The University of Sheffield
Department of Sociological Studies

Postgraduate student

PhD and MPhil research degrees in Sociology and Social Policy

Not your average sociology department…

Welcome to the Department of Sociological Studies at the University of Sheffield. With a distinguished history and a distinctive contemporary profile, we stand a cut above most of our competitors in the United Kingdom.

One of the oldest UK social science departments, we were founded in the 1950s. Since our very early days we have offered students a distinctly interdisciplinary experience, bringing together sociologists, social policy analysts, social workers and social anthropologists under one roof. A central thread of sociological theory and research methods runs through everything we do, hence our name: Sociological Studies.

Today that fertile mixture remains our great strength, and is widely recognised externally. Our teaching achieved a grading of 'Excellent' in the most recent Teaching Quality Assessment, recognising us as a major provider of high class education in our subject areas.

The 2008 Research Assessment Exercise rated 95% of our research activity as of `international standard´. Of that, 45% was `internationally excellent´ and 20% `world-class´, which makes us a top-ten research department in our field in the UK.

So it is no idle boast, to say that we are not your average sociology department. But don´t take our word for it, come and see for yourself.

Advantages of research at Sheffield