About Us

Since its founding in 1920, the Sociology Department has been an intellectual leader in the discipline and at the University of North Carolina. The successes of our faculty and students have led to one of the most distinguished and highly regarded departments in the world. The department maintains an intellectually diverse faculty with broad methodological expertise, depth in core areas of the discipline, and significant interdisciplinary impact. We have built a department that provides excellent infrastructure for sociological research, professional development, graduate training, and undergraduate instruction.

OUR MISSION

The Sociology Department seeks to advance sociological knowledge and the public’s understanding of society through research and teaching at the highest levels of the discipline. We work to generate significant social scientific advances that push the field forward, provide outstanding education opportunities to our graduate and undergraduate students, and enhance the public’s understanding on questions of major societal importance. Together we value excellence and innovation in scholarship and teaching; intellectual leadership and impact beyond the university; and high impact, multi-method, and collaborative research. In addition, we aspire to be leaders in diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts on campus and in our discipline.

OUR VALUES

The Department of Sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill welcomes all students, faculty, staff, and visitors. We affirm the University’s core values encouraging diversity and equal educational and employment opportunities throughout our community. We denounce racism and other forms of hateful and discriminatory behavior regarding culture, ethnicity, nativity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, age, and ability. We encourage diversity of all kinds and foster inclusion in the service of opportunity, education, and discovery for all. An inclusive environment for a diverse set of backgrounds, perspectives, identities, and beliefs is essential for outstanding social science, productive debate, and respectful intellectual engagement. Our views reflect University policy as indicated in the UNC Non-Discrimination Policy and the vision and mission of the UNC Office of Diversity and Inclusion.