Sociology

Study mode:On campus Study type:Full-time Languages: English
Local:$ 11.4 k Foreign:$ 20.8 k  
149 place StudyQA ranking:6704 Duration:36 months

Photos of university / #durhamuniversity

About

The BA Sociology, BA Criminology programmes are delivered through a mixture of lectures, seminars, research-based workshops, individual supervision of research based assignment and guided individual work through learning technologies such as DUO.

Lectures provide key information on the key conceptual tools, methodologies, research and scholarship in the subject area. They also expose students to the skills of research synthesis and note taking.

Seminars are intended as guided, small group discussions of the subject area. They rely on independent study outside the programme’s formal contact hours to be effective. They provide key learning scaffolding opportunities for students’ development of skills of conceptualisation and contextualisation, which are key for these programmes. Students also develop public speaking skills and research synthesis abilities.

Research based workshops allow the students to gain hands-on experience of research in the subject area and to develop practical skills in the method of social research in the context of small group discussion and team working. They are also useful for developing team working skill and information gathering and analysis skills.

In this final year of the programme, the dissertation module provides an opportunity to put into practice research skills developed in earlier years. While this project is a largely independent piece of study, students receive four hours of one-to-one supervision with an academic member of staff in addition to workshops and group sessions designed to address common themes and allow students to share ideas and experiences of undertaking independent research. There is also a community placement module that gives students the opportunity to apply their skills and knowledge of sociology gained on the degree programme in a working environment.

The balance of these learning contexts changes over the course of the programme, as students develop their knowledge and understanding of the subject area, and increase their confidence and abilities as independent, autonomous and critical learners. This is crucial not only for their integration in the community of social scientists but also for success in diverse professional and working environments, or further study.

In the first year students will establish a fundamental knowledge and understanding of key concepts and issues relating to core disciplines within the sociology or criminology. At level one, students are expected to attend an average of 6 hours of lectures per week, and around 6 hrs of small group-based teaching fortnightly in terms 1 and 2 (e.g. seminars, practical workshops). Outside timetabled contact hours, students are also expected to undertake their own independent study to prepare for their classes and broaden their subject knowledge.

The balance starts to shift in the second year, as students further develop their abilities as ‘independent learners’. Students are exposed to more advanced conceptual, theoretical models and to key methodological knowledge of the subject area, and develop their skills to critically assess theories and methods in relation to substantive areas of knowledge. Lectures still play an important role in supporting students in developing their knowledge and skills, with an average of 6 hours a week, while the frequency of seminars remains the same; students participate in eight one hour seminars or research-based workshops per 20 credit module across the academic year. This amounts to an average of 3-4 hrs of small group contact hours per week for a level two student.

This move towards developing conceptualisation and contextualisation skills and to evaluate more complex issues in relation to selected disciplines is finalised in the third year. Lectures and small group teaching retain the same typical format of weekly lecture and fortnightly seminar but students are invited to engage with academic issues at the forefront of sociology or criminology in a learning environment that is very much focused on discussion and debate of these issues. In this regard the dissertation represents the cap stone of the undergraduate degree providing an opportunity for the student to demonstrate their skills as an autonomous learner and researcher, albeit with routine expert supervision discussed above.

In addition to one-to-one supervision which students receive as part of their dissertation, throughout the programme students are assigned to an academic advisor who will normally meet with students 2-3 times per year to discuss progress and advise on programme choices. All staff maintain a regular office hour where students are welcome to meet on a drop-in basis but staff are available at other times by appointment to support and advise students.

In addition, the School is linked to the work of four Research Centres who regularly run seminars on relevant research interests to which current students are invited.

Content

The degree is wide ranging, focusing on applying knowledge and theory to real-life situations. Studying Sociology at Durham is about sharing a common enthusiasm for exploring how human beings behave, think and feel within social settings.

The degree is based on a modular structure, and in each year of study students will be required to take the equivalent of six modules (some of these are double modules). As the course develops, the modules taken become increasingly specialised and students are able to undertake their own sociological research on a specialist topic.

Year 1

Students will develop a knowledge and understanding of the key concepts and fundamental issues within sociology.

Compulsory modules

  • Introduction to Research
  • Conceptualising Society

Optional Module

  • Societies in Transition
  • Candidates shall also study and be assessed in modules to the value of 40 credits from open modules offered elsewhere in the School or by another Board of Studies (including appropriate credit-bearing language modules to the value of 20 credits offered by the Centre for Foreign Language Study); 

Year 2

Students will build on and extend their sociological knowledge.

Compulsory modules

  • Sociological Imaginations
  • Social Research Methods.

Depending on module choice, specific study may then develop sociological understanding of:

  • Self, Identity and Society
  • Sociology of Social Exclusion
  • Crime, Power and Social Inequalities
  • Sport, Crime and Deviance
  • Sports Development: Policies and Practices
  • Modules to the value of 20 credits from open modules offered by another Board of Studies (including appropriate credit-bearing language modules offered by the Centre for Foreign Language Study)

Year 3

Students will critically analyse and evaluate more complex issues in the discipline of sociology. Students will also undertake an in-depth, critical analysis of a chosen topic in sociology through their Dissertation.

Compulsory module

  • Dissertation

Depending upon module choice, specific study may then include topics such as:

  • Social Policy
  • Sociology of Health and Medicine
  • Drugs, Crime and Society
  • Issues in Criminal Justice
  • Sociology of Gender and Sexuality
  • Sociology of Forensic Science and Criminal Investigation
  • Cybercrime: Crime in the Information Age
  • Urban Studies
  • Rural Studies and Social Policy
  • Sociology of Work and Professions
  • SASS Community Placement
  • Modules to the value of 20 credits from those offered by another Board of Studies (including appropriate credit-bearing language modules offered by the Centre for Foreign Language Study) or from open modules elsewhere within the School.

