Sociology

You’re taught about society, social groups and social organisation. You’ll learn about social problems and social policies.

Learn how to make sense of social change and conflict, and gain a good understanding of social differences, inequalities and social divisions.

Apply your knowledge and skills to specific problems and issues to help you become a good decision-maker.

Year one
You’ll be introduced to sociology, and the techniques and philosophies of the social sciences. You'll focus on identities – beginning with thinking about your own identity, and building your knowledge and understanding so that you're more familiar with social divisions, structures, and the influence of culture. You’ll also learn how to visualise the most important components of society.

Year two
The second year builds on the first and teaches you about the history of and key ideas within sociology. You can also specialise in more specific areas of the subject, such as education and crime. You’ll undertake practical training in research skills. This will enable you to complete your final year project, and prepare you for the kind of employment that you’ll typically undertake as a sociology graduate.

Year three
You’ll concentrate on an aspect of sociology that most interests you in your final dissertation, undertaken with the support of a member of staff as a supervisor. You can also focus on more detailed subjects, such as globalisation, environment, ethnicity and gender.

Assessments vary and may include essays, reports, book and article reviews, seen and unseen examinations, portfolios, projects, learning journals, individual and group work, videos and screencasts, and research projects.

You’ll be taught in lectures, seminars, individual and group tutorials, and through our extensive online learning support environment.

To find out more about how we teach and how you'll learn, please read our Learning and Teaching Delivery Statement.

As part of your degree, you could study abroad on a placement at one of Bath Spa’s partner universities.

We run optional visits to places such as criminal justice institutions and religious places of worship. You can take a dedicated fieldwork module.

We provide support in obtaining placements and making links with professionals, and we invite our Sociology graduates back to meet with you. Optional modules have links with professionals and visiting speakers built into the teaching and learning. This means you’ll learn about the real-world application of what you're learning and be able to make more informed decisions about your future career.

A Sociology degree is useful for any career that involves working with people, either in the private, public or third sectors, typically:

• Management or administration in the public or private sector
• Human resource management
• Marketing and public relations
• Media or journalism
• Social work
• Youth and community work
• Health education or nursing
• Law
• Policing
• Offender management and interventions
• Work in the voluntary sector and fundraising
• Social research and analytics.

Employers such as the National Osteoporosis Society, the Ministry of Defence, Wiltshire Council and Truro College have recruited graduates from this course. Students have also gone into roles including Assistant Education Officer, Student Services Assistant and Relocation Advisor.

If you’re a full-time undergraduate student starting your first year at Bath Spa University, you can apply for the Certificate in Global Citizenship, which you’ll study alongside your degree.

You’ll gain global awareness and add an international dimension to your student experience, and funding is available. On successful completion of the programme, you’ll be awarded a Certificate in Global Citizenship. This is in addition to your degree; it doesn’t change your degree title or results.

The Professional Placement Year (PPY) provides you with the opportunity to identify, apply for, and secure professional experience, normally comprising one to three placements over a minimum of nine months. Successful completion of this module will demonstrate your ability to secure and sustain graduate-level employment.

By completing the module, you'll be entitled to the addition of 'with Professional Placement Year' to your degree title.

Before your PPY, you'll work to identify roles of interest and secure a placement. The Placements Team will support through timetabled sessions and 1:1 appointments.

As well as completing a minimum of 900 placement hours, you will complete two assessments demonstrating your skill development, growth in professional behaviours and how the PPY has impacted your future career aspirations.

Aiming to make work experience more accessible, we have introduced the PPY Bursary. Students undertaking a PPY can receive between £500 and £1,500 to be used towards placement costs such as travel, food, workwear or accommodation.

For more information and details of eligibility criteria, please visit the PPY Bursary webpage.

Sociology is taught at Newton Park campus. 

You'll have access to excellent facilities and resources such as:

• Commons Building
• Virtual Learning Environment
• Library and digital learning spaces
• Writing and Learning Centre
• English Language Unit
• Specialist journals and databases
• All courses on LinkedIn Learning.

All modules can be found on our Virtual Learning Environment, Ultra, providing unlimited online access to learning materials such as handbooks, lecture slides, assessment information, discussion boards and other resources.

Our library gives you access to books, academic journals and DVDs and an extensive range of electronic services. It also provides a place for individual study and collaborative work.