Sociology

Sociology is the discipline that examines how society shapes individuals and how individuals, in turn, shape society. It asks how social structures, institutions and cultural norms produce and reproduce inequality, how communities are formed and maintained, and how social change happens in response to economic, political and technological forces. The sociological imagination, as it is sometimes called, is the capacity to see your own life and the lives of others as products of social forces rather than simply individual choices, and developing that capacity is one of the most transformative things a university education can offer.

At the University of Aberdeen, this four-year full-time programme opens your sociological imagination through top-rated teaching and a culture of dynamic research that connects you to the questions that sociologists are actively working on. You will engage with the major theoretical traditions of the discipline, from classical foundations in Marx, Durkheim and Weber to contemporary debates about globalisation, digital society, identity and social justice, and you will develop both qualitative and quantitative research skills that allow you to investigate social questions rigorously. A year abroad extends your perspective and gives you the opportunity to study sociology in a different national and cultural context, deepening the comparative understanding that the discipline rewards.

Sociology graduates are valued across a wide range of careers precisely because the discipline builds transferable skills in critical thinking, research, communication and the ability to understand complex social phenomena. The civil service, social work, journalism, education, public health, the charitable sector, human resources, market research and policy roles all draw on sociology graduates. Many graduates go on to postgraduate study in sociology, social policy, criminology, social work or public administration, where the theoretical and methodological foundations of their undergraduate degree support more advanced and applied work.