The Department of Sociology of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), created in 1985 as part of the Faculty of Political Sciences and Sociology, is a research intensive department offering high quality teaching in sociology in undergraduate courses and degrees, Master degrees and PhDs.

Since its creation in the middle of the 1980s, the Department has grown considerably in terms of teaching and research capacity. At present, the Department of Sociology has nine research groups working in areas such as immigration and ethnic minorities; education and youth transitions; analytical sociology and institutional design; feelings and emotions; infancy and family; religion, identities and culture; everyday life and work; education and social policies; women and gender.

In relation to teaching, the Department coordinates the Degree in Sociology, as well as the teaching of sociology courses in different faculties of the UAB. The Department is also in charge of two master programmes, one on Social Policy, Employment and Welfare, and another one on Education Policies for Global Development (Erasmus Plus), and organises a PhD programme in Sociology. This PhD programme, which started in the academic year 1986-87, enjoys the “quality award” of the Spanish Ministry for Economy and Competitiveness since 2006.

With the aim of disseminating original research and theoretical work in sociology and other related disciplines in the social sciences, the Department publishes the journal "Papers. Revista de Sociologia", a leading journal in the field of sociology, especially in the Spanish-speaking context.