[4] The college includes nine major departments: Anthropology, Economics, Geography, History, Political Science, Psychology, The School of Family Life, Social Work, and Sociology.

They offer an average of 140 classes each year including courses in African, Asian, European, Latin American, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and United States history.

The department has numerous affiliates, namely the Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy at BYU,[12] the Political and Economic Development Labs,[13] and WomanStats Project.

Possible sequences to follow include research and analysis; public policy/law/criminology; family/social work/public policy; business; liberal education degree; academic sociology; and international or domestic development.

CSED focuses on the production and dissemination of research that meets high academic standards, is useful to policy makers, and informs citizens.

[23] The Redd Center regularly sponsors public lectures to allow scholars to share research and invite the people to learn more about the Intermountain West.

[24] Center Web Page: https://reddcenter.byu.edu/ The Child and Family Studies Laboratory was created to train BYU students in appropriate teaching techniques for young children to be used in the home, church, and professional settings by modeling a developmentally appropriate preschool program.

[25] Laboratory Web Page: https://preschool.byu.edu/ The BYU Comprehensive Clinic offers counseling services for individuals, couples, and families in the Utah County community.

Since the Clinic is also a research and training facility, counseling is provided by graduate student interns under the close supervision of experienced faculty who are licensed therapists.

[27] Center Web Page: https://familystudiescenter.byu.edu/ The Museum of Peoples and Cultures cares for the anthropological, archaeological, and ethnographic collections in the custody of the university.

It also facilitates teaching and research on peoples and cultures by BYU faculty, staff, students, and by members of the scholarly community in peer institutions.

[31] Office Web Page: https://civicengagement.byu.edu/ The American Heritage Center oversees a general education course by the same name that all students must take to graduate.

[33] Center Web Page: https://fhssrsc.byu.edu/ The College of Family Living was led by director, Royden C. Braithwaite, and from 1955 to 1981, by deans Marion C. Pfund, Jack B. Trunnell, Virginia F. Cutler, and Blaine R. Porter.

The chair was named in honor of the father of Charlie Redd, who settled and developed Latter-day Saint communities in the slickrock desert of southeastern Utah and established a sprawling livestock empire.

Other prominent alumni include Neil L. Anderson, Member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who graduated in 1975 with a bachelor's degree in economics.

Todd Christensen, former tight end for the NFL's Oakland Raiders and New York Giants, winner of Super Bowl XV in 1981, and former ESPN commentator for 23 years, graduated with a degree in social work in 1978.

Steve Sarkisian, former head football coach at the University of Southern California, earned his bachelor's degree in sociology from BYU in 1997.

And Marc Wilson, quarterback for the NFL's Oakland Raiders, Greenbay Packers, and New England Patriots, and a consensus All-American in 1979, received a bachelor's degree in economics from BYU in 1980.

In 2016, research from family life professor Sarah M. Coyne found that Disney Princess culture magnifies stereotypes in young girls.

[38] Family life professor Larry Nelson lead a study that found that individuals who use problematic media (violent video games, gambling, pornography) become more withdrawn over the course of a year.

[39] Family life professor Sarah M. Coyne found that children who frequently engage with superhero culture are more likely to be physically and relationally aggressive one year later.

[40] In 2017, School of Family Life assistant professor Alex Jensen revealed that the perception of favoritism may have more effect on a child-parent relationship than was previously considered.

[41] In 2019, Adam Rogers, professor of family life, found that many adolescents do not have the cognitive skills and resources to competently deal with the challenging aspects of relationships.

[45] Researchers at BYU found that how individuals perceive the space (too crowded or too spread out) in their homes has more of an effect on family functioning than actual characteristics, such as the size of the house or number of bedrooms.

[47] Research led by Sarah Coyne, a professor of family life at Brigham Young University, found that the amount of time spent on social media is not directly increasing anxiety or depression in teenagers.

[55] BYU's Center for Family History and Genealogy teamed up with the University of Washington to trace cancer-causing variants back to common ancestors to prevent hereditary cancer.

[56] Psychology professor Chad Jensen found that using a cell phone in 'Night Shift' will not help a user fall or stay asleep.

[57] Professors Timothy Smith and Julianne Holt-Lunstad found that interpersonal relationships are key parts of medical treatment plans and help patients reduce stress and live longer.