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Sociology at University of Portsmouth - UCAS

Course options

2023 - 20242024 - 2025
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There are other course options available which may have a different vacancy status or entry requirements – view the full list of options

University of Portsmouth has participated in the Teaching Excellence Framework.These ratings were awarded in 2023, for four years.

What does this TEF outcome mean?

Course summary

Overview Understand how and why the world is changing on this BSc (Hons) Sociology degree course. Step into the centre of critical debates on current social and political issues, from Brexit and Black Lives Matter, to income inequality, drone warfare, veganism and the #metoo movement. Make sense of what’s going on, why it’s happening, and what we can do about it. On this BSc (Hons) Sociology degree, you’ll learn classical sociological theories and have the chance to specialise in what interests you most. You'll graduate with the skills to critically engage with the world around you, aa well as the confidence, knowledge and methods to enact positive change. Course highlights

  • Tailor your studies to topics that matter most to you – from gender, sexuality, race, and social class, to happiness, the body, and the politics of nationalism
  • Learn ways to apply classical sociological theories, such as developing policies and actions to produce social change and solutions to the pressing issues affecting the world right now
  • Learn from leading sociologists whose research is addressing social issues around the world
  • Hear from industry specialists on topics such as racism, asylum and gender-based violence – recent guest speakers have come from Friends Without Borders and Portsmouth Abuse and Rape Counselling Services (PARCS)
  • Build competent research skills that support you to carry out your own research and analysis of issues you're passionate about – previous student dissertations were on the Black Lives Matter movement, online dating, musical taste and K-Pop, happiness and social media, becoming vegan and racism in sport
  • Follow an optional media studies pathway, where you could explore topics such as digital cultures and media fandom
Careers and opportunities The knowledge you gain on this course, coupled with the communication, research, critical thinking and analysis skills you learn, means you'll have lots of career options when you graduate. In fact, 95% of graduates from this course are in work or further study 15 months after graduation, earning an average starting salary of £22,000 – higher than the national average for sociology graduates. After 5 years, you could earn up to an average of £32,000. After the course you could also continue your studies to a PhD or other postgraduate qualification, following in the footsteps of your lecturers. What sectors can you work in with a sociology degree? Many of our sociology graduates go into people-focused roles, or in roles that allow them to do research, shape social policies or bring about social change. Areas you could go into include:
  • teaching and lecturing (with additional training or further study)
  • research and policy
  • health and social care
  • advertising, marketing and media
  • local government
  • careers advice, human resources and recruitment
  • charity work and community development
What jobs can you do with a sociology degree? Roles you could go onto include:
  • fundraising and project manager
  • hr adviser
  • housing strategy and policy officer
  • social worker
  • evidence and evaluation manager
  • peer support and young person's service manager
  • recruitment consultant
  • senior research executive
  • marketing manager
  • data analyst
  • fraud operations executive
To give you the best chance of securing the ideal job when you graduate, our Careers and Employability service can help you find relevant work experience during your course. We'll also be available to help, advise and support you for up to 5 years as you advance in your career.

Subject options

This course offers the following subject options:

  • Sociology with Media Studies

Modules

Year 1 Core modules in this year include:

