Sociology – Sociology A Level

Sociology is a broad ranging subject that attempts to explain human behaviour, exploring the extent to which individuals’ life chances are shaped by their wealth, gender and ethnicity. Along the way students will find out some extremely interesting facts about modern Britain and the wider world; they will learn that our society is full of hidden injustices and encounter some very radical views on topical social issues.

Modules include Families and Households, Education, Global Development and Crime and Deviance.

The study of Research Methods also runs throughout the course.

Course Specific Trips & Visits

Sociology students have the opportunity to take part in a variety of course related trips. In the last couple of years, these have included:

• a visit to the Newbridge Conference on Crime and Deviance at which ex-offenders and criminal justice professionals speak about their experiences of crime
• a visit to the annual Women of the World Conference, which students have the chance to engage with some of the world’s leading feminist thinkers
• Humanities trip to the USA (New York and Washington DC) in October 2019

Sociology is a well respected and valued subject by employers, hence Sociology graduates are highly sought after by many professions. Sociology prepares students especially well for careers in Business and Management, the Voluntary and Charitable sectors, Teaching, Social Work, The Police Force, Social Research and International Development, as well as other professions that require the ability to analyse and synthesise, to write with purpose and to argue and present a case well.

Students who have an initial interest in doing a degree in the Social Sciences may want to consider Sociology’s cognate disciplines: Criminology, International Development, Anthropology and Social Policy.

Students wishing to include A Levels in their programme need to have (or expect to achieve) at least five GCSE passes, with at least two at Grade 5 or above (and a satisfactory school reference) in order to be accepted on an A Level/BTEC Level 3 Programme.

Students should meet the following minimum GCSE requirements:

• Grade 5 in English Language OR
• Grade 4 in English Language and 5 in English Literature or History