BA (Hons) Sociology

Core units

• Becoming a Social Scientist: This unit aims to help you transition from school or college to university-style work and the skills needed to achieve at university. You will use the skills learnt in lectures to carry out a small group project.
• Histories of Social Policy and Social Welfare: This unit provides an understanding of the historical development of social policy and social welfare systems in British, other European, and international contexts. You’ll critically examine how welfare policies are bound up with the development of the modern state, and how they are linked to changing perspectives and ideologies relating to the causes of social deprivation and ‘social need’, and the inequalities associated with class, gender and race amongst other social variables.
• Families, Relationships & Laws: The aim of this unit is to introduce you to the complexity of family constellations and their meanings in contemporary societies. You will be introduced to the sociology of families, competing definitions, social policies relating to families, and comparative international family practices, drawn from sociological and anthropological research and literature.
• Introduction to Social Research: This unit offers a broad introduction to social scientific approaches and methodological issues in research. You will be introduced to the parameters and scope of social scientific enquiry, focusing on the relationship of individuals to society, explore using published examples, including those carried out by BU researchers. Various approaches will be examined and practised with a view to you gaining the ability to develop your own social scientific research.

• Introduction to Social Theory: You’ll be introduced to key social theory that has informed classical and contemporary sociology, anthropology and criminology, and is embedded in the historical and philosophical context of the analysis of Western society and its social forms.
• Social Inequality & Exclusion: Explore the nature, lived experience, impact and possible causes of discrimination, inequality and social exclusion, using sociological, criminological and anthropological approaches. You’ll apply relevant sociological, criminological and anthropological enquiry to explore social exclusion, community cohesion, inequality, discrimination, marginalisation and oppression, together with an understanding of how this might be addressed and tackled.

Students are required to complete all 4 core units including either Quantitative Skills or Doing Ethnographic Research as a core unit, and choose 2 option units. 

Core units:

• Contemporary Social Theory: Introducing social theory that informs contemporary sociology, criminology and anthropology, you’ll explore theories embedded in the contemporary and philosophical context of Western society and its social forms.
• Culture: Socio-Legal Perspectives: This unit explores and develops a critical and theoretically-informed understanding of the extent to which the concept of ‘culture’ can be applied for explaining when and why people associated with different cultures come into conflict with the law. Topics include 'legal parallelism', ''subculture' and 'gang culture' in criminal proceedings, 'cultural defence', 'cultural evidence', 'cultural expertise' in court, 'culturalism', the crime of 'culturicide', and much more.
• Qualitative Research Skills: You will be equipped with knowledge and skills to enable you to carry out entry level qualitative research and analyse the qualitative research of others. The unit will assist you in your preparation for your final year dissertation.

Core or option, choose at least one of the below:

• Doing Ethnographic Research in the Social Sciences: You’ll gain experience of designing and undertaking an ethnographic research project in the Bournemouth area, investigating sociological and anthropological research questions, and critically reflecting on the benefits and challenges of qualitative research. The skills and experience developed from this unit will assist you in your preparation for the primary qualitative research you may wish to carry out as part of your final year dissertation. You will also have the opportunity to present your research findings at BU’s annual Student Undergraduate Research Conference.
• Quantitative Skills: You will develop your understanding and evaluation of a range of quantitative methods and the underlying philosophical and ethical principles of their application within social science research. This unit will assist you in your preparation for your final year dissertation.

Option Units

• Being Human in a Posthuman World: The Sociology of AI: The aim of this unit is to explore whether the widespread use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) perpetuates social inequalities and creates new ones using sociological evidence. You will gain a broad understanding of how everyday use of AI shapes how you think and behave, and the unit will also offer a global perspective on how AI is shaping society by looking at international businesses utilising and developing AI tod

• Globalisation, Justice and Global Instabilities: Globalisation is a concept that refers to economic, political and technological forms of global interdependence and alignment in today’s world. In this unit you’ll explore the debates about globalisation within sociology and associated social science disciplines.​​

Option units from Criminology can also be taken in Years 2 and 3:

