BA (Hons) Sociology

Core units

• Introduction to Social Theory: You’ll be introduced to key social theory that has informed classical and contemporary sociology, anthropology and criminology, and is embedded in the historical and philosophical context of the analysis of Western society and its social forms.
• Introduction to Social Research: This unit offers a broad introduction to social scientific approaches and methodological issues in research. You will be introduced to the parameters and scope of social scientific enquiry, focusing on the relationship of individuals to society, explore using published examples, including those carried out by BU researchers. Various approaches will be examined and practised with a view to you gaining the ability to develop your own social scientific research.
• Families & Kinship in Contemporary Society: The aim of this unit is to introduce you to the complexity of family constellations and their meanings in contemporary societies. You will be introduced to the sociology of families, competing definitions, social policies relating to families, and comparative international family practices, drawn from sociological and anthropological research and literature.
• Understanding Communities: This unit provides a broad overview of the development of urban and rural communities where you’ll explore recent social and cultural issues, changes and conflicts in rural and urban Britain and elsewhere. You’ll consider the ways in which ‘rural’ and ‘urban’ are represented in contemporary society, and how this impacts upon both individual and community identity and participation.
• Social Inequality & Exclusion: Explore the nature, lived experience, impact and possible causes of discrimination, inequality and social exclusion, using sociological, criminological and anthropological approaches. You’ll apply relevant sociological, criminological and anthropological enquiry to explore social exclusion, community cohesion, inequality, discrimination, marginalisation and oppression, together with an understanding of how this might be addressed and tackled.
• Histories of Social Policy and Social Welfare: This unit provides an understanding of the historical development of social policy and social welfare systems in British, other European, and international contexts. You’ll critically examine how welfare policies are bound up with the development of the modern state, and how they are linked to changing perspectives and ideologies relating to the causes of social deprivation and ‘social need’, and the inequalities associated with class, gender and race amongst other social variables

Students are required to complete all 4 core units including either Quantitative Skills or Doing Ethnographic Research as a core unit, and choose 2 option units. Option units will run if selected by a minimum of 10 students. Some combinations of optional units may not be available depending on the semester of delivery and timetable configurations.

Core units:

• Qualitative Research Skills: You will be equipped with knowledge and skills to enable you to carry out entry level qualitative research and analyse the qualitative research of others. The unit will assist you in your preparation for your final year dissertation.
• Contemporary Social Theory: Introducing social theory that informs contemporary sociology, criminology and anthropology, you’ll explore theories embedded in the contemporary and philosophical context of Western society and its social forms.
• Understanding Globalisation: Globalisation is a concept that refers to economic, political and technological forms of global interdependence and alignment in today’s world. In this unit you’ll explore the debates about globalisation within sociology and associated social science disciplines.

Core or option:

• Quantitative Skills: You will develop your understanding and evaluation of a range of quantitative methods and the underlying philosophical and ethical principles of their application within social science research. This unit will assist you in your preparation for your final year dissertation.
• Doing Ethnographic Research: You’ll gain experience of designing and undertaking an ethnographic research project in the Bournemouth area, investigating sociological and anthropological research questions, and critically reflecting on the benefits and challenges of qualitative research. The skills and experience developed from this unit will assist you in your preparation for the primary qualitative research you may wish to carry out as part of your final year dissertation. You will also have the opportunity to present your research findings at BU’s annual Student Undergraduate Research Conference.

