I am excited to welcome our faculty, students, and staff back to campus for the 2025-2026 Academic Year. Back fresh from a year of book writing on sabbatical, I’m happy to be back with our amazing students, smart and dedicated colleagues, and committed and supportive staff. With what we do now more important than ever, Northeastern’s Sociology & Anthropology Department is proud to offer undergraduate (BA and BS) degrees in Sociology and Cultural Anthropology and many combined majors, as well as a Ph.D. in Sociology. Across our department, we work together to help students develop a systematic understanding of human societies and cultures.
We begin the year with 33 faculty members working across the fields of sociology and anthropology, and many with joint appointments in Criminology and Criminal Justice, Health Sciences, Business, and the School of Law. We are thrilled to welcome two new faculty members this year, Assistant Professor Dr. Chuncheng Liu, jointly appointed with the College of Art, Media, and Design, and Dr. Rachel Meyer, Assocate Teaching Professor of Sociology. Our faculty our highly engaged across the university and have affiliations and directorships of institutes and research centers across campus, including the Social Science Environmental Health Research Institute (SSEHRI), the Center for International Affairs and World Cultures, the Institute for Health Equity and Social Justice Research (IHESJR), and the Program on Human Rights in the Global Economy (PHRGE).
Our faculty contribute to a range of interdisciplinary undergraduate and Masters programs across the College of Social Sciences and Humanities (CSSH) and throughout Northeastern University, including Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, International Affairs, and Network Science, among others. In each of these programs, and across levels of study, our students experience a rigorous curriculum involving methodological, theoretical, experiential, and substantive training aimed at enhancing critical thinking, social awareness, and a globally-oriented conception of inequality and justice.
Our students are prepared for a wide range of career options, post-graduate educational opportunities, and a life of engaged, democratic citizenship. In addition to dozens of new students in Sociology, Anthropology, and combined majors, we are thrilled to welcome two new Ph.D students, Emily DiBartolo and Damla Topbas to our Ph.D. program. Our graduate students continue to receive prestigious fellowships and research grants from the National Science Foundation, Switzer Foundation, and Ford Foundation, and are publishing in top sociology and area studies journals. Our recent graduates have had strong placements in diverse positions in academia, the public sector and industry. See our full list of alumni placements here. If you want to know more about our Ph.D. program, I encourage you to contact of Graduate Program Director, Professor Nina Sylvanus.
Our department is home to nearly 200 undergraduate students, majoring in Sociology, Cultural Anthropology, or one of our 27 combined majors. In addition, we have more than 100 undergraduate minors. Our students are highly engaged on campus including those involved with the Sociology and Anthropology Student Association (SASA). We continue to support undergraduate engagement in research in multiple ways including working on independent and faculty-led research projects, and we will be working to offer more opportunities for sociology and anthropology majors to develop research skills and experiences. Please reach out to our Associate Chair and Undergraduate Program Director, Professor Carie Hersh to learn more about these opportunities.
I encourage you to look through our many programs and reach out to me or our stellar department staff team including Program Coordinator Pamela Simmons, Budget and Operations Specialist Aakash Sharma, and Administrative Assistant Elizabeth Walker.
We are looking forward to the year ahead with many opportunities to learn and engage with our Northeastern and broader communities. We will be co-sponsoring many events with other units across the Northeastern global campus – so please join us in these events.
Associate Professor of Sociology
Chair of the Department of Sociology & Anthropology