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Social Science researchers studying transgender and nonbinary healthcare at MSU and the greater Lansing region
June 25, 2025 - Karessa Weir
A new research project by Sociology Professor Carla A. Pfeffer is collecting the experiences of trans and nonbinary students at Michigan State University and in the greater Lansing area in hopes of improving the process of finding health care and sharing positive resources.
LGBTQ+ Voices in Water Research: Jennifer Carrera
June 20, 2025 - Aja Witt
This Pride Month, the MSU Water Alliance is highlighting LGBTQ+ voices in water research—faculty whose work is reshaping how we understand equity, infrastructure, and public health. Jennifer Carrera, an associate professor of sociology and a member of the LGBTQ+ community, studies environmental justice and how water and sanitation systems reflect and reinforce broader patterns of inequality in the U.S.
Sociology Professor Xuefei Ren awarded new research grant to study Humanity's Urban Future
June 19, 2025
Sociology Professor Xuefei Ren has been awarded a research grant to study Humanity’s Urban Future. Ren is a fellow of the Humanity’s Urban Future program run by the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR).
Undergraduate Research Mentor of the Year Sarah Prior celebrated
June 18, 2025 - Mark Johnson
Sarah Prior’s classes are much more than a lecture – they are weekly or biweekly opportunities for students to talk about, think about and conduct research at the intersection of campus sexual culture and campus sexual violence while learning new skills and exploring new data.
Who pays for water? MSU researchers examine Karachi’s water mafia, local experts reflect on Michigan’s water woes
June 10, 2025 - Aja Witt
MSU Associate Professor of Sociology Jennifer Carrera, who specializes in environmental justice and community-based participatory research, believes meaningful change begins with shifting who gets to define the problem.
New publication by Dr. Sarah Prior, undergraduate researchers explores “hookup culture”
June 9, 2025 - Karessa Weir
Four MSU Sociology students, in collaboration with an MSU Sociology faculty member, have published research on how college students perceive and engage in hookup culture on campus.
Sociology senior academic advisor Regan Kania wins “Initiative of the Year” award
May 20, 2025 - Karessa Weir
Regan Kania, Senior Academic Advisor for MSU Sociology and College of Social Science has been honored for his work toward student success.
Dr. M. Isabel Ayala: Spartan Bus Tour “gifted me with a renewed sense of purpose”
May 13, 2025 - Karessa Weir
Dr. M. Isabel Ayala, MSU Sociology Associate Professor and Director of the Chicano/Latino Studies Program, was one of 60 faculty and administrators to join MSU President Kevin Guskiewicz on the latest Spartan Bus Tour focusing on Detroit.
MSU Department of Sociology and Future of Work Initiative host lecture with author Allison Pugh
May 2, 2025 - Emily Jodway Patyna
The Michigan State University College of Social Science welcomed bestselling author Allison Pugh to campus on April 22 for a lecture and Q&A session regarding new book, “The Last Human Job: The Work of Connecting in a Disconnected World.” The event was sponsored by the Future of Work Initiative and the Sociology department, and brought together students and faculty interested in learning more about the ways in which technology and work are changing and evolving.
MSU Sociology student Emma Huizenga wins this year’s Ruth Hamilton All University Award
May 1, 2025 - Karessa Weir
The Ruth Hamilton Award is one of MSU's “All-University Awards for Excellence,” which has a perpetual endowment, and is named after Dr. Ruth Simms Hamilton, a distinguished sociologist whose work over decades made major contributions to the understanding of the African Diaspora. Dr. Hamilton also made significant contributions to sociological theory and to our understanding of international migration, urbanization, and inequality.
Lauren Golden selected as Outstanding Sociology Senior for 2025
April 28, 2025 - Karessa Weir
“Lauren Golden is outstanding! As someone who regularly teaches hundreds of students each semester, Lauren shines and stands out amongst the crowd. I have had the great pleasure of working with Lauren in a number of capacities including faculty/student, mentor/research assistant, faculty/ULA, among others. Working with Lauren is joyful and I will miss her as she heads off to do amazing things at Oxford University (and beyond!),” said Undergraduate Program Director Dr. Sarah Prior.
Dr. Sarah Prior named Undergraduate Research Faculty Mentor of the Year for MSU
April 24, 2025 - Karessa Weir
MSU Sociology Associate Professor Sarah Prior is the 2025 Undergraduate Research Faculty Mentor for Social Science, Arts and the Humanities.
