Sociology

Entry requirements

We will consider applicants with a 2:2 Honours degree or above in sociology, anthropology, statistics, data or English. While we normally only consider applicants who meet this criterion, if your first degree is in a different discipline, you are coming from a different academic background which is equivalent to degree level, or have relevant work experience, we would welcome your application.

Please also see our guidance on essential documentation required for an initial decision on taught programme applications.

Months of entry

September

Course content

• Our approach mirrors the wider shift within the social sciences towards the analysis of transnational and global level processes and phenomena
• You will examine individuals’ experiences and relationship with their social and cultural environment and acquire a broad knowledge of the current debates in sociology
• We’ll equip you with the analytical skills needed to engage in and across a range of empirical domains and theoretical perspectives
• Join a truly multicultural and culturally enriching environment, comprising of students from all three disciplines of Sociology, Philosophy and Anthropology
• You will develop a wide range of key transferrable skills that are highly valued by employers within a range of professions

The programme will draw on the department’s research strengths and interdisciplinary outlook to provide students with a sound foundation in sociology at postgraduate level. In addition to taking optional modules from sociology, anthropology and philosophy, you will explore a range of different social research methods and theoretical and conceptual tools, learning to use and apply them in your own research into the social world.

Our programmes have been planned, organised and are delivered in a way oriented towards tapping into and addressing points of overlap and divergence between different disciplinary perspectives. These perspectives are explored, explained and made relevant to the material covered.

The core module in social theory is concerned in the broadest sense with the distinctiveness, or not, of human life and experience in late modern society. More specifically, social theory can be understood as a series of intellectual formulations concerned to respond to a range of questions:

• How does the structure and organisation of society shape how individuals think and (inter-)act?
• What does it mean to say that social order is achieved and how does this occur?
• How and in what ways are our identities and actions enabled and constrained by social structures?

We’ll introduce you to a range of central themes and issues that both classical and contemporary social theorists have addressed in their work equipping you with a broad range of conceptual tools and research methods with which to investigate the social world.

You’ll also choose from a range of optional modules covering fields such as research methods, cultures and environments of health, food and society and philosophy of science.

Information for international students

International students need to show they have the required level of English language to study this course. The required test scores for this course fall under Profile B2. Please visit our English language requirements page to view the required test scores and equivalencies from your country.

Fees and funding

We invest heavily in scholarships for talented prospective Masters students. This is in addition to the UK Government’s Postgraduate Loan Scheme. For information on how you can fund your postgraduate degree at the University of Exeter, please visit the postgraduate study pages on our website.