• Criminology of Organisations: This unit will introduce you to organisational crime and how this type of crime is currently being policed and regulated through means of law and social control. You’ll explore critically, the reasons why only a small percentage of this type of crime is prosecuted and adjudicated by the criminal justice system.
• Criminological Psychology: Develop your understanding of the contribution of psychology to issues relating to crime and criminal justice. You’ll be introduced to a range of theoretical perspectives on offending behaviour, drawing from cognitive, developmental, social and biological psychology. The unit will explore aspects related to criminal investigation and detection, such as offender profiling, eye-witness testimony, police interviewing and false confessions. It will also consider the psychological impacts of crime, through exploring issues such as fear of crime and the psychology of victimisation.
• Human Trafficking and Criminality: You’ll consider the relationship between human trafficking, migration and criminality by looking at the different forms of trafficking across a number of countries. You will also explore human rights’ issues and develop critical skills in understanding migration, human trafficking, organised crime, as well as a series of emotions around trauma, violence and loss from criminological, sociological and anthropological perspectives.
• Policing & Society: This unit considers the institution of the police and the social practice of policing society. It will cover the colonial origins of policing and the introduction of the Metropolitan police in London in 1829, as well as key events. You will also explore the creation and maintenance of 'police culture', the policing of protest and address contemporary issues around technology and media.
• Youth Crime, Gangs & Youth Justice: This unit explores the specific context of youth offending within the wider context of on-road subculture and gang involvement. You will gain a broad understanding of the context around youth offending and criminality, as well as the policing and punishment of youth crime. On-road subculture will be explored using examples such as involvement in the drug trade, drug transportation (county lines), and the criminalisation of grime music.

Please note that option units require minimum numbers in order to run and may only be available on a semester-by-semester basis. They may also change from year to year.

You can opt to take a longer sandwich placement (30 weeks) for the third year of an extended four year degree.  This gives you the chance to gain experience and make contacts for the future.

Whether you choose the three- or four-year option, you will complete the following units in your final year.

Core units

• Dissertation: The final-year project provides you with an opportunity to demonstrate your intellectual, analytic and creative abilities through sustained independent inquiry of a chosen topic within the broad parameters of sociology.
• Politics & Ideology:  To improve, change and transform the situations and lives of individuals and communities, it may be necessary to influence government and decision makers in order to seek positive change. Therefore, this unit will provide you with an understanding of politics, political processes and the ideologies that may be key drivers in the development of policy and governance at the local, societal and global level.

Option units (choose two):

• Capitalism’s crimes, contracts, and crises. Decolonial perspectives in the social sciences: This unit will introduce you to decolonial perspectives in sociology, social anthropology, and criminology. You will be encouraged to question and deepen your understanding of the world, including looking at the origins of capitalism in colonial slavery, the social and environmental impacts of global supply chains and tax havens, the links between racism and class divisions, climate change and fossil fuel capitalism.

• Seekers, Believers and Iconoclasts: Sociology of Thought: Explore belief systems as a sociological phenomenon contextualised within a cultural and social analysis, as well as a philosophical and historical one. You’ll also consider belief systems as phenomena subject to social change and transformation in terms of influencing social structures, interactions and shared or diverse social understandings, influencing societies in transition.

• Sport and Leisure Cultures: Critical Perspectives: You will critically explore the socio-cultural, political and economic aspects of sport and leisure. This unit will analyse many societal concepts, including discrimination, exclusion, inequality, social justice, and theories of the body, gender, class, race, sexuality, agency and globalisation, as well as considering specific contexts such as physical education, football, Olympic and Paralympic Games, Gay Games, and gym culture.

• Terrorism, Protection and Society: The aim of this unit is to introduce you to many of the complex issues involved in conceptualising and responding to terrorism and protection in contemporary societies. You will be introduced to protection and counter-terrorism as a form of social regulation and control of individuals and ‘deviant’ groups (micro and meso issues) and ways in which society is ordered in an age of terrorist threat (macro-political issues). You will develop a deep critical understanding of the ways in which meanings are constructed and how these impact on social life.

• The Sociology of Health & Illness: Health pervades all aspects of human experience and is defined by the World Health Organisation as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being" and not solely the absence of illness. However, at the global, national and community levels there are inequalities in how long we live, how healthy we are in older age, the types of illnesses we develop across the life course, and the healthcare we receive. You will critically explore the social context of health and illness and contrast this with the dominant bio-medical perspective of health and illness.

• ‘Troubling’ Gender: This unit will explore gender as socially constructed and historically variable aspect of societies, past and present. You will examine the ways in which gender informs and structures social inequalities, and analyse the interrelationships between gender, power and other social categories (e.g., class, sexuality, race, ethnicity, religion, age, and nationality).