14 Sociology majors inducted into national honor society
April 18, 2025
MSU Sociology has inducted 14 Sociology majors into the Gamma Chapter of Alpha Kappa Delta, the international Sociology honors society on April 10.
New rankings put MSU Sociology on the top of the world
April 9, 2025
A newly released report has ranked MSU Sociology as the third top Sociology academic institution in the world based on the numbers of citations of MSU Sociology faculty in the last five years.
Sociology major Kaylin Casper earns Giving Back Award from Honors College
April 4, 2025 - Karessa Weir and Sloane Barlow
For Sociology junior Kaylin Casper, “giving back” means advocating for people who have traditionally been unseen by the American majority including indigenous people, the LGBTQ+ community and women. She’s lobbied before Congress, advocated endlessly on campus, volunteered hours for a presidential campaign and helps students individually with their writing.
CSS researchers hope to identify mental health needs of Southeast Asian refugees in the Lansing area
March 20, 2025 - Karessa Weir and Katie Frey
A new research project funded by the College of Social Science will investigate the mental health needs of Southeast Asian refugees in the Lansing area and what barriers prevent them from getting services.
SOC assistant professor diving into land and climate-related causes of the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar
March 20, 2025 - Karessa Weir
Dr. Saleh Ahmed, Assistant Professor of Sociology, is researching the roles that climate change, land laws and food insecurity have played on the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya in Myanmar.
MSU Sociology PhD candidate publishes research on Syrian refugees
March 6, 2025
Ezgi Karaoğlu, together with Dr. Stephanie Nawyn, published "Self-settlement and the Challenges of Local Integration of Syrians in the Absence of Government Support" in the journal Refugee Survey Quarterly.
MSU Sociology professor publishes new book on sustainable agrifood systems in Japan
March 5, 2025
Building Sustainable Agrifood Systems and Resilient Rural Communities in Japan explores the challenges Japan has been facing as a post-industrialized society. Through case studies across rural Japan, this book shows how these challenges are being addressed in terms of reorganizing agriculture, food systems, and rural livelihoods. Although the contexts surrounding rural areas in Japan are different from elsewhere in the world, this volume provides possible lessons on sustainability and adaptation.
Sociology major Kaylin Casper advances as a Truman Scholarship finalist
February 26, 2025
Kaylin Casper is one of two MSU students who are advancing to the final stages of the nationally competitive Truman Scholarship.
MSU Sociology alumna at the helm of the MSU Food Bank
February 11, 2025 - Karessa Weir
Kara Swain, MSU Sociology alumna and coordinator of the MSU Student Food Bank, started in August. She says she has already seen how the need of the food bank ebbs and flows. She says she is witnessing participants weather changes in the economy and balance classes with multiple jobs as they try to find enough food for their families.
Access Champion: Dr. Monique Kelly
February 10, 2025 - Emily Jodway
Throughout February, we celebrate Black History Month and the many struggles and accomplishments of Black individuals in America. Several of our outstanding faculty at Michigan State are a part of research surrounding racial and ethnic identity and its relationship to various societal issues. Dr. Monique Kelly, an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology, is one such researcher. As a scholar of racial dynamics involving individuals of Anglophone [English-speaking] Caribbean descent, and having been born and raised in Jamaica herself, she brings valuable insight into the unique experiences of this group.
MSU Sociology major Kaylin Casper nominated for a Truman Scholarship
February 7, 2025 - Karessa Weir
MSU Sociology junior Kaylin Casper is one of only three MSU students nominated for the prestigious Harry S Truman Scholarship.
SOC student earns Diversity Research award
January 31, 2025 - Emily Jodway
Second-year Sociology student Alana Mapp has won fourth place for her research in this year's Diversity Research Showcase.
MSU Sociology research looks into the ways universities harm students and how to regain trust
January 10, 2025 - Karessa Weir
New research published by MSU College of Social Science faculty shows that university students may be directly harmed by decisions that appear to prioritize institutional finances over students' wellbeing.
Student Spotlight: Audrey Vang
January 8, 2025 - Shelly DeJong
Meet Audrey Vang, a Psychology major double minoring in Youth and Society and Sociology.
Dr. Stephanie Nawyn discusses immigration on the 2024 State of the State podcast
January 2, 2025
MSU sociologist Stephanie Nawyn joins the group to discuss Michigan residents’ attitudes on immigration and refugees.