Sociology (BSc)

You'll learn from our team who are leading their fields in teaching and research related to criminology and the social sciences. We focus on what matters - the disciplines, debates, theories and research of today.

Our teaching methods combine lectures, seminars, and independent study through cutting-edge resources, individual work and group tasks.

Lectures provide you with an overview of topics, introducing key concepts, highlighting issues and debates of today.

Seminars encourage group discussion and knowledge-sharing, helping you further develop your understanding through feedback. You’ll also hone your communication, presentation and collaborative skills, preparing you for work or further study.

You'll have the option to study abroad or take on a professional placement, bringing your theoretical learning into real-life situations and scenarios.

How will I be supported?

A personal tutor will guide you during your studies, discussing progress and providing academic advice and guidance. Our Hubs across campus offer additional support and advice beyond study.

All course modules are on Cardiff University’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) - Learning Central, containing course materials, assessment criteria, past papers, and guidelines for submitting assessments.

Module-specific support is provided by seminar tutors, lecturers and/or module convenors, with dissertation support provided by a supervisor who you will meet with regularly.

Formative feedback aims to improve your understanding and learning before you complete your summative assessment. It helps you to identify your strengths and weaknesses and set goals with staff support, developing targeted strategies for improvement, and is usually provided in seminars, contributing to module assessment.

All modules include a specific formative assessment to help you prepare for your summative assessment.

Summative feedback contributes to progression or degree classification decisions. It indicates whether you’ve succeeded in meeting a module’s learning outcomes enabling you to identify any action required for future assessments.

All feedback on coursework is provided electronically. You'll receive verbal feedback for presentations, and written feedback where the presentation makes a significant contribution to the module mark.

Exam feedback is usually provided in writing for your cohort, while your individual exam paper can be discussed with the module convenor.

How will I be assessed?

All modules are assessed by at least 2 assessment tasks. Examples include individual and group assignments, coursework, presentations and exams. We take care to ensure a range of assessment types and that deadlines are spread throughout the academic year.

Feedback is provided on assessments and other learning to give you the opportunity to reflect on your current or recent level of attainment, provided either individually or to groups. You’ll receive feedback that helps you develop, based on your course and what stage you’re at.

You'll receive feedback in several ways, including in one-to-one with your tutor; generic; peer; informal; and self-evaluation to submit along with your assessment.

Academic staff and peers deliver feedback in writing; annotations of written work; verbally; or in seminar discussion, throughout and at the end of your studies.

What skills will I practise and develop?

Knowledge & Understanding:

On successful completion of the Programme you will be able to demonstrate:

• An understanding of the key ideas, theories and concepts used in sociology and their relationship to themes, theories and findings from cognate disciplines.
• An understanding of the main research methods used within the social sciences and the philosophical issues that inform their application and use in research settings.
• A critical and in-depth understanding of research and theory in selected sub-fields of sociology and the relevance of this work to contemporary social debates, issues or problems.
• An understanding of the role empirical evidence plays in the creation and constraint of theory, and how theory guides the collection and interpretation of empirical data.

Intellectual Skills:

On successful completion of the Programme you will be able to demonstrate:

• Critically evaluate existing knowledge, scholarship and research in sociology and use this knowledge to reach a balanced judgement about the merits and relevance of competing claims and theoretical perspectives.
• Critically evaluate the use of evidence in social science disciplines and policy debates, drawing on both broad methods training and subject specific knowledge
• Utilise knowledge and skills to understand and explain social phenomena of interest to sociology and apply this understanding to new or novel questions.

Professional Practical Skills:

On successful completion of the Programme you will be able to demonstrate:

• Design and use a range of data collection instruments needed to explore and understand the social world
• Critically evaluate, synthesise and interpret primary and secondary data generated using different methods, using specialist software where necessary
• Work both collaboratively and individually on theoretically informed and empirically-grounded projects that draw on appropriate and relevant research evidence

Transferable/Key Skills:

On successful completion of the Programme you will be able to demonstrate:

• The capacity for problem-solving and originality in thinking by using knowledge and skills to tackle familiar and unfamiliar problems
• Academic and personal skills such as critical thinking, writing, oral presentations, problem solving, group work, time-management, and the use of information technology.
• The ability to communicate complex information in a variety of formats including reports, oral presentations, posters and dissertations

What are the learning outcomes of this course/programme?

The Learning outcomes for this Programme describe what you will be able to do as a result of your study at Cardiff University. They will help you to understand what is expected of you and academic staff will focus on precisely what they want you to achieve within each Module. 

Knowledge & Understanding:

Students completing the Programme will demonstrate:

• An understanding of the key ideas, theories and concepts used in sociology and their relationship to themes, theories and findings from cognate disciplines.
• An understanding of the main research methods used within the social sciences and the philosophical issues that inform their application and use in research settings.
• A critical and in-depth understanding of research and theory in selected sub-fields of sociology and the relevance of this work to contemporary social debates, issues or problems.
• An understanding of the role empirical evidence plays in the creation and constraint of theory, and how theory guides the collection and interpretation of empirical data.

Intellectual Skills:

Students completing the Programme will be able to:

• Critically evaluate existing knowledge, scholarship and research in sociology and use this knowledge to reach a balanced judgement about the merits and relevance of competing claims and theoretical perspectives.
• Critically evaluate the use of evidence in social science disciplines and policy debates, drawing on both broad methods training and subject specific knowledge
• Utilise knowledge and skills to understand and explain social phenomena of interest to sociology and apply this understanding to new or novel questions.

Professional Practical Skills:

Students completing the Programme will be able to:

• Design and use a range of data collection instruments needed to explore and understand the social world
• Critically evaluate, synthesise and interpret primary and secondary data generated using different methods, using specialist software where necessary
• Work both collaboratively and individually on theoretically informed and empirically-grounded projects that draw on appropriate and relevant research evidence

Transferable/Key Skills:

Students completing the Programme will demonstrate:

• The capacity for problem-solving and originality in thinking by using knowledge and skills to tackle familiar and unfamiliar problems
• Academic and personal skills such as critical thinking, writing, oral presentations, problem solving, group work, time-management, and the use of information technology.
• The ability to communicate complex information in a variety of formats including reports, oral presentations, posters and dissertation