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Sociology

Entry requirements


A level

B,B,B-C,C,C

The University welcomes undergraduate applications from students studying the Access to Higher Education Diploma, provided that relevant subject content and learning outcomes are met. We are not able to accept Access to Higher Education Diplomas as a general qualification for every undergraduate degree course.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

26-30

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DDM-MMM

UCAS Tariff

96-120

Aberystwyth University welcomes the Welsh Baccalaureate as a valuable qualification in its own right and considers completion of the Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate to be equivalent to an A level grade.

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Sociology

The BA Sociology degree at Aberystwyth University will train you to develop a critical awareness of and engagement with the social world. By studying this course, you will develop a thorough grounding in the conceptual and theoretical approaches that have been employed by sociologists to study the world around us. You will also develop your ability to analyse social phenomena through training in the collection, analysis and presentation of sociological data.

Some of the distinctive aspects of Aberystwyth’s approach to Sociology include:
- Emphasising the value and significance of a field-based approach to Sociology, with field exercises being integrated into lecture modules, and a dedicated Field-Based Sociology module in year 2;

- Integrating more applied perspectives into the teaching that we undertake on key themes and concepts in Sociology to demonstrate its real-world significance (and, in doing so, help with the employability of our Sociology graduates);

- Drawing on our research strengths and to ensure that students are exposed to cutting-edge theoretical and empirical understandings of the social world.

During your first year of your course, you will be introduced to the main concepts, themes and perspectives of Sociology which include:
- Key concepts and theoretical approaches that have been and are developing within Sociology;

- The relationships between individuals, groups and social structures;

- Social Diversity and inequalities;

- The role of culturally organised processes in life;

- Processes underpinning social change;

- The distinctive character of Sociology in relation to other forms of understanding, such as its relation to other disciplines and to everyday explanations;

- The relationship between analysis of evidence and sociological arguments.

During your second and third year, the teaching will consider:
- Core knowledge and understanding modules to develop your capacities relating to your first year modules;

- A range of qualitative, quantitative and digital data sources, research strategies and methods of data collection and analysis;

- The importance of ethical issues in all forms of sociological data collection, analysis and argumentation;

- Practical classes and fieldwork exercises.

During the duration of this course you will be taught through a combination of lectures, seminars, practical classes and fieldwork. Your assessments will depend on the modules that you select, however you may be assessed through the following:
- Examinations;

- Practical classes;

- Fieldwork;

- Coursework;

- Dissertation.

The study of Sociology provides a solid foundation for you to consider a wide range of careers including the media, social work, international development, community engagement, and the civil service to name a few. Nowadays, employers are seeking graduates who possess various skills which include the ability to think analytically and laterally. The BA in Sociology degree provides you with a breadth and flexibility of skills which is why Sociology graduates nationally are attractive to employers.
Sociology graduates have progressed on to:
- Criminology, the Police Force;

- Health and Social Care;

- Social Work;

- Social Policy (including public housing, social work, local government administration and the voluntary sector);

- Management;

- Journalism;

- Public Relations;

- Teaching;

- Research.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,000
per year
England
£9,000
per year
EU
£16,520
per year
International
£16,520
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,000
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,000
per year
Scotland
£9,000
per year
Wales
£9,000
per year

Extra funding

Aberystwyth University offers a valuable package of scholarships and bursaries to support students. Our long-established Entrance Examination competition means you could get up to £2,000 a year towards your living and study costs. You can combine that with any or all of our other awards, to make your financial package more valuable. Our awards include Sport and Music Scholarships, Bursaries for Care Leavers/Young Carers/Estranged Students and a range of department specific awards. Please visit our website for full details.

The Uni


Course location:

Main Site (Aberystwyth)

Department:

Department of Geography and Earth Sciences

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

91%
Sociology

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Sociology

Teaching and learning

98%
Staff make the subject interesting
100%
Staff are good at explaining things
89%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
77%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

79%
Library resources
84%
IT resources
80%
Course specific equipment and facilities
72%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

94%
UK students
6%
International students
42%
Male students
58%
Female students
64%
2:1 or above
8%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
B
B

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Sociology

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£20,000
med
Average annual salary
90%
low
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

9%
Business, finance and related associate professionals
9%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
8%
Welfare and housing associate professionals

We have quite a lot of sociology graduates, although numbers fell last year. But graduates still do pretty well. Most sociology graduates go straight into work when they complete their degrees, and a lot of graduates go into jobs in social professions such as recruitment, education, community and youth work, and housing. An important option for a sociology graduate is social work - and we're short of people willing to take this challenging but rewarding career. Sociology is a flexible degree and you can find graduates from the subject in pretty much every reasonable job — obviously, you don't find many doctors or engineers, but you do find them in finance, the media, healthcare, marketing and even IT. Sociology graduates taking further study often branch out into other qualifications, like teaching, law, psychology, HR and even maths, so don’t think a sociology degree restricts you to just one set of options.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Sociology

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£17k

£17k

£21k

£21k

£23k

£23k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here