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If you are applying for the full-time course from within the UK, click apply now.
Course starts: 20 September 2021Apply now
If you are applying for this course from outside the UK, click apply now
Course starts: 20 September 2021Apply now
If you are applying for the part-time course, click apply now
Course starts: 20 September 2021Apply now
Understand current issues facing society and how society responds to them. Gain real-world experience through research placements and be a part of social change. Graduate as a sociologist and become a social researcher to change the world in your own way.
Register your interestWant to understand why society works the way it does? Want to be part of a change in our social world? Sociology looks at the most important issues facing our society today including poverty, culture, immigration and refugees, families, global issues, religion, social exclusion and social justice, crime and deviance, ‘race’ and ethnicity, disability, gender, sexuality, politics and policy, and social class divisions. You will cover topical and dynamic content, reflecting current social issues, policy and what is happening in society today. You'll also begin your continuous training as a social researcher in order to spot trends and suggest responses to them.
You will graduate capable of working in a broad range of employment settings using the skills and knowledge that you will develop. You will gain strong social research skills, policy knowledge and real-world experience via placements. In parallel, we run a unique three-year skills programme which offers you study skills and develops your practice and employability for the future, making you ready for the graduate job market. You even have the option to study abroad in another institution for a year. Sociologists go into a wide range of careers and we prepare you for this. We recognise sociology is a diverse area of study and we offer you the opportunity to choose from four new specialist routes. You get to choose your specialist route after your first year of study at level four:
BSc (Hons) Sociology
Engage in modules from all four routes and become a generalist in sociology. Engage with social problems and issues such as globalisation, social policy, social divisions, stigma and inequality. Develop a strong knowledge of policy and social research methods and learn skills needed for employment after your degree, becoming alert to the nature of modern society. This route is ideal if you are seeking a broad understanding of social problems, issues, inequalities, social research and social policy, want to progress to postgraduate study or teaching, or if you want to pick a broad range of options of interest and to shape your career goals as you develop throughout your degree.
BSc (Hons) Sociology: Gender and Inequality
Engage in some of the most pressing issues facing our modern world as you become a specialist in gender and inequality. Explore issues such as social justice, human rights, stigma, gender inequality, racism, civil rights, global poverty, religion and culture and intersectionality. Engaging in this specialised route will be of interest to you if you wish to go on to postgraduate study, teaching, or a career in gender-specific settings such as domestic abuse, housing services, tackling wider inequalities working with vulnerable and marginalised groups in communities, criminal justice and campaigning, international development and human rights work.
BSc (Hons) Sociology: Research and Social Policy
Develop a strong understanding of the welfare state, social policy, the policy process, and the role of research in identifying the nature of social problems within society. Engage with topical and fascinating issues such as how people are affected by poverty, inequality, social exclusion and marginalisation. Gain critical insights into political ideologies and the substance and success of policy responses to some of these issues. This specialised route is relevant to those interested in postgraduate study, teaching, the charity sector, local government, or those who have ambitions to become a data analyst, housing manager or social researcher.
BSc (Hons) Sociology: Research in Practice
Expand your understanding of how organisations work and approaches to working with individuals, groups and communities that experience complex social problems. Examine issues of ‘race’, class, and gender within communities to raise your awareness of structural inequality, to enable you to develop your practice in ways that seek to empower individuals and groups to navigate the social, political and structural contexts that shape their everyday lives. Enhance your knowledge and practice in networking and developing partnerships with external organisations and agencies, and in ensuring that services respond to the real, not perceived, needs of a community. Develop research techniques to ensure service users have a voice in the design, delivery and evaluation of services that are appropriate and relevant to their needs. This specialist route is designed for students who have a specific career in mind, such as probation and family work, human resources, mental health, working with children and young people, community work, international development or social work.
The team have been working hard to ensure that you receive the highest standard of teaching and learning that will be primarily delivery online via our online Virtual Learning Environments Canvas and Microsoft Teams.
There are plans to have face-to-face contact time on campus of two hours per week for each student. For year 1 students this will take place on a Thursday (teaching weeks 8-12 and 14-18) and your allotted slot will shared in due course.
You will have the opportunity to meet staff and fellow students while engaging in study skills, to ensure you receive the support needed to be able to fully engage within online learning activities.
In addition to our hybrid approach to teaching and learning, you will be assigned a level tutor and the programme leader will be holding weekly ‘online check-ins’, a space where you can ask questions or chat with your peers.
In the coming months before commencing your studies please contact the programme leader or programme officer if we can offer any further guidance before joining us:
Wendy Podd – Programme Leader wendy.podd@sunderland.ac.uk
Karen Beaney – Programme Officer karen.beaney@sunderland.ac.uk
We will make all reasonable efforts to provide the courses and student experience outlined. It may be necessary to make changes in response to COVID-19 whilst we continue to follow government guidance. View our FAQs for more information or contact us.
A typical week for you will include workshops, seminars, blended learning, group work and meeting with supervisors at each level of your degree. You will also take part in computer-based learning using specific social research software and statistical programmes for surveys and questionnaires such as Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and software for interviewing such as NVivo.
Your progress will be assessed in a variety of ways through traditional essays but also through innovative assessments (module dependent) which aid your employability skills, which may be research and organisational reports, portfolios, source reports, e resources such as blogs and podcasts, presentations, reports for global bodies and organisations and community studies. You will be allocated a personal tutor in each year of the course who will offer one-to-one support.
