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College of Social Sciences and Public Policy
Engaging Today's World, Producing Tomorrow's Leaders, Since 1973
Learn more about how the Future is Made in Bellamy
Welcome to the Department of Sociology
The Department of Sociology at FSU consists of more than 20 faculty members whose interests range widely from Demography, Health and Aging, to the Family, Gender, Inequality and Social Change. We have strong undergraduate and graduate programs and the department is recognized as having prestige both nationally and in the South.
Two FSU Professors Part of Widespread National Coverage on Lead Exposure Study
Two Florida State University sociology professors Michael McFarland, Ph.D., and Mathew Hauer, Ph.D., are part of a research group that led a groundbreaking and widely-covered study on the negative effects of lead in gasoline that resulted in millions of psychiatric disorders over the past 75 years.
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Learn more about our accredited Graduate Programs!
Among public universities, we are ranked the 29th best sociology graduate program in the nation and the 2nd best in the 17 states that make up the Southern United States (U.S. News). Among 118 public and private sociology programs across the nation, we rank among the top 20% with regard to the number of publications and grants per faculty member (The National Research Council).
Learn more about our Undergraduate Program!
Our undergraduate program is built around five major areas: Social Organization; Personality and Society; Population and Human Ecology; Social Issues and Change; and the Family.
Enriched Studies | Accomplished Alumni | Rigorous Graduate Program
Our faculty and students are engaged in fascinating studies of the social issues that define our times. We are also committed to sharing sociology with non-academic audiences, because our discipline provides unique insights that can improve policy responses and inform collective action. We invite you to read more about our department’s history, current research, opportunities for enriched studies, accomplished alumni, and rigorous graduate program.
—Kathi Tillman, Department Chair
Our Programs and Resources
Alumni Spotlight: Emily Saras
July 9, 2025
Emily Saras, Ph.D. – an FSU alumna (Ph.D. Sociology ‘24) – is the CEO of and a data scientist at Knowli Data Science, a women-owned research and analytics firm based in Tallahassee, FL. …
National Attraction: FSU Doubles Number of National Academy Members on Faculty
June 26, 2025
With recent hires in the College of Medicine and the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy, Florida State University has doubled the number of its faculty who are members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, a prestigious organization that unites leading researchers from around the c …
Apply Today for a COSSPP Graduate Program
June 20, 2025
The College of Social Sciences and Public Policy offers a wide variety of graduate programs, allowing students to gain expertise in a subject area and expand career opportunities. …