Find your field of study

The Department of Sociology, one of the best in the nation, teaches students how to understand and address social issues that affect everything from interpersonal relations to global warming. Students develop a broad grasp of fundamental sociological theories and the methodological skills used to evaluate human behavior and social organizations.

The faculty also lead respected university centers such as the Institute for Research in the Social Sciences, the Clayman Institute for Gender Research, and the Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality. 

View highlights of the sociology department's undergraduate offerings.

Graduate joint degree offered: JD/PhD and MPP/PhD

The interdisciplinary program in Science, Technology, and Society (STS) offers a modern liberal arts education by bringing together scholars from fields such as anthropology, computer science, and sociology to explore the impact of scientific discoveries and how people understand their relationship to technology.

Through courses in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and engineering, students acquire technical skills along with an understanding of the history of science as well as the values and economic forces that guide technological change.

Modern Thought and Literature (MTL) is an interdisciplinary graduate program directed by faculty in art history, English, media studies, comparative literature, and law, among others. The program, which explores critical approaches to modernity, supports research in literature, film, popular culture, technology, ideology, and more.

MTL students are trained in literary and cultural studies as well as disciplines such as anthropology, gender studies, or sociology. The program expects that many of its alumni will go on to become innovative teachers and scholars in all areas of the humanities.

Graduate joint degree offered: JD/PhD

Native American Studies supports scholarship on Native communities in the interest of preserving and appreciating their unique social systems, languages, and natural resources. Its courses are housed across campus departments and schools including sociology, education, anthropology, archeology, English, art history, linguistics, and law.

A major or minor in Native American Studies introduces students to a broad range of approaches to the academic study of indigenous cultures while promoting understanding of both the traditions and the continuing experiences of Native American peoples and communities. Students may pursue a plan of study that integrates specialized courses with the methods of other disciplines such as history and psychology.

The interdisciplinary program in American Studies promotes a broad understanding of U.S. culture and society. It connects scholars of English literature, performance studies, education, sociology, and many other disciplines whose work examines the past and present of the United States and also shapes how the nation imagines its future.

Students design their own course of study while investigating the many dimensions of U.S. life—race, gender, technology, religion, and mass media, for example. Because the program spans many disciplines, students benefit from access to faculty in economics, history, music, and other departments. American Studies offers endless opportunities to apply the full range of Stanford’s resources to the project of understanding the U.S. in a global context.