School of Humanities and Social Sciences

What can I do with a sociology degree?

Sociology degrees at Leeds Beckett develop your critical analytical and interpretive skills and forge a deeper understanding of the world around you.

Published on 05 Apr 2021
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What is sociology?

Sociology is the study of human social relationships. It has a wide and diverse subject matter, ranging from exploring the social dynamics of a variety of people and groups, to complex issues and topics such as gender and sexuality, social class and inequality, the family and intimate relations, the media and digital lives and politics and the state. Sociologists seek to understand social life in order to help improve people’s lives through more informed and effective policies and participation in public life.

Careers with a sociology degree

Sociology can lead to a number of career paths due to the nature of the critical and transferable skills gained whilst studying the course. Our graduates have established rewarding careers in a variety of fields such as the primary, secondary and tertiary education, the NHS, local government, the police, social/youth work, advertising, marketing, corporate social responsibility, NGOs, civil service, graduate schemes and with charities, voluntary and community groups. Our students also go on to study at higher levels at universities across the country and overseas.

What does Postgraduate study of sociology look like?

Graduates interested in related sociological subjects such as social policy, criminology, youth and community studies or research can continue their studies with taught MAs and then a PhD. For some career areas, such as teaching, law, social work and counselling for example, sociology graduates will need to study these specifically at a postgraduate level.

What kind of skills will I gain?

Sociology graduates are highly valued by employers for the range of skills developed during their degree study. Some of the skills you will gain are:

  • Written and verbal communication – through writing essays or reports, creating and delivering presentations and leading/contributing to group discussion
  • Critical thinking – through interactive group work in seminars, writing reflective reports and critical reviews and exploring and applying social theory
  • Team work – through working in groups for assignments and in seminar activities
  • Research skills – through the planning and execution of a range of different research projects and activities  
  • Analytical skills – through analysing and evaluating literature and research data
  • Organisation and planning – through planning and organising your own workload and designing and executing research activities for assignments
  • IT skills – from using Microsoft Office programmes for assessments, e-tools to locate appropriate research literature and specialist sociological data analysis programs such as Nvivo and SPSS.

What other experience will I gain on the course?

As part of the course, all students are offered the option to study abroad and are also signposted and strongly encouraged towards a variety of volunteering opportunities to engage with social issues and field future work opportunities.

WHAT WILL YOUR STORY BE?

Studying with us is a great choice, check out some of our courses and see for yourself!

BA (Hons)

Sociology

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