The Institute of Sociology and Gender Studies of the German Sport University Cologne covers a broad field of research in both fundamental and applied topics. At the same time, the Institute is represented in almost all courses of study at GSU. The subject of the Institute’s research is sociality, meaning the interactive constitution of social structures (e.g. social norms, organisational cultures) and social behaviour in sport-related contexts (e.g. sport education, sport reporting).

With this perspective, the Department of “Sociology of Sport” and the Department of “Gender & Diversity Studies” focus on and analyse various social phenomena, e.g. socialisation and careers in sport, age/ageing and involvement in sport, disability sport, sport organisations' enactment of sustainability, sport coaching and gender equity, gendered stereotyping of athletes in the media, diversity in physical education and the causes and conditions of sexualised violence in sport. The following guiding principles are relevant to our research and teaching:

• conducting theory-driven, empirical research using different frames of reference and various methods (including surveys, interviews, observation, content analysis)
• maintaining international networks with colleagues in international associations of sociology of sport (including EASS, ISSA) and collaborating internationally
• combining research and teaching in such a way that students develop reflective knowledge and skills on current social issues
• accompanying the transfer of research results into society, so that these can be used by institutions and organised sport as knowledge for action.

Our research projects are financed by various third-party funders, for example, the European Commission/ Erasmus+ Community Sport and Movement for Social Cohesion [Voices for Truth and Dignity]; Qualifizierung von Frauen für den Trainerberuf ; the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research [“Safe Sport” Prevention of Sexualised Violence in Sport, Gender Bias in Sports Medicine, Sport as a School Subject 2020]; the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research of NRW (North Rhine-Westphalia) [Moving Age/Ageing – a Social-Structural Analysis of Sport in Old Age]; the German Federal Highway Research Institute [Gender-specific Accident Prevention]; DOSB/LSB NRW   [Sport is Fair, Gender  Mainstreaming  in Sport]; Krupp Foundation, Essen [First Report on Sport for German Children and Youth] and long-running institutionalised research projects such as [longitudinal analyses: up-to-date media coverage of athletes, Olympia - Visualisation in Print Media]