For the first time in its history, the National University of Colombia has a Department of Sociology. Organized temporarily within the Faculty of Economic Sciences, the new department is directed by Orlando Fals Borda, a Colombian sociologist trained in the United States, author of widely known studies of Latin American peasant societies, and since January 1959 Director General of the Ministry of Agriculture. The department starts with fundamental courses and contemplates giving degrees after the fourth year. Fifty-six persons applied for admission in the first year.