Overview
The BA Sociology is ideally suited to those with an inquisitive mind in tumultuous times. We examine society and our experience of it as individuals, working professionals, families, communities and organisations. Sociology encourages critical thinking and could inspire you to look at the world in different ways, questioning conventional wisdom and social structures.
You’ll analyse the pressing issues of modern day society, not just in Britain, but throughout the world, including: globalisation, development, modernity, postmodernity, race, inequality and social exclusion, traditional and new media, work-life balance, sex, sexuality, families, intimacy and gender relations.
Why Coventry University?
An award-winning university, we are committed to providing our students with the best possible experience. We continue to invest in both our facilities and our innovative approach to education. Our students benefit from industry-relevant teaching, and resources and support designed to help them succeed. These range from our modern library and computing facilities to dedicated careers advice and our impressive Students’ Union activities.
To ensure an optimised and continual student experience, the university may deliver certain contact hours and assessments via emerging online technologies and methods across all courses.
Global ready
An international outlook, with global opportunitiesEmployability
Career-ready graduates, with the skills to succeedTeaching Excellence
Taught by lecturers who are experts in their fieldCourse essentials
A degree which offers you more, at no extra costRelated Links
Building Redevelopment
We are currently in the process of a major redevelopment of our Faculty of Arts and Humanities buildings. The building will be open to the public as well as students, and will feature an expansive gallery space.
Creative Community Hub
We hope that you are all staying safe in these uncertain times. Creative activities can really help fill the days, while we are spending more time at home and we have some ideas to keep you busy.
Employability
We are at the forefront of delivering enterprise and employability as part of our undergraduate programme and our employability unit co-ordinates the delivery of this for all students.
What our graduates say
The modules were a great mix between traditional sociology and contemporary topics, along with some interconnecting modules with criminology which I’m also interested in. The vast array of the content covered is so interesting, alongside the passionate and experienced lecturers. The overseas study trips are also great ways to get personal and direct understanding from the source of many of the covered matters.
Course information
Studying Sociology helps you develop your own sociological imagination and upon successful completion you will gain a critical understanding of the contemporary world, human behaviour and the forces shaping society.
Course Specification
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Modules
We regularly review our course content, to make it relevant and current for the benefit of our students. For these reasons, course modules may be updated.
We are ranked as the 15th best University in the United Kingdom - Guardian University Guide 2020
In more detail...
The Sociology team at Coventry are committed to your academic and personal development. Student support is one of our top priorities and you’ll be joining a lively, welcoming and friendly community, with 96.6% student satisfaction (National Student Survey, 2018).You’ll be taught by a combination of qualified educationalists, active researchers and experts in their areas (staff are subject to change).
As part of our commitment to provide practical, real-life experience relevant to potential future career options, you’ll have opportunities to work in diverse situations on short and long-term placements, which offer professional and intercultural experiences, and may include agencies such as Glaxo Smith Kline. You’ll also participate in exciting fieldtrips**; previous students have visited Berlin to explore Post War Germany, Memorialisation, Sicily to examine Anti-Mafia Organisations, and Gothenburg to research migration, urban development, and music and food culture.
(**field trips are subject to competitive application, availability, meeting visa requirements and additional costs may apply).
- Wide choice of modules allowing you to tailor to suit your interest, in topics such as gender, race, class and identity.
- Opportunities to expand international experience by participating in exciting field trips**, studying or working abroad*.
- Develop the skills potential future employer’s desire, such as working to deadline, presentation, verbal and written communication, analysis, critical thinking and report writing.
- Excellent professional links with local and national employers.
- (**field trips are subject to competitive application, availability, meeting visa requirements and additional costs may apply).
We enjoy links with national and local employers including the Refugee Centre and Citizens Advice Bureau.
Your main study themes are: intersectional approaches to the study of race, class, gender, sexuality and disability, as well as an understanding of development, modernity and postmodernity.
This course can be studied on a full-time basis for three years, or part-time over four to six years.
It is taught using a mixture of lectures, small group seminars, personal tutorials and practical, ‘hands-on’ skills workshops. Core course content will be delivered during the lectures, while the associated seminars and workshops offer opportunities for you to explore topics more independently and in more depth.
We regularly introduce contemporary issues into the classroom. For example, we might discuss a topical issue in the news, such as Brexit and the recent US Presidential election. You will also have the option to go on local and international fieldtrips, as well as other excursions and events***, to help shape and facilitate your sociological imagination and apply what you have learned on the course to real world situations and phenomena. These have previously included international trips to Gothenburg and Sarajevo, local visits to the Hillfields area of Coventry and trips to theatre productions.
