department of sociology at RUPP was instituted to aid in the rehabilitation of Cambodia, after two decades of conflict and civil war. The degree of Bachelor of Arts in Sociology was established in 1994 under the direction of the Ministry of Education, with assistance from the Italian NGO, New Humanity. It was established to equip Cambodian students with the knowledge and skills necessary to assist the government in making informed policy decisions and strategies for alleviating social problems in Cambodia. Initially, faculty from the Departments of Philosophy, History, Geography and Khmer Literature were retrained in sociology by specialists furnished by New Humanity, Italy.

Since that time, graduates of the sociology program have also gone on to join the departmental staff. Over the past few years, faculty staff have been involved in research and training in conjunction with New Humanity, Italy and the Heinrich-Boll Foundation as well as other universities and NGOs, including World Vision, National University of Shishu and the Japan Institute of Labor.