Option units:

• Crime, Health and Society: Discover the rich and complex findings of social science in the sphere of health and how it relates to crime. You’ll investigate the sophisticated inter-relation between these fundamental concepts, and how their relationship continues to change.
• Impact of Crime: Examine the various forms of crime, particularly criminal acts within relationships, as well as sex offending and sex work. Alongside the established ‘legal’ definitions of crime, you’ll also explore the broader concept of social harm and related theoretical frameworks such as zemiology, environmental criminology and risk society. Consider the obvious and less obvious ‘costs’ and impact of crime and harm on individuals, on communities and on society at large, as well as the role and impact of the media on social attitudes and stereotypes, which might determine how we perceive crime and harm.
• Understanding Cultures: This unit considers classic and contemporary debates about how culture should be understood, theorised and studied; and what theoretical concepts lend themselves to a critical and sensitive approach to understanding cultures and cultural practices considered different from our own. You’ll explore cultures which are considered controversial or ‘deviant’ such as gang culture and cultures defining the body, personhood, life and death in different ways.
• Growing Up and Growing Old: This unit explores sociological and anthropological perspectives and theories of childhood, youth and aging. You’ll examine the variety, changes, and categories of the life course and the impacts of these constructions on people’s experiences of growing up and growing old.
• Ethnographies of Crime and Policing: You will explore ethnographies of crime and policing. You will study critically how crime and ‘policing’ may be understood and approached within social worlds and will observe neighbourhoods and ‘policing’ behaviour in Bournemouth.
• Human Trafficking and Criminality: You’ll consider the relationship between human trafficking, migration and criminality by looking at the different forms of trafficking across a number of countries. You will also explore human rights’ issues and develop critical skills in understanding migration, human trafficking, organised crime, as well as a series of emotions around trauma, violence and loss from criminological, sociological and anthropological perspectives.
• Placement Learning unit: You will have the opportunity to develop your graduate employability and career management capabilities by studying and experiencing an area of work relevant to your academic and professional interest in sociology and its relationship to wider society through participation in a 20-day or 150 hours placement-based learning unit.

• Criminological Psychology: Develop your understanding of the contribution of psychology to issues relating to crime and criminal justice. You’ll be introduced to a range of theoretical perspectives on offending behaviour, drawing from cognitive, developmental, social and biological psychology. The unit will explore aspects related to criminal investigation and detection, such as offender profiling, eye-witness testimony, police interviewing and false confessions. It will also consider the psychological impacts of crime, through exploring issues such as fear of crime and the psychology of victimisation.

• Being Human in a Posthuman World: The Sociology of AI: The aim of this unit is to explore whether the widespread use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) perpetuates social inequalities and creates new ones using sociological evidence. You will gain a broad understanding of how everyday use of AI shapes how you think and behave, and the unit will also offer a global perspective on how AI is shaping society by looking at international businesses utilising and developing AI today.

​Please note that option units require minimum numbers in order to run and may only be available on a semester by semester basis. They may also change from year to year.

You can opt to take a longer sandwich placement (30 weeks) for the third year of an extended four year degree.  This gives you the chance to gain experience and make contacts for the future.

Whether you choose the three- or four-year option, you will complete the following units in your final year.

Core units

• Dissertation: The final-year project provides you with an opportunity to demonstrate your intellectual, analytic and creative abilities through sustained independent inquiry of a chosen topic within the broad parameters of sociology.
• Terrorism, Protection and Society: The aim of this unit is to introduce you to many of the complex issues involved in conceptualising and responding to terrorism and protection in contemporary societies. You will be introduced to protection and counter-terrorism as a form of social regulation and control of individuals and ‘deviant’ groups (micro and meso issues) and ways in which society is ordered in an age of terrorist threat (macro-political issues). You will develop a deep critical understanding of the ways in which meanings are constructed and how these impact on social life.
• Politics & Ideology:  To improve, change and transform the situations and lives of individuals and communities, it may be necessary to influence government and decision makers in order to seek positive change. Therefore, this unit will provide you with an understanding of politics, political processes and the ideologies that may be key drivers in the development of policy and governance at the local, societal and global level.