Option units from Criminology can also be taken in Years 2 and 3:

• Criminology of Organisations: This unit will introduce you to organisational crime and how this type of crime is currently being policed and regulated through means of law and social control. You’ll explore critically, the reasons why only a small percentage of this type of crime is prosecuted and adjudicated by the criminal justice system.
• Criminological Psychology: Develop your understanding of the contribution of psychology to issues relating to crime and criminal justice. You’ll be introduced to a range of theoretical perspectives on offending behaviour, drawing from cognitive, developmental, social and biological psychology. The unit will explore aspects related to criminal investigation and detection, such as offender profiling, eye-witness testimony, police interviewing and false confessions. It will also consider the psychological impacts of crime, through exploring issues such as fear of crime and the psychology of victimisation.
• Human Trafficking and Criminality: You’ll consider the relationship between human trafficking, migration and criminality by looking at the different forms of trafficking across a number of countries. You will also explore human rights’ issues and develop critical skills in understanding migration, human trafficking, organised crime, as well as a series of emotions around trauma, violence and loss from criminological, sociological and anthropological perspectives.
• Policing & Society: This unit considers the institution of the police and the social practice of policing society. It will cover the colonial origins of policing and the introduction of the Metropolitan police in London in 1829, as well as key events. You will also explore the creation and maintenance of 'police culture', the policing of protest and address contemporary issues around technology and media.
• Youth Crime, Gangs & youth Justice: This unit explores the specific context of youth offending within the wider context of on-road subculture and gang involvement. You will gain a broad understanding of the context around youth offending and criminality, as well as the policing and punishment of youth crime. On-road subculture will be explored using examples such as involvement in the drug trade, drug transportation (county lines), and the criminalisation of grime music.

Please note that option units require minimum numbers in order to run and may only be available on a semester by semester basis. They may also change from year to year.

Programme specifications provide definitive records of the University's taught degrees in line with Quality Assurance Agency requirements. Every taught course leading to a BU Award has a programme specification which describes its aims, structure, content and learning outcomes, plus the teaching, learning and assessment methods used.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the programme specification, the information is liable to change to take advantage of exciting new approaches to teaching and learning as well as developments in industry.

If you have been unable to locate the programme specification for the course you are interested in, it will be available as soon as the latest version is ready. Alternatively please contact us for assistance.

Our students have previously worked for:

• This course provides the opportunity to undertake a 20-day placement as an optional unit in your second year. Alternatively, you can complete a minimum 30-week placement in-between your second and final year studies to be eligible for a sandwich degree. We provide you with support to help you achieve a rewarding and satisfying placement.

The faculty running your course will offer the support of a Placement Co-ordinator.   

Through timetabled sessions and one-to-one appointments, they’ll help support you in your placement search including advice on finding a placement, information and advice on all aspects of job searching and job applications, as well as ensuring your proposed placement meets the requirements of your course.    

Our CareersBU service is also available throughout your time at BU, offering services like CV checking and careers fairs to meet employers.  

Placement Development Advisors will support you once you have started your sandwich placement – so you will be able to maintain contact with the university throughout.

AccessBU: AccessBU provides you with the opportunity to tell us about your circumstances that are not always evident in your UCAS application. This widening access initiative also considers relevant criteria such as being in care or if you live in an area with a low participation rate in Higher Education - if you are eligible, your offer could be up to 16 UCAS tariff points below the published tariff.

Apprenticeships: We recognise the transferable knowledge and skills gained through apprenticeships and welcome applications from students with a Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship recognised by the Institute for Apprenticeships. Each application will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Deferred entry: We are happy to consider eligible applicants for deferred entry. If you have already submitted your application, please submit your deferral request through our website.

Direct entry: We welcome applications from students who have previously studied at degree level at other institutions and wish to transfer onto a BU course. Our Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) procedure enables credit awarded from one institution to contribute to a BU award, subject to an application process. Please visit our RPL webpage for more information.

Mature applicants: We recognise that mature applicants may have a wealth of experience rather than formal qualifications, so we’ll consider your application on these merits if included in your application. You’ll need to apply to BU in the usual way through UCAS and you may be invited to an interview to discuss your suitability for the course based on the experience you tell us about in your application.

As a student, you will be required to use your IT skills to utilise the web-based resources that are designed to support your study, write assessments, perform literature searches and create presentations.