  • Developing Your Sociological Imagination
  • Observing Society
  • Research Design and Analysis
  • Social Inequalities
  • Theorising Social Life
There are no optional modules in this year. Year 2 Core modules in this year include:
  • Doing Sociological Research
  • Modernity and Globalisation
  • Risk and Society
  • Work, Employment and Society
Optional modules in this year currently include:
  • Challenging Global Inequality
  • Consumer Society: Critical Themes and Issues
  • Digital Cultures: Exploring the Digital in the Humanities and Social Sciences
  • Emotions and Social Life
  • Empire and its Afterlives in Britain, Europe and Africa
  • Engaged Citizenship in Humanities and Social Sciences
  • Equality or Liberation? Theorising Social Justice
  • Family, Career and Generation
  • Food, Culture, and Society
  • Gender and Sexuality
  • Gender and the Media
  • Global Security
  • Health, Wellbeing, and Happiness
  • Intercultural Perspectives on Communication
  • Marketing and Communication
  • Media, Culture and National Identity
  • Media Networks: Exploring Digital Culture
  • Modern Foreign Language
  • Nationalism and Migration: Chaos, Crisis and the Everyday
  • News, Discourse and Media
  • Principles of Economic Crime Investigation
  • Professional Experience
  • Race and Racism
  • Screen Media
  • Social Power, Elites and Dissent
  • Sociology of Culture: Taste, Value and Celebrity
  • Space, Place and Being
  • The Sociology of Education
  • Transitional Justice and Human Rights
  • Understanding Personal Life
  • Wildlife Crime: Threats and Response
Placement year (optional) On this course, you can do an optional work placement year between your 2nd and 3rd years to get valuable experience working in industry. We’ll help you secure a work placement that fits your situation and ambitions. You’ll get mentoring and support throughout the year. Year 3 Core modules include:
  • Dissertation / Major Project
Optional modules in this year currently include:
  • Celebrity and Society
  • Challenging Global Inequality
  • Consumer Society: Critical Themes and Issues
  • Emotions and Social Life
  • Equality or Liberation? Theorising Social Justice
  • Family, Career and Generation
  • Food, Culture and Society
  • Gender and Sexuality
  • Health, Wellbeing and Happiness
  • Introduction to Teaching
  • Media Fan Cultures
  • Nationalism and Migration: Chaos, Crisis and the Everyday
  • News, War and Peace
  • Professional Development: Recruiters and Candidates
  • Professional Experience
  • Race and Racism
  • Social Power, Elites and Dissent
  • Sociology of Culture: Taste, Value and Celebrity
  • Studying Comedy
  • Understanding Personal Life
We use the best and most current research and professional practice alongside feedback from our students to make sure course content is relevant to your future career or further studies. Therefore, some course content may change over time to reflect changes in the discipline or industry and some optional modules may not run every year. If a module doesn’t run, we’ll let you know as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative module.

Assessment method

You will be assessed throughout this course via a wide range of assessment methods including:

  • written essays and tests
  • both group and individual projects
  • seminar participation
  • examinations
  • a 10,000-word dissertation in year 3
Examinations typically only make up around 10–20% of your final mark. You’ll be able to test your skills and knowledge informally before you do assessments that count towards your final mark. You can get feedback on all practice and formal assessments so you can improve in the future. The way you’re assessed may depend on the modules you select. As a guide, students on this course last year were typically assessed as follows: Year 1 students: 18% by written exams and 82% by coursework Year 2 students: 17% by written exams, 17% by practical exams and 66% by coursework Year 3 students: 12% by written exams and 88% by coursework

How to apply

31Jan

This is the deadline for applications to be completed and sent for this course. If the university or college still has places available you can apply after this date, but your application is not guaranteed to be considered.

Application codes

Course code:
L300
Institution code:
P80
Campus name:
Main Site
Campus code:
-

Points of entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

  • Year 1
  • Year 2
  • Year 3

Entry requirements for advanced entry (i.e. into Year 2 and beyond)

We welcome applications for advanced entry. If you’d like to apply for advanced entry, you need to select the required year when you complete your UCAS application.

This course may be available at alternative locations, please check if other course options are available

Entry requirements

Qualification requirements

English language requirements

TestGradeAdditional details
IELTS (Academic)6English language proficiency at a minimum of IELTS band 6.0 with no component score below 5.5.
PTE Academic54An overall score of 54 with a minimum of 51 in each skill.
TOEFL (iBT)7979 with a minimum of 18 in Reading, 17 in Listening, 20 in Speaking and 17 in Writing.
Cambridge English AdvancedCambridge English: Advanced (CAE) taken after January 2015. An overall score of 169 with no component score less than 162.
Cambridge English ProficiencyCambridge English: Proficiency (CPE) taken after January 2015. An overall score of 169 with no component score less than 162.
Trinity ISEPassTrinity College Integrated Skills in English (ISE) Level III with a Pass in all 4 components

Student Outcomes

Operated by the Office for Students

There is no data available for this course. For further information visit the Discover Uni website.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

No fee information has been provided for this course

Additional fee information

**Undergraduate fees for 2024 entry will be available shortly.** For more information about fees, go to port.ac.uk/ug-tuition-fees
Sociology at University of Portsmouth - UCAS