Why study Sociology and Social Policy at Sheffield?
The Department of Sociological Studies is distinctive within the United Kingdom in combing excellence in Sociology, Social Policy, Social Work and Social Anthropology. This multi-disciplinarity is our greatest strength and, over many years, has provide us with a solid foundation for consistently innovative high-quality teaching and research. Students can confidently expect to graduate from this Department with a substantial portfolio of research experience and other transferable skills.
What can I do with my Sociology/Social Policy degree?
A degree in Sociology or Social Policy from Sheffield will give you a broad-ranging yet highly relevant qualification that will prove invaluable in whatever career you choose. A degree in Sociology or Social Policy gives you a flexible qualification for the employment market.
For more than 70% of graduate job vacancies, employers are more interested in your intellectual calibre and transferable skills than in the subject of your degree, and these are among the qualities for which Sociology or Social Policy graduates are highly valued in the careers market.
In recent years our graduates have gone into a wide range of professions. They have gone on to become teachers, social workers or probation officers. Others have joined commercial organisations to work in personnel, marketing or recruitment, or joined voluntary and charitable organisations to become field officers, administrators or campaign organisers. And of course many of our students go on to further study both at home and abroad.
When you study Sociology or Social Policy, you will be taught not what to think, but how to think:
- how to gather relevant information and marshal arguments in a logical and clear fashion
- how collect, analyse and present data using a variety of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies
- how to critically evaluate research findings so you can engage in debates on issues of contemporary social relevance
By the end of your degree with us we will have equipped you with skills, methodological competencies and a theoretical awareness to engage and critically evaluate the existing subject matter of Sociology and Social Policy and, demonstrate through a research project of your own, that you can contribute to the production of new knowledge for the discipline. Progression through the degree is therefore an apprenticeship, at the end of which you will be able to demonstrate that you can to put the Sociological Imagination into practice.
In addition, you will develop a range of general, transferable skills:
- communication and presentation skills
- IT skills
- information-gathering skills
- project-planning skills
- team-working skills
See the Careers Service web pages to explore the options open to our graduates:
What will my Sociology/Social Policy course give me?
When studying Sociology and Social Policy at Sheffield, as well as core modules in theory and method, you will be able to study courses on major social issues of the day taught by leading experts in the field in one of the UK´s top rated Sociology and Social Policy departments. Because we are a large department we can offer a wide range of specialist options on topics such as deviance, religion, childhood, and race and racism, alongside courses on health and illness, welfare reform, surveillance, criminology, and the Internet. And while we still value the traditional lecture based approach, we are increasingly committed to small group teaching, with an emphasis on weekly seminars and workshops involving much more active and participatory learning.
We expect our degrees to be challenging and stretch your abilities and are therefore committed to supporting you in achieving your very best potential. Our first year is designed to give you the skills and competencies to study at degree level and provide you with a range of support mechanism to ensure you succeed:
- a personal tutor: to offer guidance and support with your studies
- a student mentoring scheme: to give you practical support and advice from those that have been there.
- departmental enquiry desk: to give you first point of call with any problem
- access to the full range of university health and welfare services
- access to affordable housing and in the recently completed student village, located in one of the safest and greenest cities in the country
You will discover how the key concepts in Sociology and Social Policy, such as community, identity, and welfare are contested and you will gain a broad understanding of such important issues as discrimination, globalisation, deviance, femininism, and modernity.