***Excursions and events may be subject to competitive application, availability, meeting visa requirements and additional costs may apply.
This course will be assessed using a variety of methods which will could vary depending upon the module. Assessment methods include essays, case studies, reports, posters, presentations, photographic essays, video documentaries, and an online portfolio.
The Coventry University Group assessment strategy ensures that our courses are fairly assessed and allows us to monitor student progression towards the achieving the intended learning outcomes. Assessments may include exams, individual assignments or group work elements.
On successful completion, you will be able to:
- Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of: classical and modern debates in sociological theory; sociological research techniques and the relationship between argument and evidence; relationships between methodological, epistemological and ontological questions; comparative social development and the social processes underpinning social change; relationships between individuals, groups and social institutions.
- Demonstrate competence in interpreting, analysing, evaluating and communicating sociological information.
- Demonstrate the ability to think reflectively, critically and analytically about key issues.
- Critically evaluate research evidence, including statistical information, and use this to draw conclusions about the validity of different claims and arguments.
- Communicate in a confident, professional manner, both verbally and in writing.
We set out below the typical teaching contact hours that you will receive on this course. Teaching contact hours will vary in different semesters and years of study. In addition to the contact hours below, we offer the opportunity to attend additional optional sessions, including sessions with the Faculty’s progress coaches, or to meet with staff during their advice and feedback hours.
Within your first and second years, you will typically have around 4 contact hours of teaching a week per 20 credit module which includes:
- Medium group teaching: practical classes, seminars or workshops per week
- Large group teaching: lectures each week.
The contact hours may be made up of a combination of face-to-face teaching, individual and group tutorials, and online classes and tutorials.
One of the main features of this course is its international focus. Our lecturers come from across the world and have expertise in international issues, global development and comparative sociology (staff are subject to change).
There are opportunities for overseas fieldtrips***, study or placements abroad* (application and additional costs may apply). For example, in recent years, past students have studied on a range of sociology related and non-directly sociology related courses at universities in Sweden, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands.
Our Study Trip module provides further opportunities for international experiences* and has previously facilitated visits to Berlin, Istanbul, Poland, Sarajevo Sicily and Gothenburg where past students have visited a number of significant social, cultural and political spaces such as the Reichstag Building in Berlin and the military airport of Boccadifalco.
***Excursions and events may be subject to competitive application, availability, meeting visa requirements and additional costs may apply.
*Please note that we are unable to guarantee any placement or study abroad opportunities and that all such opportunities may be subject to additional costs (e.g. travel, visas and accommodation etc.), competitive application, availability and/or meeting any applicable visa requirements. To ensure that you fully understand the requirements in this regard, please contact the International Office for further details if you are an EU or International student.
Global ready
Did you know we help more students travel internationally than any other UK university according to data from the experts in higher education data and analysis, HESA?
In 2018/19, we provided a total of 5,469 experiences abroad that lasted at least five days.
Much of this travel is made possible through our Global Leaders Programme, which enables students to prepare for the challenges of the global employment market, as well as strengthening and developing their broader personal and professional skills.
Explore our international experiences1st for
international experiences
Sending more students overseas than any other UK uni 2016/17
5,469
Student experiences
The number of student trips abroad for at least 5 days in 2018/19
12,000
and counting
The number of students we’ve helped travel internationally since 2016
12
global programmes
As well as trips, we offer other opportunities like language courses
What our graduates say
Studying sociology at Coventry University has been an exciting and illuminating experience. The course has developed and enriched my understanding of both historical and contemporary social process that influence our daily lives. It has also encouraged me to evolve my sociological imagination, to be inquisitive and to find my own sociological standpoint. The faculty are clearly passionate about their work and consistently support students to achieve academic success. I highly recommend sociology, and I am so glad I chose to study at Coventry University.
Entry Requirements
What our students say
At the end of second year we went on a research trip to Gothenburg, Sweden for our coursework. It was an amazing trip and I was able to immerse myself in the culture through a series of activities put on by the university and through our own free time. It was also an a great chance to get to know my course mates better and I have now made life-long friends from this trip which has benefitted me in third year massively.
Tuition Fees
We pride ourselves on offering competitive tuition fees which we review on an annual basis and offer a wide range of scholarships to support students with their studies. Course fees are calculated on the basis of what it costs to teach each course and we aim for total financial transparency.