Student, Social, Personal and Professional (SSPP) programme
We also run our innovative and mandatory SSPP programme at each stage of your degree. At level four our weekly programme is designed to support your academic skills in writing university-level assignments and offering your opportunities for internships and volunteering. At level five our programme develops your practice through workshops and training such as community empowerment skills, managing organisations, writing fundraising bids and safeguarding training. At level six, we prepare you for graduate employment through designing a graduate-level CV, engaging with graduate job opportunities and opportunities for postgraduate study. Alongside this, we encourage you at each year to gain additional bronze, silver and gold SuPA Awards, which are an extra qualification you can gain to boost your credentials and to show to employers your extra-curricular experience.
Part-time study
Part-time students study the same course as full-time students, just over a longer period of time. If you study this course on a part-time basis, you will typically complete 60 credits in a year, rather than the 120 credits of full-time students. You will be studying alongside full-time students.
Flexibility
BSc (Hons) Sociology is a flexible degree, offering you the opportunity to choose the route that most interests you. In addition to a broad range of sociology modules, you can choose from options in Criminology and Health and Social Care.
Our typical offer is:
| Qualification | Minimum grade |
|---|---|
| High School Diploma along with one of the following at the required grade: SAT I and SAT II, ACT or Advanced Placement | GPA 3.0 or above and: Sat score of 1100/1600 from SATs AP (Grades 3+ in at least 2 subjects) ACT (score of 26+) |
If your qualification is not listed above, please contact the Student Administration team at studentadmin@sunderland.ac.uk for further advice.
If you don't meet our standard entry requirements, we also offer this course with an Integrated Foundation Year.
If English is not your first language, please see our English language requirements.
The annual fee for this course is:
Learn more about settled status, pre-settled status, special discounts, visa requirements and Common Travel Area (CTA) agreements for the Republic of Ireland applicants in our Help and Advice article.
Take a look at the Your Finances section to find out about the scholarships and bursaries that may be available to you.
This information was correct at the time of publication.
A degree in BSc (Hons) Sociology creates a huge number of career options. Your skills in analysing data, undertaking research and developing strong arguments will be highly valued by many employers.
You will graduate ready to work in a range of employment settings due to the transferable skills, broad knowledge base and critical awareness that studying sociology provides.
Previous graduates now work in the fields of education, mental health, work with vulnerable adults and children, the criminal justice system, government, international development, charities and community work, political campaigning and social research.
Many of our graduates also choose to continue their studies at masters and PhD level.
Sociology graduates have wide range of employment, further study and research opportunities, including:
Read more in our article Career opportunities with a sociology degree.
We have strong links to employers and our Sociology students undertake a placement to work on a research project at level five of their degree. We also offer optional summer internships in a range of employment settings. Past Sociology students have undertaken internships with organisations as varied as COCO (an international development organisation for Eastern Africa), Street Child Nepal, Team Kenya, Northumbria Police, Albert Kennedy Trust (an LGBTQI+ homelessness charity), Northumberland Wildlife Trust and Grace House (children and young people with life-limiting conditions).
Many of our Sociology students have published their first class degree work on our Social Sciences Blog. Take a moment to check out their excellent assignments.
The University of Sunderland’s Centre for Applied Social Studies (CASS) combines original academic research with practice-based collaborations and reach-out activities, often working directly with practitioners, policymakers and front-line delivery staff regionally, nationally and internationally. According to the most recent National Research Excellence Framework Exercise, almost half of our outputs are either 'world leading' or 'internationally excellent'.
The mission of CASS reflects that of the University's aim as a civic university: to take an active interest in the social issues that affect the region and beyond by engaging in research and practice-based collaborations that aim to improve living conditions, address inequalities and social exclusion and promote social justice. Currently our research focuses around three strands: children, young people and families; communities, health and social exclusion; and crime, victims and social justice.
CASS regularly hosts visiting speakers and holds events that you will be invited to. This can be an excellent way to learn from the real-life experience of people who already have a strong track record in sociological and social policy related social research. This is a great way to learn from experts in their field.
During the course you may have the opportunity to take part in extracurricular activities to broaden your experience of the social world and to add to your CV. Our students have taken part in international development work on gender and education in Kenya and have worked with international NGOs on projects associated with girls rescued from bonded labour in Nepal. Students have also benefited from trips to London and locally, to enhance their subject knowledge and cultural awareness through museum exhibitions and public talks linked to topics in the curriculum.
Between level five and six, you will have the optional opportunity to take part in a study abroad experience for a full year, to study sociology at an international university. Previous BSc (Hons) Sociology students have studied their discipline at universities in California, Melbourne and Vermont. See our Sunderland Abroad page for more information.
The University of Sunderland embodies the phrase 'life-changing'.
The support network is brilliant and I couldn’t have done it without that support.
The University has changed me as a person academically and personally.
My experience at Sunderland has opened my eyes to the possibilities that I now have.
The support available at Sunderland allows you to grow and develop your skills and confidence.
A friendly, forward-thinking environment where everyone is supported to reach their full potential.
It’s the most frightening but most amazing thing I’ve ever done.
The lecturers are fantastic and take pride in delivering the course.
I highly recommend a placement to other students as it gives you a chance to shine at university.
The staff are friendly and passionate about what they do and they make learning fun.
The placement provided me with contacts and helped hone my research skills.
It has been simply the best three years of my life, by miles.
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