The Department of Sociology is the successor and bearer of the traditions of the Lviv Sociological School. Its development and formation have acquired special significance with the independence of Ukraine. The first Department of Sociology, which was headed by Dr. of Economic Sciences, Prof. A. Khoronzhyi, was established at the University of Lviv in 1991 at the Faculty of Economics (1991-2009), and the first graduates in Sociology date back to 1995. During the existence of the department 2 Doctoral and 8 Candidates’ theses have been defended by its employees and postgraduate students. From 1992 till 2005 there was a scientific unit – a laboratory of sociological research on the basis of the department.

A significant stage in the development of sociology at the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv was the creation of the Department of Theory and History of Sociology at the Faculty of History. The department was established in 2002 and headed by Dr. of Sociological Sciences, Prof. N. Chernysh. In 2006 with the participation of the department, the University Monitoring Center was established. Its main task is to study the public opinion of students and the academic community on various problems of the functioning of the university and ways of reforming of higher education. In 2007, the department launched the International Lviv Sociological Forum and the publication of “Bulletin of Lviv University. Sociological series”, which became a professional publication in sociology in 2009 and since 2018 it has been included in the Index Copernicus (IC) scientometric database. Since the department’s establishment 14 Ph.D. theses have been defended by postgraduate students.

Since September 1, 2016, the Academic Council of the University of Lviv renamed the Department of History and Theory of Sociology into the Department of Sociology. Since July 1, 2017, the department is headed by Dr. of Sociological Sciences, Prof. Yu. Pachkovskyy. Right now there are 11 teachers at the department. Among them: three Professors, Doctors of Sociological Sciences (Yu. Pachkovskyy, N. Kovalisko, N. Chernysh), seven Candidates of Sciences, Associate Professors (O. Demkiv, O. Kalyniak, O. Kozachenko, A. Kudrynska T. Lapan, O. Rovenchak, R. Savchynskyi), two Assistants, Candidates of Sciences (T. Marusiak, O. Khymovych). The department prepares sociologists-bachelors in two specializations “Applied Sociology” and “Business Sociology” in the framework of the educational and professional program “Sociology”. The department fulfills teaching specialists in the master’s program in two specializations: Social Analytics and Social Design and Expertise, as well as teaching of postgraduate students in the framework of PhD programs in the specialty “Sociology”. In May 2016, a specialized academic council K 35.051.26 was created with the right to consider and conduct defense of dissertations for the degree of Candidate of Sociological Sciences in the specialty 22.00.04 “Special and branch sociologies” (academic council is valid to the end of 2020).

All teaching courses are provided by the department methodically: each discipline (teaching curriculum, course description) is presented on the department’s website; there is a number of manuals on various subjects, as well as complexes of tests. The department has a library staffed by the Civic Education project of the International Renaissance Foundation, which has more than 1,000 positions in various scientific literature on sociology. The members of the department are the authors of numerous textbooks and manuals: “Sociology: a textbook on the rating-modular learning system” (conducted by N. Chernysh, 2009); “Sociology and Psychology” (a group of authors, 2009); “Fundamentals of social stratification: textbook” (N. Kovalisko, 2009); “Sociology: textbook” (a group of authors, 2011); “Sociology: teaching curriculum for the preparation of bachelors: textbook for students of higher educational institutions” (a group of authors, 2011); “Sociology: Answers to exam questions: textbook” (a group of authors, 2012); “The stratification analysis of modern society: textbook” (N. Kovalisko, 2012); “The history of Sociology. Vol. 1: textbook” (T. Lapan, 2007); “Sociology of law and deviant behavior: textbook” (O. Demkiv, 2007); “Fundamentals of economic sociology: textbook” (N. Kovalisko, A. Kudrynska, 2016); “Sociology of migration: international aspects: textbook” (O. Rovenchak, 2017); “Psychology of Entrepreneurship: textbook. 4th edition” (Yu. Pachkovskyy, 2017).

The department maintains contacts with leading scientific and research centers of Ukraine (Institute of Sociology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, sociological departments of Kyiv and Kharkiv Universities, sociologists from Odessa, Uzhhorod, Zaporizhzhia, East-European Universities etc.). The department has wide connections and conducts a number of joint educational and research projects with foreign centers of university education, sociologists from the UK, Canada, Poland, the USA, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, etc.