape our world while developing analytical skills that create more thoughtful and fair-minded communities.
What is Sociology?
Sociology is your gateway to understanding how social life shapes our attitudes, actions and opportunities, empowering you to become an agent of positive change through the scientific study of human behavior in real-world contexts. Our department explores how social groups, institutions and systems influence us by examining factors like class, race, gender and age alongside institutions including economics, education, family, media and politics that shape our thoughts and life chances. Through comprehensive programs spanning traditional sociology to specialized tracks in health and well-being, you'll develop crucial understanding of how these elements create both opportunities and barriers while building skills through innovative research at the Center for Environmental Policy and Management.
Whether you're drawn to relationships and inequality, sociology of culture, or our unique Urban Studies program, our distinguished faculty guide you through transformative learning that connects theoretical understanding with practical application through community engagement and the prestigious Jon H. Rieger Speaker Series. Here, your curiosity about social dynamics transforms into the critical thinking expertise and cultural competency that drives meaningful careers in business, education, government, healthcare and any field requiring deep understanding of human behavior and social systems.
Explore Your Future
Expand Your Social Understanding
Education Across Borders
Since 1999, the University of Louisville and Quality Leadership University (QLU) in Panama City, Panama have partnered to bring a UofL education to students across the Americas. At QLU's off-campus instructional site, students complete the College of Arts and Sciences General Education Program and can earn a UofL Minor in Sociology and/or a Bachelor of Arts in Communication. After 56 credit hours, students have the option to transfer to the Louisville campus to finish their degree in person.
For additional information, contact LyShanna Cunningham at 502-852-8041
Why study Sociology?
Annual openings in community and social service occupations
Projected growth for mental health counselors
Of employers say broad analytical and social scientific education is important for career readiness
Recent News from Sociology
Upcoming Events in Sociology
Ready to transform social understanding into meaningful impact?
Apply today to join Sociology's vibrant community. Explore our programs, meet faculty, and start your journey toward a successful career.
Career Prospects
Where Social Understanding Becomes Your Key to Meaningful Impact
human behavior — and to communicate that analysis clearly in writing, research and policy. Those skills are in demand across the human services sector, healthcare, education, government, research and business. Sociology graduates work as social workers, community organizers, health educators, policy researchers, nonprofit managers, human resources specialists, data analysts and educators.
Community and social service occupations — where sociology graduates are among the most common entrants — project more than 313,700 annual openings, growing much faster than the national average. Mental health counselors, one of the strongest graduate-level pathways, are projected to grow 17% through 2034. UofL's sociology programs — including tracks in Relationships and Inequality, Sociology of Culture, Health and Well-Being and Urban Studies — provide focused preparation for the specific career clusters you want to enter.
Whether you're entering the workforce with a bachelor's degree, continuing to an MSW, MPA, or public health graduate program, or pursuing doctoral study, sociology gives you the analytical framework and research fluency that careers in people-centered work demand.