We select candidates for this course by looking at your application; there are usually no interviews or selection activities needed. For that reason, make sure your application really stands out from the crowd, and leave us in no doubt as to why you should be joining BU. You can find some handy hints about filling in your UCAS form on our how to apply web pages.

We look at individual applications and make a tailored offer based on your potential to succeed on the course considering a range of factors, including your academic achievements, work and other experience, reference and personal statement, and in some cases, your performance at an interview or a portfolio review. Typically, we make an offer at the bottom of the tariff range.

If you are unable to meet the entry requirements, we may be able to make you an offer through AccessBU if you meet certain criteria e.g. you have been in care or live in an area where fewer people typically progress to Higher Education. If you don't meet our published tariff, we will accept you at least 8 points below if your personal circumstances match our AccessBU criteria. 

Our offer-making will typically be based on your most recent qualifications, including any required subjects where applicable. We'll consider all qualifications when assessing your application, although these may not be part of our offer.

If you do not meet the criteria of your original offer, we may still offer you a place. We will review your whole application and consider all academic qualifications (including those not in the offer) to see if you have the academic potential to succeed on the course. If we feel the answer is yes, we will confirm your place.

The versatility of your degree will enable you to enter growth industries within the UK, helping to fill some of the skills shortages that have been identified in areas such as culture, media, teaching, research, human resources, and public and business services.

Some of the sectors you could work in after graduation are:

• Criminal justice.
• Education
• Social services
• Marketing
• Research
• Human resources
• Journalism
• Community development

Once you have completed an undergraduate Honours degree, you can further develop your education by studying for a postgraduate degree. For example, there is the possibility to develop your undergraduate research into a Master of Research with us.

Please visit our postgraduate section for further details about our range of Master’s degrees.

Jayne’s teaching and research interests are concerned with social justice and equality, critical socio-cultural analysis of leisure and sport cultures, feminist theory and activism, LBGT+ inclusion and theories of sexualities, and qualitative research methodologies.

Jayne is currently leading two funded research projects designed to improve the physical activity opportunities for the LGBT+ community in Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. One funded by the British Academy (Safe Swim: Supporting physical activity and well being for transgender young people); the other funded by Energise Me and Sport England (Pride in our Workforce).

Jayne’s academic citizenship includes Equality Officer for University and College Union BU branch, co-convenor for BU Women's Academic Network, Managing Editor of Leisure Studies (2013 - 2020), Associate Editor of Sociology of Sport Journal (2014-17), and editorial board member for: SSJ (2007-10); International Review for the Sociology of Sport (2007-11); Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise & Health (2013-17); Journal of Sport and Social Issues (2016 - ). 

After teaching at the University of Bath for four years whilst doing her PhD, Joo joined the Sociology team at Bournemouth in 2012. Since then, she has been teaching a range of undergraduate courses, as well as developing her research, exploring issues around identity, ethnicity/’race’, culture, and gender, focusing on East Asians in the UK.

Joo has conducted a number of research projects inspired by her personal experiences of migration to Britain from South Korea in 2000. Thanks to her cross-cultural experience, she has become fascinated by the considerable cultural differences between Korea and Britain and how these impact on individuals’ lives within these countries, as well as on those who cross cultural boundaries.

Joo’s PhD, titled: ‘The Intersection of Motherhood Identity with Culture and Class: a Qualitative Study of East Asian Mothers in England’, explored the accounts of first generation East Asian mothers living in England by using life history interviews. It aimed to examine how these women perceived their national and/or cultural heritage to have affected their experiences and identity formation, focusing on the gendered division of household labour within the family and discourse around motherhood and employment

Joo is currently working on her next research project on North Korean defectors in the UK.

Sam Porter is a sociologist by academic training and a nurse by profession. His wide research interests reflect this combination. His main areas of interest are palliative and end-of-life care; supportive care for cancer survivors and carers; maternal and child health; the sociology of health professionals; and the use of arts-based therapies. Recently, he has combined his interests through leadership of a randomised controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of music therapy in improving the well-being of children with behavioural problems, and a current pilot trial examining whether music therapy can reduce the anxiety of people reaching the end of their lives. In line with existing research strengths in the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences relating to the experiences of older people, he is taking an increasing interest in issues around palliative care for the elderly.

