Research
Students and faculty in Sociology engage in a wide range of research activities exploring social phenomena occurring in Canada and around the world. The faculty members are experts in their areas of specialty and publish their findings in the leading sociological journals, in book form, and in reports for the public policy sector. Students engage in research by participating in supervised independent studies projects or by working with a faculty member on a funded research project. Graduate students typically work with faculty members on their projects before developing their own dissertation research.The Department of Sociology offers eight areas of specialization that represent concentrations of research and teaching excellence. Each of these areas include: eminent senior faculty and outstanding junior faculty focusing within the area; links to other units in the university; research funding potential and sustainability; and a commitment to offer core graduate courses in the area at least every other year.
These areas of specialization are recognized as such by the Ontario Council on Graduate Studies. Students may also specialize in Social Policy; Life Course and Aging; Urban Sociology; Social Demography; Sociological Theory; Qualitative Methods and/or Quantitative Methods. Many of our faculty members have broad research interests that span beyond the definitions of the area designations. Many also have interests that overlap two or more areas of specialization.