Social and Cultural Theory

Entry requirements

You will typically need an upper second-class honours degree or an international equivalent in any discipline.

If you are currently completing a degree, we understand that your final grade may be higher than the interim grades or module/unit grades you have achieved during your studies to date.

We will consider your application if your interim grades are currently slightly lower than the programme's entry requirements and may make you an aspirational offer. This offer would be at the standard level, so you would need to achieve the standard entry requirements by the end of your degree.

We will also consider your application if your final overall achieved grade is slightly lower than the programme's entry requirement.

If your achieved grade is lower than our entry requirements, your application may be more likely to receive an offer if you have additional work experience or qualifications. If you have at least one of the following, please include your CV (curriculum vitae / résumé) when you apply, showing:

• evidence of significant, relevant work experience in one of the following sectors: NGOs, Government Departments, Think Tanks, Social Research Institutes (minimum of six months in a paid or voluntary role);
• a postgraduate qualification in any discipline.

Months of entry

September

Course content

Culture is at the heart of social life, and so understanding it is key to understanding society. Gain the tools you need to understand culture in a rigorous, social scientific way.

Explore a range of debates within the so-called 'cultural turn' in sociological studies, including theoretical and substantive elements. Get to know the work of important thinkers in social and cultural theory, as well as the role of cultural explanations within theories of race and ethnicity, class, gender relations, sexuality and the sociology of religion (among others).

Situate these issues within the framework of analyses and critiques of wider debates and discourses in social and cultural theory, covering questions such as postmodernism, postfeminism and postcolonialism.

Be challenged and inspired by internationally renowned scholars addressing some of the most important topics that face us today. Join a diverse, innovative community that's building the tools to create positive change in the world.

Decode the assumptions underpinning social research on any topic to better formulate coherent theory-led questions for your own research. Benefit from the opportunity to focus on the issues you care about and make your own contribution to human knowledge through your dissertation.

Graduate with a newfound appreciation of culture as the core of social life, well-equipped to critique and selectively synthesise the various approaches covered to perform your own independent cultural analyses.

Information for international students

See international equivalent qualifications on the International Office website.

Fees and funding

Further information on funding for prospective UK and international postgraduate students.