Option units (choose two):

• Drugs, Crime and Society: Examines the phenomenon of illicit drug use and drug supply within the UK and internationally. It critically evaluates policing and policy regimes that have attempted to reduce the availability and consumption of drugs, whilst considering possible alternatives. The module explores theoretical explanations around drugs and drug addiction and considers the benefits of harm reduction and treatment programmes.
• Seekers, Believers and Iconoclasts: Sociology of Thought: Explore belief systems as a sociological phenomenon contextualised within a cultural and social analysis, as well as a philosophical and historical one. You’ll also consider belief systems as phenomena subject to social change and transformation in terms of influencing social structures, interactions and shared or diverse social understandings, influencing societies in transition.
• ‘Troubling’ Gender: This unit will explore gender as socially constructed and historically variable aspect of societies, past and present. You will examine the ways in which gender informs and structures social inequalities, and analyse the interrelationships between gender, power and other social categories (e.g., class, sexuality, race, ethnicity, religion, age, and nationality).
• Anthropology of International Intervention: Following crises, conflict, war or regime change, many populations and states become subject to large-scale military or humanitarian interventions, global knowledge transfer and development projects, which has led to a recognition of the importance of understanding local knowledge and involving local stakeholders in order to ensure the success of projects intending securitisation and democratisation, peace and state-building. During this unit, you’ll be familiarised with critical anthropological and multi-disciplinary debates and insights on international intervention policies and practices in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and you’ll also develop your critical and creative thinking for improving such development projects.
• Crime and Criminal Justice in the 21st Century: Build on your understanding of how crime is differentially defined within different sociological traditions, its possible causes, and how crime and criminal acts can impact on individuals, communities and societies. You’ll consider how crime can be addressed and whether wider policy changes in education, mental health, and drug policy can make a difference.
• Criminology of Organisations: This unit will introduce you to organisational crime and how this type of crime is currently being policed and regulated through means of law and social control. You’ll explore critically, the reasons why only a small percentage of this type of crime is prosecuted and adjudicated by the criminal justice system.
• Intersectional Criminology: This unit will introduce you to the intersecting relations of crime between different social groups. You’ll critically explore the social construction of crime by looking at the media and the creation and construction of divergent images, identities and attitudes towards different social groups, together with social policies and laws relating to crime and victimisation. You’ll consider the representation of marginalised communities within the criminal justice system and the contribution of intersectionality to criminological research.

• Capitalism’s crimes, contracts, and crises. Decolonial perspectives in the social sciences: This unit will introduce you to decolonial perspectives in sociology, social anthropology, and criminology. You will be encouraged to question and deepen your understanding of the world, including looking at the origins of capitalism in colonial slavery, the social and environmental impacts of global supply chains and tax havens, the links between racism and class divisions, climate change and fossil fuel capitalism.

• Sport and Leisure Cultures: Critical Perspectives: You will critically explore the socio-cultural, political and economic aspects of sport and leisure. This unit will analyse many societal concepts, including discrimination, exclusion, inequality, social justice, and theories of the body, gender, class, race, sexuality, agency and globalisation, as well as considering specific contexts such as physical education, football, Olympic and Paralympic Games, Gay Games, and gym culture.

Please note that option units require minimum numbers in order to run and may only be available on a semester by semester basis. They may also change from year to year.

You will be assessed by coursework culminating in your final year research project, and you will also undertake group work and written exams. The assessment methods for each unit can be found in the programme specification for your course.

Programme specifications provide definitive records of the University's taught degrees in line with Quality Assurance Agency requirements. Every taught course leading to a BU Award has a programme specification which describes its aims, structure, content and learning outcomes, plus the teaching, learning and assessment methods used.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the programme specification, the information is liable to change to take advantage of exciting new approaches to teaching and learning as well as developments in industry.

If you have been unable to locate the programme specification for the course you are interested in, it will be available as soon as the latest version is ready. Alternatively please contact us for assistance.

