Ranked among the nation’s top programs,
Penn State’s Department of Sociology and Criminology offers comprehensive undergraduate and graduate education with a broad liberal arts focus, extensive faculty mentorship, and academic rigor in topics like family, religion, crime, and the criminal justice system.
Sociology
Penn State Sociology, ranked among the nation’s top programs, offers undergraduates a broad liberal arts education with courses in family, religion, government, and race, class, and gender. The graduate program combines academic rigor with flexible study options, and faculty provide active mentorship.
Criminology
Penn State Criminology is a top-ranked program offering undergraduates a deep understanding of crime, human behavior, and government policy. The graduate program emphasizes theory, methods, statistics, and key criminological issues, with extensive faculty mentorship throughout.
Award Spotlight
Associate Professor of Sociology
Honors Program Adviser for Sociology and Criminology
Affiliated Faculty, Social Science Research Institute (SSRI), Rock Ethics Institute (REI), Social Thought Program, and Religious Studies Minor
Gary Adler Jr. was one of four College of the Liberal Arts faculty members who received Fulbright Scholar Awards for the 2023-24 academic year.
Research Spotlight
Associate Professor of Sociology and Demography
Co-Funded Faculty, Social Science Research Institute (SSRI)
An American born in 2019 will spend a larger share of their lifetime taking prescription drugs than being married or receiving an education, according to new research by Jessica Ho.
Award Spotlight
Professor of Sociology and Criminology
Eric Silver’s commitment to seeking diverse viewpoints in the classroom was recently acknowledged by Heterodox Academy, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization devoted to improving higher education institutions by promoting the virtues of viewpoint diversity, open inquiry, and constructive disagreement. He was one of seven winners of the 2023 Heterodox Academy Open Inquiry Awards.
Award Spotlight
John Kramer Professor Emeritus of Sociology and Criminology
Darrell Steffensmeier received one of his field’s most prestigious honors— the American Society of Criminology’s (ASC) 2023 Edwin H. Sutherland Award.
Award Spotlight
Assistant Professor of Sociology and Public Policy
Affiliated Faculty, Rock Ethics Institute (REI), Consortium on Substance Use and Addiction (CSUA), Social Science Research Institute (SSRI), Population Research Institute (PRI)
Co-Funded Faculty, Social Science Research Institute (SSRI)
Sarah Brothers received the 2024 College of the Liberal Arts' Roy C Buck Award, which recognizes the best paper accepted or published by an untenured, tenure-track assistant professor in the college within the last year.
Research Spotlight
Roy C. Buck Professor of American Institutions and Sociology, Labor and Employment Relations, and Women's Studies
Associate Director, Population Research Institute (PRI)
Steady employment has long been the assumed standard associated with the American man, especially by the baby boomer generation. New research is pushing back on the archetype and shedding light on the potential consequences of upholding the “breadwinner” ideology in a labor market in which reality is strikingly different.
October 29, 2024
noon–1:30 p.m.
102 Weaver Building