農村社會學是一個傳統上與農村社會結構和沖突研究相關的社會學領域，盡管諸如糧食和農業或自然資源獲取等主題領域超越了傳統的農村空間邊界（社會學指南2011）。它是世界上許多地方的一個活躍領域，起源于1910年代的美國，與國家農業部和土地授予大學農業學院有著密切的聯系。食品與農業社會學是農村社會學的研究熱點之一，其研究領域大多集中于農業生產經濟學。其他研究領域包括農村移民和其他人口模式、環境社會學、以便利設施為導向的發展、公共土地政策、所謂的“新興”發展、社會混亂、自然資源社會學（包括森林、采礦、漁業和其他地區）、農村文化、身份認同、農村衛生保健和教育。國家政策。許多農村社會學家從事發展研究、社區研究、社區發展和環境研究。大部分研究涉及發展中國家或第三世界。

Rural sociology is a field of sociology traditionally associated with the study of social structure and conflict in rural areas although topical areas such as food and agriculture or natural resource access transcend traditional rural spatial boundaries (Sociology Guide 2011). It is an active field in much of the world, originating in the United States in the 1910s with close ties to the national Department of Agriculture and land-grant university colleges of agriculture.[1]The sociology of food and agriculture is one focus of rural sociology, and much of the field is dedicated to the economics of farm production. Other areas of study include rural migration and other demographic patterns, environmental sociology, amenity-led development, public lands policies, so-called "boomtown" development, social disruption, the sociology of natural resources (including forests, mining, fishing and other areas), rural cultures, and identities, rural health care, and educational policies. Many rural sociologists work in the areas of development studies, community studies, community development, and environmental studies. Much of the research involves developing countries or the Third World.