Balkan Ethnology Department has been established as a separate section of the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum (Ethnographic Institute with Museum, BAS) in 2005. The Department covers wide spectrum of research fields in the sphere of the Balkan ethnology. The main research interests of its members are directed to the issues of identity and ethnic culture (in its traditional and contemporary dimensions) of the Balkan nations and various minority communities, migration processes, and different types of socio-cultural mobility on the Balkans.

The Balkan Ethnology Department maintains active cooperation with research and teaching institutions and associations in different countries in Europe, Asia and America. The members of the Department participate in a number of research projects (both national and international). They have significant record of publications (in Bulgaria and abroad) and of participation in various academic forums, national and international congresses, conferences, seminars, and workshops.

Another activity of the Balkan Ethnology Department is the preparation of PhD students with various academic profiles. The Department offer specialized PhD courses, which are also available for PhD students from other institutions of BAS, as well as from universities in Bulgaria and abroad. Delivering lectures to post-doctoral students, post-graduates and research fellows from the country and abroad is a main accent as well. The members of the Department are lecturing in a number of universities in Bulgaria and abroad.

Offered PhD courses:

Ethnology of the Balkans, Balkan and Slavic Folklore, Calendar Customs of the Balkan Nations, Gypsies/Roma (History, Traditions, Modern Times),

Multiculture and Identity: Traditional Crafts at the Balkans (XVIII-mid. – XX c.).

Issues: The Balkan Ethnology Department publishes thematic series and books, primarily in its specialized issues: Series Academica Balkanicа and Library Academica Balkanica.