Sam has adopted a wide range of methods in his research, ranging from the above-mentioned randomised controlled trials to the use of qualitative approaches such as ethnography. He is a strong advocate of realist approaches to knowledge, which provide a robust rationale for the use of mixed methods. In his advocacy of a realist philosophy of science, he has enjoyed a number of contentious debates.

Sam teaches on social theory, research methods and the sociology of health.

Dr Jonathan Parker is Professor of Society & Social Welfare. He moved to Bournemouth in 2006 after 11 years at the University of Hull, where he was one of the founders and director of the Family Assessment and Support Unit, a practice placement agency attached to the University and awarded the Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher Education in 1996, and latterly Head of Department of Social Work.

Jonathan's research projects focus on disadvantage and marginalisation, cross-cultural aspects of social work, research ethics and violence, conflict and religion. He has also researched and published in theories and methods in social work and dementia care. He has recently conducted cross cultural research on learning and practice with colleagues in Southeast Asia. He is currently working on projects concerning the meanings constructed during church visiting, constructions of adult safeguarding, gendered rituals in professional practice, and research ethics and learning disabled people.

He has published widely, including over 25 books and over 150 academic papers, chapters and reports. Jonathan is the co-editor of the highly successful series of Social Work text books 'Transforming Social Work Practice' and editor of the 'Journal of Practice Teaching and Learning', and joint editor-in-chief of the international journal 'Social Policy & Social Work in Transition'.

Alex is an impact-oriented social scientist with interdisciplinary research interests in (non)religious beliefs and practices relating to health and well-being, gender, and artificial intelligence.

His PhD explored the social factors that shape the beliefs about gender held by male clergy in the Church of England. It utilised work on prejudice, intersectionality and social capital to explore the role that self-esteem and the historical development of different religious traditions play in shaping their attitudes towards gender roles in church, family and wider society. In doing so, it identified social factors that have led to gender inequality within the Church of England and provided a series of recommendations to address them.

Alex is experienced in interdisciplinary teaching in the social sciences. He particularly values how deep learning and research-led teaching enable students to appreciate the relevance of their studies to the world around them and better understand the subject. Alex encourages them to apply theories and concepts from emerging research to different social phenomena by designing teaching activities that require the application of existing theories to different social contexts. His approach to teaching thus affords students vital graduate attributes that equip them for further study and life beyond university.

What’s included in your tuition fee?

Your tuition fee covers expenses associated with your course including tuition materials, access to facilities, mandatory field trips and the following:

• Materials for laboratory and mandatory field-based teaching activity
• Support for finding placements (UK or abroad) and fieldwork, and non-financial support whilst on placement if this is part of your course of study
• A range of student services – advisors, help desks, counsellors, placement support and careers service
• The Library – access to a wide range of electronic resources (databases, e-journals and e-books), print and multimedia collections, subject librarians and study spaces
• Access to Brightspace, our virtual learning environment, which offers a responsive and personalised learning experience with powerful learning analytics capabilities, integrated social media and advanced video features.
• IT labs (some open 24/7), wireless network, AV equipment to borrow
• Free software download to your personal device of Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus while you are studying, as well as access to applications provided on AppsAnywhere, subject to licensing and compatibility restrictions
• Disability and additional learning support, according to individual circumstances 
• The BU Language Centre to help you develop/improve foreign or English language skills
• 24 hours a day, 365 days a year security team.

Additional costs

We are committed to offering you value for money and ensuring there are no hidden costs while you are studying with us, therefore we have listed below any additional costs you may incur that are not covered by your tuition fee:

• Laptops, tablets and mobile devices and any software used on personal devices. Access to a personal computer is strongly recommended for your study. If you are experiencing financial difficulty, visit our website for information regarding hardship funds.
• Textbooks, general stationery and other supplies. Our award-winning library is stocked with a large range of textbooks and online resources, free of charge. The Students’ Union shop stocks a wide range of stationery supplies.
• Accommodation and living costs. Our accommodation price guide can be found on our website. 
• Travel costs to and from the University campus. An annual bus pass is included in your rent if you are living in halls of residence/Unilet accommodation or may be purchased separately.
• Travel costs to and from your placement (both in the UK and overseas). Information about funding your placement year can be found on our website.
• You will need to meet the cost of any Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check if required by your placement setting, including any Post Office verification changes. 
• Clothing or equipment costs required for your placement if this is part of your course of study.
• SportBU membership.

If you need to repeat one or more units during your studies (with or without attendance) the pricing will be pro-rata of the full-time fee.