UDSSLPLY - BSc Sociology and Social Policy

The over- riding aim for this course is to provide modules that are responsive to changing demands of students, professional bodies and employers in the general area of social policy & sociology. This is undertaken through the application of social policy to other social science disciplines (i.e., Health Studies) and inter-disciplinary studies (i.e. criminology). Emphasis throughout is upon what the student can apply to their eventual workplace performance. For students undertaking these courses the aims are to offer a contemporary course relevant to a career in a range of welfare agencies both public and private. This is done by helping students investigate the effect that welfare policy has on our everyday lives in a domestic and international context, and giving them the intellectual and practical skills to do so. The ability to be self-reflective and apply the methodological approaches of social policy and sociology to the analysis of issues is also essential to this course. Overall social policy and sociology sits in a unique place within the university as a contemporary study of the changing welfare environment in a sociological context that effects so much of people’s everyday lives.

The teaching and learning strategies are situated around the acquisition by students of analytical tools that can help them unpack social problems in the context of sociological and social policy questions. This incorporates acquiring an understanding of the process of social policy decision-making and implementation in a historical context. As well as to be aware of the critical issues that apply to issues of class, race and gender and questions concerning social rights. These tools are designed not only to be theoretical in some respects but also applied to particular practical circumstances. To do this teaching takes places along the lines of examining and evaluating welfare issues – education, health, social protection and so on - in terms of relevant modes of explanation, research and policy analysis. This is not only focused on the UK. As students progress in their studies comparative analysis is introduced in order that students become aware of the key differences and convergences among welfare regimes.

On this basis on the completion of the course students will know and understand how to apply the subject for employment and professional training in a wide range of professional and managerial occupations in the public, private and independent sectors, including housing, health care, education, employment, social care and protection, para-legal, community safety, urban regeneration and equality services. In terms of transferable skills for the employment market, students would have demonstrated through informal and formal assessment that they can work effectively both in a team and independently on a broad research topic or a focussed welfare project. So that through research methods, including their appropriate IT application, they can seek, handle and interpret quantitative and qualitative information. And be able to conduct domestic and international analysis of social policy and be competent communicators of the political, social and economic context in which social policy is constructed and implemented through oral and written forms of expression.

The following learning outcomes incorporate and depend on systematic understanding of the key aspects of the knowledge base of Sociology and Social Policy, including a coherent and detailed knowledge of some specialist areas in depth.

On successful completion of this course students will be able to:

1. deploy accurately established techniques of analysis and enquiry within Sociology and Social Policy;

2. devise and sustain arguments, and/or to solve problems, using ideas and techniques, some of which are at the forefront of Sociology and Social Policy;

3. describe and comment upon particular aspects of current research, or equivalent advanced scholarship, in Sociology and Social Policy, recognising the uncertainty, ambiguity and limits of knowledge;

4. manage their own learning, and to make use of scholarly reviews and primary sources (for example, refereed research articles and/or original materials appropriate to Sociology and Social Policy);

5. apply the methods and techniques that they have learned to review, consolidate, extend and apply their knowledge and understanding, and to initiate and carry out projects;

6. critically evaluate arguments, assumptions, abstract concepts and data (that may be incomplete), to make judgements, and to frame appropriate questions to achieve a solution - or identify a range of solutions - to a problem;

7. communicate information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialist and non-specialist audiences;

8. exercise initiative and personal responsibility, including decision-making in complex and unpredictable contexts;

9. undertake appropriate further training of a professional or equivalent nature

Please check Course Handbook for full list.

Sociology
Social Policy and Administration
http://www.qaa.ac.uk/en/Publications/Documents/SBS-Social-Policy-16.pdf

Sociology and Social Policy, as disciplines, lend themselves to a variety of teaching and learning styles and these are, in turn, reflected in the variety of assessment tools employed throughout the course. Within the general principle of mixed mode assessment can be found a diversity of instruments: seen and unseen examinations, short answer papers, practical reports and reviews, case studies, group assessment projects, seminar presentations and essays. Transferable skills have been embedded in the learning outcomes of the core modules. They have been mapped to ensure that they are assessed at every level.

Sociology or Social Policy Placement – is a designate module available to students entering their 3rd year. It is usually undertaken over the summer period – between 2nd and 3rd year.

On the completion of the course students will know and understand how to apply the subject for employment and professional training in a wide range of professional and managerial occupations in the public, private and independent sectors, including housing, health care, education, employment, social care and protection, para-legal, community safety, urban regeneration and equality services. In terms of transferable skills for the employment market, students would have demonstrated through informal and formal assessment that they can work effectively both in a team and independently on a broad research topic or a focussed welfare project.

Successful completion of this course offers improved career opportunities in central and local government, voluntary, charity and care agencies, pressure groups, research institutes and private companies. Our previous graduates have gone on to work at companies such as Friends of the Earth.

This course is also excellent preparation for further research or study.

In addition to the University's standard entry requirements, you should have:

• a minimum grade BBC in three A levels or minimum grades BC in at least two A levels in academic subjects (or a minimum of 112 UCAS points from an equivalent Level 3 qualification, eg BTEC National, OCR Diploma or Advanced Diploma)
• English Language GCSE at grade C/grade 4 or above (or equivalent)

If you do not have traditional qualifications or cannot meet the entry requirements for this undergraduate degree, you may still be able to gain entry by completing the Social Work Extended degree.

All applicants must be able to demonstrate proficiency in the English language. Applicants who require a Tier 4 student visa may need to provide a Secure English Language Test (SELT) such as Academic IELTS. For more information about English qualifications please see our English language requirements.

These requirements may be varied in individual cases. Applications are welcome from mature students who have passed appropriate access or other preparatory courses or have appropriate work experience.