Discover the forces shaping rural life
Strengthening rural futures through Research.
Our Mission
The Rural Sociological Society (RSS) is a professional association that promotes the generation, application and dissemination of social scientific knowledge. The Society seeks to enhance the quality of rural life, communities, and the environment, both in North America and elsewhere in the world.
What We Do
Rural communities are dynamic, diverse, and central to the most pressing issues of our time. Since its founding in 1937, the RSS has traced changes in rural lives and livelihoods, demography, community structures and economies, technologies, environmental conditions, agriculture, and food systems. The Society brings together researchers, practitioners, extension experts, students, and advocates who are committed to understanding and supporting rural communities through rigorous scholarship and engaged collaboration. RSS’s core activities are our peer-reviewed journal– Rural Sociology, our annual conference, and support for communities of scholars concerned with specific rural topics. Through these activities, RSS provides leadership in scholarship, informing policies, and advocacy for rural people and places.
Shared Values at the Rural Sociological Society
RSS brings together scholars and practitioners committed to understanding and improving rural life. The Society fosters impactful scholarship that aims to shape policy and support vibrant rural futures. We are grounded in the values of rigorous scholarship, free inquiry, civil discourse, and social inclusion. We affirm the dignity and rights of all people, and we are committed to supporting all rural people and places.
Our Work in Action
Become a Part of RSS
Why Join RSS? RSS offers multiple opportunities to interact with others who share interests in rural people and places both in the United States and internationally. By joining RSS, you become part of a long-standing tradition of inquiry and action. Members contribute to the advancement of rural sociology through our journal, conferences, research and interest groups (RIGs), and policy engagement. Whether you’re a seasoned scholar or just beginning your journey, RSS offers a place to connect, learn, and lead. A subscription to our journal Rural Sociology is included with membership. RSS members also receive a discounted registration rate to our annual meeting.
Prefer to support our mission another way?
Your donation helps us support student researchers, publish groundbreaking work, and advance rural scholarship.
Make a contribution
RSS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
All donations are tax-deductible and directly support our mission and programs.
Members in the News
