UCAS code:
L301
|
Institution code:
S82
|
Location:
Ipswich
|
Duration:
Three years full-time. |
Typical Offer:
2023-24 and 2024-25 entry; 112 UCAS tariff points (or above), BBC (A-Level), DMM (BTEC), Merit (T Level). |
- Sociology connects with the reality of the skills needed for careers in the private and public sectors.
- Attention to context allows you to make more informed decisions.
- Benefit from small study groups and more time with your tutors.
- Graduates have a range of career options including social services, government and welfare services to name a few
Introduction
Sociology developed with the modern world and its key task is to analyse the changing nature of our social world. You will study important aspects of the real world that are complex and challenging such as inequality, violence, unfairness, or injustice.
Sociology students here study these challenging areas when examining social change, globalisation, migration, gender and sexuality, technology and social theory.
By studying sociology with us you will become sensitive to the wider social context of our lived experience and learn to look beyond a narrow focus on the individual in any life situation.
Course modules
Typical course content will follow the below format, with some optional modules being available subject to appropriate student numbers and specialist staff availability
Level 4 All Mandatory and Requisite Sociology Modules Plus 3 from the Optional level 4 (Year 1) modules below
Level 5 All Mandatory Sociology Modules Plus 4 from the Optional level 5 (Year 2) modules below
Level 6 All Mandatory Sociology Modules Plus 3 from the Optional Sociology level 6 (Year 3) modules below
Full downloadable information regarding all University of Suffolk courses, including Key Facts, Course Aims, Course Structure and Assessment, is available in the Definitive Course Record.
This module aims to introduce you to key features of the sociological perspective and what many call the sociological imagination. It is concerned with making the everyday strange and the far away near to gain a better grasp on key aspects of social life. This leads into a key concern of sociology with questions of power and inequality. Students will be able to engage with key debates about the nature of inequality and power using contemporary examples and analysis.
This module seeks to introduce the key study and academic skills required to succeed at university level study and students regularly meet in small groups with their tutors. Students are also introduced to the principles and core concepts underpinning their field of study, and social science research more generally.
This module will introduce the major aspects of social change that have led to and developed within modern societies. There is a focus upon identifying and explaining some of the major social changes over the past 30-40 years using official statistics and social theory. The emphasis will be upon patterns of change alongside an exploration of the impact on personal biography, life-satisfaction and wellbeing. The module will initially focus upon Europe but also give room for students to explore social change in more rapidly changing parts of the world as well. The module allows students to engage with a range of data that describe social changes in key areas of social life from family to work to wellbeing to migration.
The module will look into the history of people’s movement across the globe. Moreover, a focus on migration also includes discussions about different causes of migration, and its voluntary and forced forms, as well as asylum seeking.
Social Psychology is concerned with the scientific study of human social behaviour, experience and thought. Developmental Psychology is concerned with the scientific study of systematic changes in human psychology across an individual’s lifespan, particularly cognitive, perceptual, social and emotional development in childhood, adolescence and adulthood.
Introduction to Criminology aims to introduce students to the history of criminological thought, combining biographical fact with historical and cultural context. Students will develop an understanding of how crime is defined and measured and examine theoretical perspectives that seek to explain causes of criminal behaviour.
Policy and Politics gives students the skills and knowledge to identify the connection between political ideology and policy responses to crime and deviance, in addition to investigating how modern societies understand equality and social justice. This will enable students to form responses to criminal and perceived deviant behaviour.
Social Theory provides students with the opportunity to engage with the ideas of a range of important theorists from the late 20th and early 21st centuries, allowing for an engagement with the insightful, often challenging and sometimes counter-intuitive perspectives that come from a range of contemporary social theorists.
This module grounds you in the principles of social science research and methods employed to develop our understanding of the social world. The module covers core aspects of the research process and offers you opportunities to focus on particular methods of interest and relevant to your field of study. The module aims to provide you with the knowledge and confidence to undertake independent, ethical and robust research in the social sciences. This module also acts as a precursor to the independent project module in the third year.
The central theme is the social nature of health. Understanding the broad patterns of morbidity and mortality are fundamental to enabling informed discussion regarding the social nature of health. The module seeks to broaden student’s understanding of contemporary health and illness with a content which is topical, wide ranging combining contemporary issues in health with classic debates within this field.
This module examines the nature of social justice and the range of policies that have sought to make societies fairer. The module examines different conceptions of social justice, including the conceptions advanced Rawls and Sen. The module also explores the welfare state and some of the major policies used to try and increase social justice across a range of dimensions, including housing, education, health, income transfers, pensions and access to legal rights. The module also seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of social policies in a variety of countries increasing social justice using international data and evidence.
This module allows students to reflect on the world of work by considering their skills and strengths in relation to future career paths, and the kinds of practice and professional skills they may need to cultivate. The module allows students to take a work placement or engage in work shadowing. The module will also consider theoretical aspects of work and employment and review the most recent sociological research related to work and employment. The examples will focus on Ipswich, Suffolk, and more widely on the UK and a global dimension of work and employment.
This module intends to examine definitions of globalisation, the dimensions of globalisation and the evidence to evaluate the extent to which globalisation is now a key element in important aspects of social life. This module will allow students of sociology should be able to engage with these debates by evaluating a range of data and arguments about globalisation.
