The Department of Sociology at The New School offers a distinctive approach to the investigation of social life. This approach builds on The New School's historical connections to European social science to develop our tradition of critical inquiry and engage with contemporary debates and academic communities globally.

The department has defined some core areas of research that reflect the interests of the faculty: social inequalities; culture and politics; law, rights, and citizenship; historical and comparative sociology; and cities and publics. We emphasize theoretically-informed ethnographic, historical, and interpretive inquiry into the significant social issues of our times in local, national, and transnational contexts. Our department is a vibrant hub of scholarship and intellectual life for our students, faculty, and visitors from many countries.

Through the department's activities, our goal is to help students better understand the major transformations in modern and postmodern societies and to prepare them for the normative or analytical challenges these transformations continually pose.

The department offers the MA, MPhil, and PhD in Sociology. A joint PhD program in Sociology and Historical Studies is offered in association with the Committee on Historical Studies.