Sociology (Joint Honours)

UCAS code: Y002

Start date: September, part time you can start in September or January

Course length: full time: three years, part time: up to six years

Campus: Kedleston Road, Derby

This course is available to international students

Have you ever wondered:

• why men and women get different rates of pay for doing the same job?
• why racism exists?
• why people kill and die for their religious beliefs?
• where our ideas about sex, death, family, criminality and normality come from?
• why music or sport or fashion or celebrity matter so much to us?

If so, you're already thinking like a sociologist. During this course, you'll find out the answers to these questions and look more closely at what makes our society tick and how societies can shape the people that live within them. You'll also gain skills in interviewing people and analysing facts and figures. This will help you to put a focus on your future career and develop the skills that employers look for.

You'll study the behaviour of people in groups and of the relationship between these groups. This balance of studying major issues of concern for society and linking this to different concepts and theories, allows you to develop important skills personally and socially.

We use a wide range of teaching methods to make the subject alive and to help you achieve your full potential from lectures and seminars to film and video. You'll be assessed in different ways so that you have a chance to show your individual strengths and abilities. You'll also be supported throughout your studies by our teaching team who are experienced, approachable and easily contacted.

By studying sociology as part of a joint honours, you can choose to take it as a major, joint or minor subject. If you study sociology as a major subject, you'll choose five or six modules at each stage. If you study it equally with another subject then you'll choose four modules at each stage. And if you study sociology as a minor subject, then you'll choose two or three modules at each stage.

• BA (Hons) in American Studies and Sociology
• BSc (Hons) in Applied Criminology and Sociology
• BSc (Hons) in Architectural Design and Sociology
• BSc (Hons) in Biology and Sociology
• BA (Hons) in Business Management and Sociology
• BA (Hons) in Creative Writing and Sociology
• BA (Hons) in Dance & Movement Studies and Sociology
• BA (Hons) in Education Studies and Sociology
• BA (Hons) in English and Sociology
• BA (Hons) in Film & Television Studies and Sociology
• BA (Hons) in Geography and Sociology
• BSc (Hons) in Geology and Sociology
• BA (Hons) in Human Resource Management and Sociology
• BA (Hons) in Law and Sociology
• BA (Hons) in Marketing and Sociology
• BSc (Hons) in Mathematics and Sociology
• BA (Hons) in Media Studies and Sociology
• BA (Hons) in Popular Music Production and Sociology
• BSc (Hons) in Psychology and Sociology
• BSc (Hons) in Sociology and Third World Development

Stage one

You'll study these modules:

• Researching the Social World
• Thinking Sociologically

And choose from these modules:

• Popular Culture
• Gender and Society
• Introduction to Social Inequalities
• Work, Employment and Society

Stage two

You'll choose a selection of these modules:

• Doing Qualitative Research
• Researching People: Patterns and Trends
• Capitalism, Culture and Class: Social Theory in Classical Modernity
• Origins of Modern Terrorism: Struggle and Conflict in the 20th Century
• Family Forms and Personal Ties
• Understanding Supernatural Belief and New Spiritualities
• Gender and Work: Feminist Perspectives
• Visual Cultures
• Religion and Society
• Race, Ethnicity and British Society
• Placement for Employability and Reflective Practice

Stage three

You'll choose a selection of these modules:

• Power, Discourse and Danger: Social Theory Today
• Humour and Society
• Sociology Independent Study
• Applied Research Project
• Placement for Graduate Employability
• Women and Popular Culture
• Violence and Belief: Apocalypse and Conspiracy
• Globalisation and Social Change
• Sociology of Health and Illness
• Religious and Ethnic Minorities
• Gender and Violence
• Science, Technology and Society
• Terrorism: the World and the Sociological Imagination

Our entry requirements are usually 220-300 UCAS points, of which at least 200-240 will be from your core A2s (full A levels) or equivalent qualifications such as BTEC Diploma, International Baccalaureate, Scottish Highers etc.

We'll accept up to 60 points towards the total from level 3 qualifications such as AS levels (where those AS levels are not taken on to A2 level), the Extended Project or Music qualifications.

We don't accept points from Key Skills Level 3. If you have any questions about what is or isn't accepted, please contact our Admissions team.

We also accept the Access to HE Diploma.

Your points at level 3 will be in addition to 5 GCSEs at grade C or equivalent level 2 qualifications.

The UCAS tariff points are a guide - we'll also consider all the information that you've included in your application. We'll also want to see that you're enthusiastic and motivated to take this course and that you have the potential to benefit from coming to university.

General undergraduate entry requirements

Fees for 2013/14

This is a classroom based course.

UK/EU students

Full time:

• If you combine this subject with another classroom based subject or a resource intensive subject it will cost £7,700 per year.
• If you combine this subject with a specialist subject it will cost £8,250 per year.

We'll be announcing our part time and international fees for 2013/14 later in the year.

*These fees apply if you're starting this course between September 2013 and August 2014. We recommend you check fee details with us though, as they can change. Costs can increase each year.

You'll be taught by academics who are leading national and international researchers in their specialist fields and passionate about their subject. They'll teach in a range of ways including lectures, seminars, individual tutorials, films and videos.

You'll be assessed in different ways but mainly by coursework.

This course is based on the study of people in society, so the skills and knowledge you'll gain will be relevant to a wide range of careers. You'll also develop key research skills for understanding the lives of real people, which will open up a range of opportunities for you.

You could go into a career in health, education, social services or local government. You could also choose to work in leisure, public administration, tourism and heritage, or the media and cultural industries.

One of our recent graduates, Sean Silkstone now works for the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) where he defends and protects sites from unauthorised access to nuclear material. Sean said: "The diverse nature of my course meant that I had the skills and experiences they were looking for." Read his full story here.

"I enjoyed the course and it gave me the ability to go on and do post graduate research".

"I really appreciated the friendly and supportive learning environment."