Our students have previously worked for:

• Microsoft, as a Marketing Intern
• Mercedes Benz (in marketing)
• Hays, as a Recruitment Intern
• Captify (search intelligence company), as a People Assistant
• Oracle, as a Consulting Support
• The Positive Internet Company (Web hosting company), as an Accounts, Sales, Marketing and Social Media Intern
• Travelport, as a Human Resources Learning and Development Talent
• SCA (Social Care Agency Social Enterprise, Hampshire)
• Monkton Wyld (an education centre for sustainable living)
• Insight & Engagement Team, Hampshire County Council
• Bournemouth Foodbank
• Bournemouth Churches Housing Association (BCHA)
• Citizens Advice, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
• Footprints Project (supporting men and women leaving prison)
• Primary, secondary and special schools
• Universiti Sains Malaysia, partner university
• NGOs in Malaysia (the Peace Learning Centre, House of Hope)

This course provides the opportunity to undertake a 20-day placement as an optional unit in your second year, or to complete a minimum 30-week placement in-between your second and final year studies to be eligible for a sandwich award. We provide you with support to help you achieve a rewarding and satisfying placement.

The faculty running your course will offer the support of a Placement Coordinator. 

They’ll help you plan your placement so you get the right experience for you. That includes offering help and support if you need to move to another part of the UK – and even another country – to get the most out of your time.

We’ve also built close industry links over the years – so our network of employers that are keen to work with placement students is always growing.

AccessBU: AccessBU provides you with the opportunity to tell us about your circumstances that are not always evident in your UCAS application. This widening access initiative also considers relevant criteria such as being in care or if you live in an area with a low participation rate in Higher Education - if you are eligible, your offer could be up to 16 UCAS tariff points below the published tariff.

Apprenticeships: We recognise the transferable knowledge and skills gained through apprenticeships and welcome applications from students with a Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship recognised by the Institute for Apprenticeships. Each application will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Deferred entry: We are happy to consider eligible applicants for deferred entry. If you have already submitted your application, please submit your deferral request through our website.

Direct entry: We welcome applications from students who have previously studied at degree level at other institutions and wish to transfer onto a BU course. Our Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) procedure enables credit awarded from one institution to contribute to a BU award, subject to an application process. Please visit our RPL webpage for more information.

Mature applicants: We recognise that mature applicants may have a wealth of experience rather than formal qualifications, so we’ll consider your application on these merits if included in your application. You’ll need to apply to BU in the usual way through UCAS and you may be invited to an interview to discuss your suitability for the course based on the experience you tell us about in your application.

As a student, you will be required to use your IT skills to utilise the web-based resources that are designed to support your study, write assessments, perform literature searches and create presentations.

We select candidates for this course by looking at your application; there are usually no interviews or selection activities needed. For that reason, make sure your application really stands out from the crowd, and leave us in no doubt as to why you should be joining BU. You can find some handy hints about filling in your UCAS form on our how to apply web pages.

We look at individual applications and make a tailored offer based on your potential to succeed on the course considering a range of factors, including your academic achievements, work and other experience, reference and personal statement, and in some cases, your performance at an interview or a portfolio review. Typically, we make an offer at the bottom of the tariff range.

AccessBU gives you the chance to tell us more about you and your life experiences if you haven’t had the same educational opportunities as other applicants. If you are eligible for AccessBU, your offer could be up to 16 UCAS Tariff Points below the published tariff.

Our offer-making will typically be based on your most recent qualifications, including any required subjects where applicable. We'll consider all qualifications when assessing your application, although these may not be part of our offer.

If you do not meet the criteria of your original offer, we may still offer you a place. We will review your whole application and consider all academic qualifications (including those not in the offer) to see if you have the academic potential to succeed on the course. If we feel the answer is yes, we will confirm your place.

The versatility of your degree will enable you to enter growth industries within the UK, helping to fill some of the skills shortages that have been identified in areas such as culture, media, teaching, research, human resources, and public and business services.

Among the sectors you could work in after graduation are:

• Education
• Social services
• Marketing
• Research
• Criminal justice.

