Oxford's Sociology Department amongst the best in the world

       

Image
Department of Sociology (John Cairns)

The Sociology Department at the University of Oxford has been ranked second in the world, according to the 2023 QS World University Rankings by Subject

The 2023 edition names the world's best universities for the study of 54 academic disciplines - rankings provide comparative analysis of the performance of 15,703 individual programmes at 1,594 universities in 93 locations across the globe.

The University of Oxford was named as one of the world's top universities for the study of 42 subjects, including Sociology.

Professor Colin Mills, Director of Taught Courses, said:

We are thrilled that Oxford Sociology has retained its spot as one of the very best departments in the world.

Our consistently high scores show the importance we place on academic excellence and producing research with genuine, positive impact.

QS uses five metrics to compile the rankings: academic reputation, employer reputation, citations per paper (which measures research quality) and H-index citations (which measures research impact and productivity). Finally, the International Research Network (IRN) is also used to assess cross-border research collaboration.

The metrics are used to compile a score out of 100, with Oxford Sociology being given a score of 96.7 this year.

LATEST NEWS

Image of Heather Hamill

Professor Heather Hamill appointed new Head of Department

Graphic of AI

National context shapes AI’s transformation of sociology

Image of two men embracing

Study finds sexual role identities among gay and bisexual men vary by age and region

Image of Ozan Aksoy and Aron Szekely at the 2026 INAS Conference

Ozan Aksoy wins 2026 Robert K. Merton Award from International Network of Analytical Sociologists

