Utah State University
Department of SSW&A
0730 Old Main Hill
Logan, UT 84322-0730
Tel. 435-797-1230
Fax 435-797-1240
ann.johns@usu.edu

department of
Sociology, Social Work & Anthropology

I want to personally welcome you to the web site of the Department of Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology at Utah State University. Through this web site, we want to share information with prospective students, and to communicate with colleagues, alumni, and friends of the department to maintain a sense of community.

The Department of Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology represents diverse programs with common goals: excellence in teaching, research, and service. Teaching is a primary emphasis and strength in the department. We offer an array of courses on central issues and topics in each of our respective disciplines. Faculty members are dedicated to excellence in teaching. For example, our faculty members have earned national awards for distinguished contributions to undergraduate education; written nationally disseminated textbooks; and developed exemplary hands-on learning experiences working with clients in community social-services agencies.

The Sociology and Anthropology programs participate in the college's Undergraduate Teaching Fellows (UGTF) Program in which the best and brightest undergraduate majors are competitively selected to be teaching assistants for Introductory Sociology and Anthropology courses. This enhances the learning experiences of students in the courses and UGTFs gain a sense of camaraderie and professional socialization.

Nearly all of our graduate students are supported by research and teaching assistantships or fellowships that partially support the financial costs of attending graduate school. Through these assignments, graduate students are exposed to numerous opportunities to gain hands-on experience in designing and conducting research projects and in developing the instructional skills and experiences needed to become effective educators.

We are extremely successful at placing our undergraduate majors in their respective fields. For example, we place our social work majors in public and private social-service agencies working with clients in the community. Our Anthropology majors, for example, have pursued careers in cultural resource management, museum work, and environmental impact assessment. Our sociology majors often go on to work in criminal-justice agencies or in personnel departments in the business community. Many of our department's majors continue on to graduate, law, or medical schools upon graduation.

Students completing masters degrees in sociology have gone on to excel in a variety of areas, ranging from pursuit of doctoral degrees in some of the best programs in the U.S. to important positions in government agencies and private-sector research firms. Our doctoral degree recipients have gone on to become well-known sociologists in major universities and agencies across the U.S. and the world.

Utah State University is a Carnegie (Research I) Doctoral Extensive University. Our department contributes significantly to the research mission of the university. Our faculty members are regularly awarded Researcher of the Year by our academic college, and our research funding totals in the mllions of dollars. Faculty members in our department have received research funding from the National Science Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the National Institute of Child and Maternal Health, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Research Initiative program, among other agencies. Our research findings have been instrumental in the development of social programs and policies. Our faculty members pride themselves in involving students in research from undergraduate research projects to scholarly publications with graduate and undergraduate students.

Regarding service, we support faculty governance and seek to maintain an equitable department environment that is conducive to the exchange of ideas about teaching and scholarly research. These values are expressed in the department's Guidelines for Faculty Load Allocation. We also encourage activity on campus, for example, with Faculty Senate; and our faculty occupy prominent positions in national professional organizations. We encourage our students to be involved in professional societies as part of their academic socialization.

The directors of the Law and Society Area Studies Program and the Population Research Laboratory are faculty members in our department. Sociology and Anthropology faculty are active in the Women's Studies Program and in Asian Studies. In addition, our department faculty participate in a Gerontology Certificate Program and an interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate Program in Natural Resources and Environmental Policy.

Excellence in teaching, research, and service...that is what our department is about. To get more information about the Department of Sociology, Social Work, and Anthropology, or to communicate your questions and comments to us, please contact us by mail, phone, FAX, or electronic mail. Thank you for your interest in the Department of Sociology, Social Work, and Anthropology at Utah State University.

Richard S. Krannich, Ph.D.
Department Head & Professor of Sociology
Utah State University

Department of Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology
Logan, Utah 84322-0730
V/TTY: 435-797-1241
FAX: 435-797-1240
richard.krannich@usu.edu

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