This module will encourage students to develop a critical approach to race, racism and resistance from a global perspective, looking not only on conceptions and lived experience in the Western countries but also other parts of the world, including the Global South including Latin American, Africa and Asian contexts, and Central and Eastern Europe. The module will explore key sites of contemporary racism and anti-racist political activism, drawing on examples such as the Black Lives Matter movement and pro- and anti-refugee solidarity activism in Europe and beyond. Attention will also be paid to decolonial and postcolonial approaches, as well as the intersection of gender, race, class and other categories of difference when exploring race, racism and resistance globally.
In this module you will produce a final year project that allows you to exercise your independent judgement and skills in the development and execution of a project or dissertation relevant to your field of study. Under the supervision of an assigned tutor, the module provides you with the opportunity to independently apply the core subject knowledge and skills developed over the course of your degree. Over the course of the year you will undertake independent analysis and research, and communicate and present it to high professional standards. This project can take the form of a traditional research dissertation, but you also have the flexibility to undertake an alternative, such as a reflective report based on an independent project pursued in a practice / work setting.
Gender and sexuality are an everyday experience for most people and impact on their daily lives. However, great complexity surrounds gender and sexuality in a contemporary society and culture. The module will consider theoretical aspects, as well as, it will look at different ways of researching gender and sexuality.
This module introduces the sociological perspective to the discussion about and the debates on mental illness and the development of the psychiatric treatment and services.
Victimology has often been referred to as a sub-discipline of criminology that has its own theoretical and conceptual strands and is increasingly recognised as an area of study in its own right. In politics, policy and practice, there is an increasing emphasis on the needs and rights of victims of crime.
The module explores key issues, themes and debates from the field of drugs, crime and society. Students explore established and more recent academic and policy debates surrounding drug use, regulation and criminalisation. It is expected that students will come to the module with a ‘taken-for-granted’ perspective on the nature of drugs, their links with crime, and their wider social consequences and the module aims to challenge some of these.
This module seeks to develop your skills in processing large and complex datasets in the social sciences and visualise analysis to distil and convey findings to wide audiences. The module explores the key principles which make for effective data visualisation and communication, and the core workflows involved in processing, analysing and visualising data using appropriate software tools. In addition to developing your skills and competencies in analysing and presenting quantitative data, the module critically examines how quantitative data is used in the social sciences and how its use and presentation affects the development and evaluation of public policy.
Criminology as a discipline has predominately focused on crimes against the person that have tended to have been committed by other individuals, traditionally referred to as ‘street-crimes’. The aim of this module is to rebalance this bias by exploring key themes that fall under the ‘umbrella term’ Crimes of the Powerful and to apply these themes in analysing cases of hidden crime that arguably produces more harm than traditional deviant behaviour. These themes include discussions of power, privilege, information control and the construction of harm.
Career opportunities
Sociology graduates are well placed to seek employment in graduate management schemes, social services, education, criminal justice, welfare services, government, counselling, charities and the voluntary sector.
Possible job roles could include community development worker, further education lecturer, housing officer, teacher, probation officer (if studied with Criminology), social researcher, social worker (after taking relevant postgraduate qualification) and welfare rights adviser. It is also possible to progress to postgraduate study in Town Planning.
Sociologists are able to work in both the public and private sectors to analyse trends and make projections about the future. Learning to use statistics is a key part of the sociology course and makes students very employable.
Sociology is an excellent grounding for a career in business, many of the techniques used in marketing and businesses use ideas originally developed in sociology. Marketing is a great option for sociology graduates with a good grasp of demographic characteristics.
Student profiles
Fees and finance
2023-24
- UK full-time tuition fee: £9,250 p.a
- UK part-time tuition fee: £1,454 per 20 credits (please contact the Student Centre for further information)
- International full-time tuition fee: £13,992 p.a
Further Information
At University of Suffolk, your tuition fees provide access to all the usual teaching and learning facilities that you would expect. However, there may be additional costs associated with you course that you will need to budget for.
Entry requirements
2023-24 and 2024-25 entry; 112 UCAS tariff points (or above), BBC (A-Level), DMM (BTEC), Merit (T Level) or Access to HE Diploma - a minimum of 30 Level 3 credits at merit grade or above.
All applicants are required to hold GCSE English and Maths at Grade C/4 or above. Applicants who do not hold these qualifications may be considered on an individual basis based upon their overall application and the course applied for.
IELTS 6.0 overall (minimum 5.5 in all components) where English is not the students' first language.
If you have previously studied at higher education level before you may be able to transfer credits to a related course at the University of Suffolk and reduce the period of study time necessary to achieve your degree.
Staff
Facilities and Resources
Sociology teaching takes place at our modern, fully-equipped Waterfront or Atrium buildings at our Ipswich campus. As a University of Suffolk student, you will have full access to our well-stocked library in addition to discounts at our cafés and restaurants.
If you are looking for a quiet place to work, our break-out areas on each floor of our Waterfront Building are an excellent choice.
The Sociology team has extensive links with all local agencies that operate within the field, and as such they are able to embed contemporary research into their teaching demonstrating the applied nature of sociology at the University of Suffolk.