.grid-listing .listing-item-wrapper.display-style-list.listing-item-wrapper.item-style-row_without_separator_square, .grid-listing .listing-item-wrapper.display-style-list.listing-item-wrapper.item-style-row_without_separator_no_image { border-bottom: solid 1px #182541; padding-bottom: 18px; } p { margin: 0 0 20px; } .wrapper-main h2, .wrapper-main h3, .wrapper-main h4, .wrapper-main h5, .wrapper-main h6 { color: #182541; } div.listing-item-wrapper article.listing-item.item-style-grouping-row.item-style-row_without_separator_square .listing-item-info-box-wrapper { display: none; } div.listing-item-wrapper article.listing-item.item-style-grouping-tile .listing-item-pub-date { font-style: normal; display: none; } .wrapper-main ul.nav-tabs { margin-bottom: 30px; } .nav-tabs > li.active > a::after { content: "\f0d7"; font-family: "Font Awesome 5 Free Solid","Font Awesome 5 Free","FontAwesome" !important; font-weight: 900; position: absolute; bottom: -25px; left: 40%; color: #182541; font-size: 1.65em; } .nav-tabs > li > a:hover::after { content: "\f0d7"; bottom: -25px; left: 40%; color: #182541; font-size: 1.65em; } .listing-item-wrapper article.listing-item.item-style-landscape_textoverlay_left_bottom .text-box-wrapper .text-box .text-box-row-2, .listing-item-wrapper article.listing-item.item-style-landscape_textoverlay_left_bottom .text-box-wrapper .text-box .text-box-row-1 { width: 100% !important; } .listing-item-wrapper article.listing-item.item-style-landscape_textoverlay_left_bottom .text-box-wrapper { width: 33%; } .fa-chevron-circle-right::before { content: "\f0da"; font-size: 0.75em; } body.chevron-right :not(.item-style-grouping-card) .hvr-icon-grow::before { content: "\f0da"; } .wrapper-main .paragraphs-item-symplectic-publications-listing .publication-listing article.listing-list-style { background-color: white; border-bottom: 1px solid; } .wrapper-main .paragraphs-item-symplectic-publications-listing .publication-listing .views-row-even article.listing-list-style, .wrapper-main .paragraphs-item-symplectic-publications-listing .publication-listing article.listing-list-style :hover, .wrapper-main .paragraphs-item-symplectic-publications-listing .publication-listing .views-row-odd article.listing-list-style { background-color: white; } .oxdrupal-symplectic-publications-list-item.listing-list-style { padding: 20px 0; } article.listing-list-style .list-style-title h3 p { font-size: 1.5em; font-weight: 600; color: #182541; margin-bottom: 20px} .paragraphs-item-symplectic-publications-listing article.listing-list-style { font-weight: 300; } .list-style-symplectic-publication-parent-title { color: #e6006b; } .grid-listing .listing-item-wrapper.display-style-list.item-style-feed_twitter_full { margin-bottom: 20px; } .tweet-media { display: none; } div.listing-item-wrapper article.listing-item.item-style-grouping-row.item-style-row_without_separator_no_image .listing-item-info-box-wrapper { display: none; } .listing-item-wrapper article.listing-item.item-style-row_without_separator_no_image .text-box-wrapper .text-box-and-chevron-wrapper .text-wrapper { padding-left: 0px; }
.grid-listing .listing-item-wrapper.display-style-list.listing-item-wrapper.item-style-row_without_separator_square, .grid-listing .listing-item-wrapper.display-style-list.listing-item-wrapper.item-style-row_without_separator_no_image { border-bottom: solid 1px #182541; padding-bottom: 18px; } p { margin: 0 0 20px; } .wrapper-main h2, .wrapper-main h3, .wrapper-main h4, .wrapper-main h5, .wrapper-main h6 { color: #182541; } div.listing-item-wrapper article.listing-item.item-style-grouping-row.item-style-row_without_separator_square .listing-item-info-box-wrapper { display: none; } div.listing-item-wrapper article.listing-item.item-style-grouping-tile .listing-item-pub-date { font-style: normal; display: none; } .wrapper-main ul.nav-tabs { margin-bottom: 30px; } .nav-tabs > li.active > a::after { content: "\f0d7"; font-family: "Font Awesome 5 Free Solid","Font Awesome 5 Free","FontAwesome" !important; font-weight: 900; position: absolute; bottom: -25px; left: 40%; color: #182541; font-size: 1.65em; } .nav-tabs > li > a:hover::after { content: "\f0d7"; bottom: -25px; left: 40%; color: #182541; font-size: 1.65em; } .listing-item-wrapper article.listing-item.item-style-landscape_textoverlay_left_bottom .text-box-wrapper .text-box .text-box-row-2, .listing-item-wrapper article.listing-item.item-style-landscape_textoverlay_left_bottom .text-box-wrapper .text-box .text-box-row-1 { width: 100% !important; } .listing-item-wrapper article.listing-item.item-style-landscape_textoverlay_left_bottom .text-box-wrapper { width: 33%; } .fa-chevron-circle-right::before { content: "\f0da"; font-size: 0.75em; } body.chevron-right :not(.item-style-grouping-card) .hvr-icon-grow::before { content: "\f0da"; } .wrapper-main .paragraphs-item-symplectic-publications-listing .publication-listing article.listing-list-style { background-color: white; border-bottom: 1px solid; } .wrapper-main .paragraphs-item-symplectic-publications-listing .publication-listing .views-row-even article.listing-list-style, .wrapper-main .paragraphs-item-symplectic-publications-listing .publication-listing article.listing-list-style :hover, .wrapper-main .paragraphs-item-symplectic-publications-listing .publication-listing .views-row-odd article.listing-list-style { background-color: white; } .oxdrupal-symplectic-publications-list-item.listing-list-style { padding: 20px 0; } article.listing-list-style .list-style-title h3 p { font-size: 1.5em; font-weight: 600; color: #182541; margin-bottom: 20px} .paragraphs-item-symplectic-publications-listing article.listing-list-style { font-weight: 300; } .list-style-symplectic-publication-parent-title { color: #e6006b; } .grid-listing .listing-item-wrapper.display-style-list.item-style-feed_twitter_full { margin-bottom: 20px; } .tweet-media { display: none; } div.listing-item-wrapper article.listing-item.item-style-grouping-row.item-style-row_without_separator_no_image .listing-item-info-box-wrapper { display: none; } .listing-item-wrapper article.listing-item.item-style-row_without_separator_no_image .text-box-wrapper .text-box-and-chevron-wrapper .text-wrapper { padding-left: 0px; }