UW Department of Sociology

11/06/2025

The application for the Sociology Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) is now open!

This program is designed to give current Sociology majors opportunities to contribute to ongoing faculty and graduate student research projects. These Research Assistant (RA) positions are for Winter quarter 2026 and the credit load is between 2-5 credits, depending on the project and workload. Each project will have specific tasks and required/preferred skills and students can apply for up to three (3) projects.

Interested students can read full project descriptions and apply here: tinyurl.com/2w53jswz

Application timeline:
November 3–16: Accepting applications for Winter 2026
November 24–28: Applicants receive offers

Questions can be directed to [email protected]

10/24/2025

That’s a wrap for our Sociology UW Family Weekend event. Thank you to all the families and students that dropped by and to the staff and professors that made it happen.

Can you spot any of your professors (past or current) in this post?

05/23/2025

COOL SUMMER COURSE ALERT!

Contemporary Social Movements
SUMMER 2025
SOC 247
5 CREDITS (SSc): SLN: 13328
T/TH 1:10-3:20 PM

How do ordinary people organize to challenge injustice and shape society? When do movements succeed? and why do some fail?

This course explores social movements as powerful forces for change, from civil rights and climate justice to global uprisings.

Open to students from all majors, the course examines why some
protests succeed while others fail, and how movements evolve under both democratic and authoritarian regimes.

No background in sociology is needed- just curiosity
about the world and how it changes. Through accessible theory, global case studies, and interactive discussion, students will learn to analyze the causes, strategies, and impacts of collective action. Whether you’re drawn to politics, media, human rights, or public service, this course offers tools to better understand- and participate in- the movements shaping our future. For more info, contact [email protected]

05/19/2025

Congratulations Aliya Adan, Bachelor of Arts in Sociology & American Ethnic Studies, minor in Diversity, who has been selected as a 2025 Bonderman fellow!

Aliya is from South Seattle, Washington, and is a first-generation Somali American. As an undergraduate, she conducted independent research on gun violence in Black immigrant communities, exploring its social determinants and lived impacts. Her Bonderman Fellowship proposal centers on identity—examining how she navigates multiple cultural worlds as the child of immigrants and what that reveals about belonging in an ever-changing global society. Aliya selected Turkey, Kenya, Malaysia, Indonesia, Oman, Morocco, China, and Brazil—countries where she would feel safe traveling solo.

04/23/2025

Calling all SOC majors! The Center for Evaluation and Research for STEM Equity (CERSE) team is seeking an Undergraduate Student Assistant to help with ongoing evaluation and research projects. Duties include data collection, database management, office administration, and weekly meetings. The paid research position ideally begins in June 2025 and requires 10-15 hours per week through summer and possibly, subsequent quarters. The pay is $21.57/hour.

Interested students can apply by May 8, 2025 here: http://tinyurl.com/9hau6m77

Please email Dr. Erin Carll with any questions at [email protected].

04/21/2025

Announcing the 2025 Husky 100

XITLALY MENDOZA
Mesa, WA
B.A. Sociology; B.A. Law, Societies, and Justice
Leadership, Spanish
Year awarded 2025
As a first generation student from Eastern Washington and the daughter of Oaxacan-Mixtec Indigenous migrant parents, I recognize the challenges and importance of navigating higher education. Being accepted to the University of Washington as a Presidential Scholar strengthened my determination to honor my family’s sacrifices and heritage by deepening my knowledge, serving my community and actively engaging in service inside and outside the community. Through my involvement with the College Assistance Migrant Program, Dare to Dream Academy and Multicultural Outreach & Recruitment, I have worked to empower underrepresented communities and create pathways for others. I aim to leave a legacy of change that impacts my community.

02/04/2025

What is at stake with the Treasury’s payment systems? Recent events make this question more pertinent than ever before. Cutting across governance, policy, economic regulation, and the bureaucracies that sit at the core of the democratic state, the Treasury’s financial pipes and plumbing are critical for the nation’s well-being. In this special session, Elizabeth Popp Berman (U Michigan) and Abraham Newman (Georgetown U) will discuss why these systems matter as well as the risks posed by their capture by non-state actors. Please join us on Thursday, February 6 at 11 AM PST/ 2 PM EST for what will surely be an excellent conversation.

Registration is required, see URL on image.

08/07/2024

A study by University of Washington Sociologist Nathalie Willliams, and Diego Alborz-Gutierrez, Enrique Acosta, and Emilio Zaghani from the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, was recently highlighted in “New research quantifies bereavement over time and shines a spotlight on its lasting impact”, a news article published in Haaretz, an Israeli newspaper.

The study, “The long-lasting effect of armed conflicts death on the living: quantifying family bereavement”, was originally published in the journal Science Advances. Research was based on demographic analyses of existing databases, focuses on an innovative approach to measuring bereavement rates following the death of a parent or a child in the population of four regions of the world (Syria, the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Afghanistan, and Ukraine), places where death rates in war events were highest in 2014-23. Using demographic projections, the researchers show that these populations will continue to experience considerable levels of bereavement in decades that follow.

This finding underscores that bereavement is a profound, yet understudied consequence of conflict with potentially far-reaching implications lingering long after the conflict ends.

Bereavement exceeds mortality and has substantial implications for population wellbeing lasting decades after armed conflicts end.

07/17/2024

WORKING TOWARDS RESPONSIBLE AI

Trey Causey (MA, Sociology, 2013) is a matchmaker of sorts. At Indeed, a global job-matching and hiring platform, Causey helps connect employers with potential employees. Using artificial intelligence (AI), the company fields millions of requests each year from job seekers and employers.

As Indeed’s head of responsible AI and senior director of data science, Causey works to ensure that the company’s AI algorithms promote equity and fairness and prevent biases in hiring. It’s a challenging role that Causey spent years preparing for, including graduate studies at the University of Washington in the Department of Sociology and the Center for Statistics and the Social Sciences (CSSS), both in the College of Arts & Sciences.

“At Indeed, our mission is to help people get jobs, and that is actually a very sociological problem in a lot of ways,” Causey says. “My sociology background has definitely been helpful.”

To read more, go to artsci.washington.edu/news

06/11/2024

Congratulations UW Department of Sociology Grads!! YOU did it and we are all SO proud of your achievements.

If you post pictures from graduation, please share them by using the hashtags

06/05/2024

TODAY is graduation day for the Department of Sociology. This is the calm before the event...don't forget to tag us in your photos!