The Department of Sociology began its teaching programme with the opening of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences in the academic year 1987. Social Work was introduced in 2001 as a sub-discipline and a second stream of specialisation together with sociology. Since its inauguration the Department has partly recruited its teaching staff from sisterly Arab countries; but now it has qualified Omani staff with promising potential to enrich and evolve a distinguished scientific future for the Department.
The total number of students graduated in the Department since the inauguration of the teaching programme and until the academic year 2006/2007 amounted to 831 students (both males and females). In addition to that there are 39 graduate students enrolled in MA programme.
From the beginning the Department always followed the latest intellectual, professional and methodological developments in its areas of specialisation in accord with the requirements to upgrade and improve its teaching and research programmes, the actual needs of national developments and the demands of the labour market.