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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.