Study Abroad

We are part of the SOCRATES/ERASMUS programme which encourages students to study for part of their course in a university of another EU country.

We currently have links with the universities of Helsinki in Finland and Duisburg-Essen in Germany. Students can also apply to the university-wide international exchange programme with universities in North America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

Subject requirements, level and grade

In addition to satisfying the University’s general entry requirements, please note:

  • Our normal GCE A-level requirement is AAB
  • We do not include General Studies or Critical Thinking as part of our offer
  • We welcome applications from those with other qualifications equivalent to our standard entry requirements, such as BTECs (normally DDD), International Baccalaureate (on its own or combined with other qualifications – Required Grades: 36 points)and from mature students with non-standard qualifications or who may have had a break in their study. Please contact our Admissions Selectors
  • Preference may be given to those students who have studied at least one essay-based subject at A-level, or equivalent
  • If you do not satisfy our general entry requirements, the Foundation Centre offers multidisciplinary degrees to prepare you for a range of specified degree courses
  • We are pleased to consider applications for deferred entry.

We endeavor to make offers as quickly as possible, however, we are committed to the principle of equal consideration, which means that any application made to us through UCAS by the deadline of the 15th January has a chance of being considered for an offer. Because of this we cannot make all our decisions straight away when they reach us, so we may not inform some applicants who applied as early as September of our decision until March. However, we do this because each application really matters to us and we want to make offers to those applicants who show the strongest merit and potential in their application.

Preferred Tests:

a. IELTS: 6.5 (no component under 6.0)

b. TOEFL iBT (internet based test): 92 (no component under 23)

c. Cambridge Proficiency (CPE): Grade C

d. Cambridge Advanced (CAE): Grade A

e. Cambridge IGCSE First Language English at Grade C or above [not normally acceptable for students who require a Tier 4 student visa]

f. Cambridge IGCSE English as a Second Language at Grade B or above [not normally acceptable for students who require a Tier 4 student visa]

g. GCSE English Language at grade C or above

h. Pearson Test of English (overall score 62 (with no score less than 56 in each component))

Alternative accepted tests when those listed in a.-h. above are unavailable to the applicant (if the applicant requires a Tier 4 visa to study, advice on the suitability of these alternatives must be sought from the Student Recruitment and Admissions Office):

i. Certificate of Attainment (Edexcel)

j. GCE A-levels (AQA, CIE, Edexcel, CCEA, OCR, WJEC) at grade C or above in an essay based, humanities or social science subject from the following list: History, Philosophy, Government and Politics, English Language, English Literature, Geography, Religious Studies, Economics, Business Studies, Law and Sociology. Modern or Classical Languages are not acceptable in meeting this requirement.

k. International Baccalaureate with a minimum of grade 5 in Standard Level English or a minimum of grade 5 if taken at Higher Level.

l. NEAB (JMB) Test in English (Overseas)

m. Singapore Integrated Programme (SIPCAL) at grade C or above in an essay based, humanities or social science subject from the following list: History, Philosophy, Government and Politics, English Language, English Literature, Geography, Religious Studies, Economics, Business Studies, Law and Sociology. Modern or Classical Languages are not acceptable in meeting this requirement.

n. Singapore Polytechnic Diploma and Advanced Diplomas at GPA 3.0 or above

o. WAEC and NECO Grade B3 or above from Nigeria and Ghana

Similar programs:
Study mode:Blended Languages: English
Local:$ 11.4 k / Year(s) Foreign:$ 32.2 k / Year(s)
Deadline: Jan 15, 2025 11 place StudyQA ranking: 11752
Study mode:On campus Languages: English
Local:$ 11.4 k / Year(s) Foreign:$ 32.8 k / Year(s)
Deadline: Jan 15, 2025 11 place StudyQA ranking: 8153
Study mode:On campus Languages: English
Local:$ 11.4 k / Year(s) Foreign:$ 32.8 k / Year(s)
Deadline: Jan 15, 2025 11 place StudyQA ranking: 16438
Study mode:Blended Languages: English
Local:$ 11.4 k / Year(s) Foreign:$ 32.8 k / Year(s)
Deadline: Jan 15, 2025 11 place StudyQA ranking: 3338
Study mode:Blended Languages: English
Local:$ 11.4 k / Year(s) Foreign:$ 32.8 k / Year(s)
11 place StudyQA ranking: 4011
Study mode:On campus Languages: English
Local:$ 11.4 k / Year(s) Foreign:$ 32.8 k / Year(s)
Deadline: Jan 15, 2025 11 place StudyQA ranking: 4420
Study mode:Blended Languages: English
Local:$ 11.4 k / Year(s) Foreign:$ 32.8 k / Year(s)
Deadline: Jan 15, 2025 11 place StudyQA ranking: 4097
Study mode:Blended Languages: English
Local:$ 11.4 k / Year(s) Foreign:$ 32.8 k / Year(s)
Deadline: Jan 15, 2025 11 place StudyQA ranking: 7083
Study mode:On campus Languages: English
Local:$ 11.4 k / Year(s) Foreign:$ 32.8 k / Year(s)
Deadline: Jan 15, 2025 11 place StudyQA ranking: 6947
Study mode:Blended Languages: English
Local:$ 11.4 k / Year(s) Foreign:$ 32.8 k / Year(s)
Deadline: Jan 15, 2025 11 place StudyQA ranking: 4660