Department of Sociology

The Sociology program of Harbin Institute of Technology traces its origins to the Public Relations Teaching and Research Section, established in 1992, giving it more than 30 years of academic history. The department officially formed the Sociology Teaching and Research Section in 1995, earned approval for a second-level master’s program in Sociology in 1997, and began enrolling undergraduate students in Sociology for the first time in 1999. In 2005, the program was approved to offer a first-level master’s degree in Sociology, as well as a second-level doctoral program in the same year. By 2011, it had secured authorization for a first-level doctoral program in Sociology. In 2014, the program gained the authority to confer Master of Social Work (MSW) degrees. In 2021, it was selected for inclusion in the National First-Class Undergraduate Program Development Initiative, and in 2023, it was approved to grant second bachelor’s degrees in Sociology. Most recently, in 2024, the program was accredited to offer dual-degree programs in “Sociology and Big Data” and “Sociology with Information Management.”

Currently, the Department of Sociology has 15 faculty members. Among them, 6 are doctoral supervisors specializing in this field, while 4 serve as doctoral advisors in related disciplines. Most of the faculty members earned their graduate degrees from prestigious institutions such as Peking University, Tsinghua University, Renmin University of China, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Nankai University, and Jilin University. Thanks to the dedicated efforts of all faculty members, the Sociology program has achieved outstanding results in both teaching and research.

The Department of Sociology is the founding institution of the Lifestyle Studies, Network Sociology, and Industrial Sociology Professional Committees under the Chinese Sociological Society. It also hosts three provincial- and ministerial-level research bases: the Heilongjiang Provincial Research Base for Social Organizations and Social Development (2020), the Heilongjiang Provincial Center for Social Engineering Research (2011), and the Heilongjiang Provincial Research Base for Public Services and Social Security (2006). Additionally, the department leads a university-level think tank project.  

Over the years, the department has secured nearly 30 nationally funded research projects—ranging from major, key, general, to youth-oriented initiatives under the National Social Science Foundation, as well as projects supported by the National Natural Science Foundation—across key research areas such as network sociology, urban and social governance, and development studies. Furthermore, it has received close to 50 scientific research awards at the provincial and ministerial levels.

Relying on a strong and well-established faculty team, the Department of Sociology has established an integrated undergraduate-to-doctoral program structure consisting of “4 undergraduate majors, 2 master's degree programs, and 1 doctoral program in Sociology as a first-level discipline,” thereby creating a comprehensive and seamless undergraduate-to-doctoral curriculum. Highlighting strengths in engineering of Harbin Institute of Technology, the department emphasizes a new approach to liberal arts education and graduate training that integrates humanities with engineering and combines science with education. It incorporates methodologies such as social computing, social simulation, and big data into its curriculum, while placing a strong focus on cultivating students' societal competencies.

Students will develop practical skills in research methodologies. Through systematic study of sociological knowledge and methods, sociology majors are well-equipped to excel in a variety of roles in the digital age—whether in journalism, international organizations, government public policy departments, or corporate settings. They can successfully take on positions involving consulting, survey work, data analysis, and research-oriented tasks. In recent years, graduates from sociology programs at the undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral levels have consistently ranked among the top performers in terms of employment rates across the entire university, earning positive feedback from their employers.