Migration

More than 215 million people (3% of the world population) live outside their country of origin, a number projected to double by 2050.  Close to 1 billion people (13% of world population) have crossed administrative geo-boundaries at least once. Migration involves the transference of ideologies, identities, religion, political, and other social, economic, and cultural traits and practices. The MSU Department of Sociology is a recognized center of expertise and excellence in research, teaching and outreach on migration, transnationalism and diaspora. MSU Department of Sociology faculty critically examines not only the forces behind human movement, but also the diversity of the populations involved and the impact that they have in sending and receiving communities. MSU migration scholars apply the full range of sociological methods, from visual sociology and cultural studies, to historical analysis, ethnography, demography, and census analysis and survey research. Faculty research on migration has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, and the Social Science Research Council, and various Foundations and has been reported in national and international media.

The MSU faculty who study migration have considerable expertise and conduct research in the following areas:

  • the African Diaspora
  • the demography of migration
  • development and migration
  • the environment and migration
  • gender and migration
  • health and migration
  • migrant ethnic entrepreneurship, communities, and conflict
  • migrant integration
  • migration, race, and refugees
  • migration research methods