For more information, please visit our Finance pages.
Course essentials at no extra cost
We're committed to communicating study costs clearly to make sure you're not faced with having to make any unexpected payments.
This is why our ‘Flying Start’ package provides you with a few course essentials. Your full-time fee for an undergraduate degree will cover the following:
UK field trips
Any mandatory site visits and trips within the United Kingdom.Key material
This can include core textbooks, software and equipment.Laser prints
1,000 A4 sides of black and white laser printing credits per year.Optional year
Pay no tuition fees for optional work placements or study abroad trips.The following are additional costs not included in the fees: Any optional overseas field trips or visits: £400+ per trip; Placements/studying abroad opportunities may be subject to competitive application, availability, meeting visa requirements and additional costs may apply.
This course may incur additional costs associated with any field trips, placements or work experience, study abroad opportunities or any other opportunity (whether required or optional), which could include (but is not limited to) travel, accommodation, activities and visas.
EU student fees
EU nationals starting in the 2020/21 academic year remain eligible for the same fees as home students and the same financial support. Financial support comes from Student Finance England, and covers undergraduate and postgraduate study for the duration of their course, providing they meet the residency requirement.
For tuition fee loans
EU nationals starting in the 2020/21 academic year must have resided in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland for the three years prior to the start of their course. The purpose of that three year residency should not have been mainly for the purpose of receiving full time education.
For maintenance loans
EU nationals starting in the 2020/21 academic year must have resided in the UK and Islands for the five years prior to the start of their course. The purpose of that five year residency should not have been mainly for the purpose of receiving full time education.
Career prospects
Graduate Immigration Route visa
Based on current information from the UK Government, international students whose study extends beyond summer 2021 may be eligible for a visa under the UK Government’s Graduate Immigration Route, which will enable students to stay and work, or look for work, in the UK at any skill level for up to two (2) years. Check the most up to date guidance available to check your eligibility and any updates from the UK Government before making an application or enrolment decision.
Our courses have been designed to provide practical work experience and upon successful completion can equip you with a range of skills and competencies that can set you apart from other graduates and make you attractive to potential employers.
Our employment tutors for humanities provide a programme of workshops, embedded learning, lectures, professional experience and one-to-one guidance which aim to help you develop the transferrable skills and enterprising habits required for a potentially successful career.
We are committed to preparing you for your future career and giving you a competitive edge in the graduate job market. The university's Talent Team provide a wide range of support services to help you plan and prepare for your potential future career options.
Please note that work experience opportunities are subject to competitive application, availability, meeting any applicable visa requirements and additional fees may apply.
Where our graduates work
Past graduates are now employed in the private sector in industries ranging from banking and finance to media, and across the public sector in education, the civil service, police forces, local authorities, charities and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs).
What our graduates say
My four years at Coventry University have been extremely rewarding and memorable. Although the coursework and exams were challenging at times, the lecturers were extremely supportive and approachable for any help that I needed.
The help from employment and placement tutors was also very beneficial. With their help, I was able to find a full-time youth mentoring placement for my sandwich year and was supported throughout the application process. During the year away from university, I developed skills that will benefit me once I enter a career such as leadership and empathy.
Since completing my degree, I have accepted an offer at the University of Wolverhampton to study MA Social Work.
Disclaimer
By accepting your offer of a place and enrolling with us, a Student Contract will be formed between you and the university. A copy of the 2020/21 Contract can be found here. The Contract details your rights and the obligations you will be bound by during your time as a student and contains the obligations that the university will owe to you. You should read the Contract before you accept an offer of a place and before you enrol at the university.
The tuition fee for the course that is stated on the course webpage and in the prospectus for the first year of study will apply. We will review our tuition fees each year. For UK and EU students, if Parliament permit an increase in tuition fees, we may increase fees for each subsequent year of study in line with any such changes. Note that any increase is expected to be in line with inflation. Following the UK’s exit from the European Union, EU students should be aware that there may be a change to UK laws following the UK’s exit, this may change their student status, their eligibility to study part time, and/or their eligibility for student finance. We will act in accordance with the UK’s laws in force in relation to student tuition fees and finance from time to time.
For International students the tuition fee that is stated on the course webpage and in the prospectus for the first year of study will apply. We will review our tuition fees each year. For international students, we may increase fees for each subsequent year of study but such increases will be no more than 5% above inflation.
