How you learn

Our staff are experts in their fields – bringing their research-based knowledge to all the teaching and learning activities on the course. With their support you’ll develop confidence, champion diversity and make a difference in communities – all in a safe, green and affordable city. You’ll challenge your understanding of the social world through lectures, seminars, workshops,and tutorials.

You’ll also discover new knowledge and ideas through a variety of field trips, events and guest speakers arranged throughout the year. You’ll develop your skills by working with others in small groups, as well as by creating your own independent learning style.

You learn through: 

• Workshops 
• Tutorials 
• Field trips 
• Events 
• Guest speakers 
• Group learning

Key Themes

From day one, you’ll learn how to research, gain independence, benefit from invaluable work placements, and become a confident, competent professional. You’ll explore core sociological knowledge and skills before progressing onto specialised interests and employability skills – working on live projects and putting your skills to the test in real-world situations. 

You will develop your knowledge and skills in a range of modules on topics such as Education, Health and Disability, Drugs, Crime and Society, and Gender, Sexuality, and Culture. 

Course Support 

Community is a huge part of this course – both in and out of the classroom. You’re part of a large, safe academic community that helps you thrive. You’ll help to champion diversity in an accepting environment, with societies, charities and other extracurricular activities to help you along the way.

You will be supported in your learning journey towards highly-skilled, graduate-level employment through:

• Access to specialist support services to help with your personal, academic and career development.
• Access to our Skills Centre with one-to-one, webinars, and online resources.
• Industry-specific employability activities such as live projects, learning in simulated environments and networking opportunities.

Course leaders and tutors

Ian Woolsey

Senior Lecturer In Sociology

Former Faculty Research Fellow: College of Social Sciences and Arts. Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Applied learning

On this industry-focused course, you’ll learn things you can apply to the real world. For example, previously our students have undertaken research with various charities. They have also worked collaboratively online with students from the University of Dallas.  There are always opportunities outside of the classroom – we’ve even recently seen a level 4 student deliver a speech to the United Nations.

Live Projects

You’ll undertake live projects as part of your degree, getting a taste of how to use the skills you learn on the course in the real world. For example, working on a project brief for a local charity – undertaking desk-based research, helping them while also forming the basis for your assessment.

You’ll further boost your CV by undertaking more demanding commissioned projects – working in a team to meet the needs of local organisations. These could include research and development departments, charities, human resources, community-based support, businesses and service providers.

Field Trips 

During the course, you can take a field trip at no additional cost. In recent years these have included a visit to Liverpool, Edinburgh, Dublin and Belfast. You get to immerse yourself in places and contexts of sociological importance and interest. For example, previously students have visited the Slavery museum in Liverpool/the Scottish Parliament building in Edinburgh. 

There are also additional away days and conferences to help build more external knowledge.
 

Work Placements 

In the second year, many students opt to go on an eight-week work placement. This gives you real-world experience to prepare you for your future career. Previous students have worked on projects under the direction of a supervisor in workplaces such as hospitals, police service, schools, council departments and community associations.

Alternatively, you can study abroad for 12 weeks at a university in Europe, Australia, USA or Canada. This is a brilliant chance to learn about different cultures and learning styles and travel to new places and meet new people.

Networking Opportunities

 As a Sociology student, you’ll be enrolled as a member of the Social Research Association (SRA) – funded by the university. The SRA is a membership organisation for social researchers working on poverty, health, crime and other social issues you’ll encounter on your course. You’re able to access extensive networks that can support your studies and career development – with amazing networking and research opportunities during your studies and beyond. It also provides access to a wealth of past and present research for you to refer to.

The Sociology society is also a great chance to meet with your fellow students. You can network and socialise with students from your course or different courses – anyone who shares an interest in social issues and the development of society.

Future careers

The skills you’ll develop during this flexible degree will enable you to successfully transition into a much more comprehensive range of potential career paths.

This course prepares you for a career in:

• Health and related areas 
• Education 
• Police, prison, and probation 
• Local and national government 
• Drug and alcohol services  
• Social and policy research 
• Human resources 
• Civil service  
• Trade unionism 
• Business management 
• Victim support work 
• International consultancy 
• Journalism

Where will I study?

You study at City Campus through a structured mix of lectures, seminars and practical sessions as well as access to digital and online resources to support your learning.

City Campus

City Campus is located in the heart of Sheffield, within minutes of the train and bus stations.

City Campus map | City Campus tour 

Location

Howard Street
Sheffield
S1 1WB

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Adsetts library

Adsetts Library is located on our City Campus. It's open 24 hours a day, every day.

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Entry requirements

Fees and funding

• Home students
• International students

Home students

Our tuition fee for UK students on full-time undergraduate courses in 2025/26 is £9,535 per year (capped at a maximum of 20% of this during your placement year). These fees are regulated by the UK government and therefore subject to change in future years.

If you are studying an undergraduate course, postgraduate pre-registration course or postgraduate research course over more than one academic year then your tuition fees may increase in subsequent years in line with Government regulations or UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) published fees. More information can be found in our terms and conditions under student fees regulations.

International students

Our tuition fee for International/EU students starting full-time study in 2025/26 is £17,155 per year. During your placement year you will pay a reduced fee of £1,200.

Financial support for home/EU students

How tuition fees work, student loans and other financial support available.

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Additional course costs

The links below allow you to view estimated general course additional costs, as well as costs associated with key activities on specific courses. These are estimates and are intended only as an indication of potential additional expenses. Actual costs can vary greatly depending on the choices you make during your course.

General course additional costs

Additional costs for Sheffield Institute of Social Sciences (PDF, 154.4KB)

Legal information

Any offer of a place to study is subject to your acceptance of the University’s Terms and Conditions and Student Regulations.