This paper presents a survey of concepts in commutative algebra that have applications to topology and graph theory. The primary algebraic focus will be on Stanley-Reisner rings, classes of polynomial rings that can describe simplicial complexes. Stanley-Reisner rings are defined via square-free monomial ideals. The paper will present many aspects of the theory of these ideals and discuss how they relate to important constructions in commutative algebra, such as finite generation of ideals, graded rings and modules, localization and associated primes, primary decomposition of ideals and Hilbert series. In particular, the primary decomposition and Hilbert series for certain types of monomial ideals will be analyzed through explicit examples of simplicial complexes and graphs.

Toric face rings are a generalization of Stanley-Reisner rings and affine monoid rings. New problems and results are obtained by a systematic study of toric face rings, shedding new lights to the understanding of Stanley-Reisner rings and affine monoid rings. We study algebra retracts of Stanley-Reisner rings, in particular, classify all the $\mathbb{Z}$-graded algebra retracts. We consider the Koszul property of toric face rings via Betti numbers and properties of the defining ideal. The last chapter is devoted to local cohomology of seminormal toric face rings and applications to singularities of toric face rings in positive characteristics.