Huazhong University of Science and Technology is one of the earliest universities in China to restore and reconstruct the discipline of sociology. In 1980, the Sociology Research Office was established. In 1982, the 3rd Chinese Sociology Workshop and the Inaugural Meeting of the Chinese Sociological Association were held in our school. The famous sociologists Fei Xiaotong and Lei Jieqiong attended the meeting and taught in person. In 1983, the Institute of Sociology was established. In 1985, the Department of Sociology was established, and the well-known sociologist Professor Wang Kang was the first dean of the department. In the 1990s, our school's sociology discipline developed rapidly, and a number of influential achievements were made in the fields of industrial sociology, scientific sociology, social research methods, and social issues research. Many high-profile experts and scholars emerged. For more than 30 years, several generations of scholars in the Department of Sociology have embarked on a unique path of the discipline development.

Reasonable Academic Layout

The development of disciplines follows the clear thinking of theory-problem-institution-service, and each of the secondary disciplines supports each other, initially forming a disciplinary layout in which sociology, social work, social security, and demography supported each other. Our school has two undergraduate majors in sociology and social work, a doctoral degree and a master's degree in sociology, a doctoral degree and a master's degree in social security as a secondary discipline, and a master's degree in social work. Sociology in our school is a provincial key discipline in Hubei Province, and there is also a postdoctoral station of sociology.

Strong Research Capability

Our school initially formed four research teams in rural sociology, social security, demography, and social work. In the 2012 subject evaluation, our school's discipline if sociology ranked among the top ten. Per capita research funding, vertical projects, and scientific research awards are among the best; the quality of academic papers ranks in the top three in the country, and the scientific research level ranks seventh in the country.

High Reputation

Our department is in partnership with the vice president of the Chinese Sociological Association, the president of the Hubei Provincial Sociological Association, the deputy director of the Sociology Teaching and Learning Committee of the Ministry of Education, the social work professional postgraduate teaching committee member and the anthropology teaching committee member, China Association for Social Work Education Huazhong District director. Our school has established a “professional social worker talents training base” approved by the Ministry of Civil Affairs. We have established long-term partner relationships with nearly 10 universities including the University of California at Berkeley and Arizona State University. We also have a group of outstanding alumni with excellent achievements and great influence.

Prospects

The Department of Sociology will be oriented to the needs of the society, and will be based on the subject's attributes, and will focus on the intersections and integration of multiples disciplines. With the five principles of discipline development, namely teaching and research, talents introduction and training, team building and personality development, basic research and applied research, discipline strength and academic reputation, based on the existing advantages, we will choose to cultivate major research fields, serve the country and major local needs, and strive to re-form a new chapter on the development of Chinese sociology.