Sociology and Psychology with a Foundation Year

Sociology and psychology together examine human behaviour and social life from two complementary but distinct starting points. Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behaviour, asking how people think, feel, perceive, learn and act, and developing empirical methods to answer those questions. Sociology examines the social structures, institutions and cultural forces that shape what is possible for individuals and groups, asking how class, race, gender, religion and power operate in social life.

Together they give you both an individual-level and a social-level understanding of why people behave as they do, and why outcomes vary so dramatically between groups.

At Swansea University you will study sociology and psychology over four years of full-time study, with a foundation year integrated at the start of the programme that builds the scientific and theoretical foundations for both disciplines before the degree content begins. You will receive scientific training in the relationship between mind, brain, and behaviour alongside the essential theoretical frameworks needed to understand people's behaviour as social beings. You will develop research skills in both quantitative and qualitative methods, learning to design studies, collect data and analyse findings with rigour and care.

The typical tariff of 136 reflects the academic demands of a combined programme at a research-active Welsh university.

Graduates work in social research, mental health support, social work, human resources, marketing, education, community development, public policy, the civil service and a wide range of roles where understanding people and social systems is central to the work. Those who want to practise as psychologists need postgraduate training after their undergraduate degree. Many graduates go on to postgraduate study in psychology, sociology, social work, counselling, criminology, public health or related fields.

The combination of scientific and social-science approaches to human behaviour is a genuinely versatile graduate profile.