Sociology

Course summary

Sociology is the study of people in society. It enables you to develop an understanding of human behaviour and the workings of society. The study of sociology will enable you to be more accepting of differences between people, cultures and practices in society. In the first year of study, knowledge and understanding are developed and applied to specific areas of social life - families and households; education, poverty and welfare. Each area studied will help you to develop an in-depth understanding of the variety of complexities experienced living in families and education. In the first year sociology of education will be studied alongside research methods. The second year of study builds on the knowledge and understanding gained in the first year. Sociological study is more involved with a greater proportion of time given to evaluating the ideas sociologists have developed to explain social phenomena. The application of such ideas is based in the studies of Global development, Crime and Deviance and sociological theories. The main theme running through the course is globalisation, i.e. the impact of global factors on individuals, groups and societies. The skills being developed during the two years will be research, analysis, evaluation and problem solving. A wide variety of jobs including management, welfare, Social Services, teaching, retailing, police, social work, nursing. There exists a variety of degree courses in Sociology, studied as either a single honour degree, joint honours degree or as part of a modular programme.