Once you have completed an undergraduate Honours degree, you can further develop your education by studying for a postgraduate degree. For example, there is the possibility to develop your undergraduate research into a Master of Research with us.

Please visit our postgraduate section for further details about our range of Master’s degrees.

Jayne’s teaching and research interests are concerned with social justice and equality, critical socio-cultural analysis of leisure and sport cultures, feminist theory and activism, LBGT+ inclusion and theories of sexualities, and qualitative research methodologies.

Jayne is currently leading two funded research projects designed to improve the physical activity opportunities for the LGBT+ community in Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. One funded by the British Academy (Safe Swim: Supporting physical activity and well being for transgender young people); the other funded by Energise Me and Sport England (Pride in our Workforce).

Jayne’s academic citizenship includes Equality Officer for University and College Union BU branch, co-convenor for BU Women's Academic Network, Managing Editor of Leisure Studies (2013 - 2020), Associate Editor of Sociology of Sport Journal (2014-17), and editorial board member for: SSJ (2007-10); International Review for the Sociology of Sport (2007-11); Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise & Health (2013-17); Journal of Sport and Social Issues (2016 - ). 

After teaching at the University of Bath for four years whilst doing her PhD, Joo joined the Sociology team at Bournemouth in 2012. Since then, she has been teaching a range of undergraduate courses, as well as developing her research, exploring issues around identity, ethnicity/’race’, culture, and gender, focusing on East Asians in the UK.

Joo has conducted a number of research projects inspired by her personal experiences of migration to Britain from South Korea in 2000. Thanks to her cross-cultural experience, she has become fascinated by the considerable cultural differences between Korea and Britain and how these impact on individuals’ lives within these countries, as well as on those who cross cultural boundaries.

Joo’s PhD, titled: ‘The Intersection of Motherhood Identity with Culture and Class: a Qualitative Study of East Asian Mothers in England’, explored the accounts of first generation East Asian mothers living in England by using life history interviews. It aimed to examine how these women perceived their national and/or cultural heritage to have affected their experiences and identity formation, focusing on the gendered division of household labour within the family and discourse around motherhood and employment

Joo is currently working on her next research project on North Korean defectors in the UK.

Sam Porter is a sociologist by academic training and a nurse by profession. His wide research interests reflect this combination. His main areas of interest are palliative and end-of-life care; supportive care for cancer survivors and carers; maternal and child health; the sociology of health professionals; and the use of arts-based therapies. Recently, he has combined his interests through leadership of a randomised controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of music therapy in improving the well-being of children with behavioural problems, and a current pilot trial examining whether music therapy can reduce the anxiety of people reaching the end of their lives. In line with existing research strengths in the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences relating to the experiences of older people, he is taking an increasing interest in issues around palliative care for the elderly.

Sam has adopted a wide range of methods in his research, ranging from the above-mentioned randomised controlled trials to the use of qualitative approaches such as ethnography. He is a strong advocate of realist approaches to knowledge, which provide a robust rationale for the use of mixed methods. In his advocacy of a realist philosophy of science, he has enjoyed a number of contentious debates.

Sam teaches on social theory, research methods and the sociology of health.

Dr Jane Healy joined BU in 2017 as a Lecturer in Sociology and Crime & Deviance. Prior to this, Jane completed a PhD in disability hate crimes at Middlesex University, as well as Masters degrees in Social Science Research Methods and Criminology with Forensic Psychology. Jane also has an undergraduate degree in Psychology and worked as a Researcher at Middlesex University on a number of different projects within psychology, sociology and criminology.

Jane is currently co-investigator on the Respect at BU Hate Crime Project, which has engaged in forum theatre events for undergraduate and postgraduate students in hate crime awareness. She is also supporting a group of Anti-Slavery Student Ambassadors, who work in the local Bournemouth community to promote awareness of modern slavery and human trafficking. Jane is Chair of the CPS Wessex Modern Slavery Scrutiny Panel, and is an independent Panel member of the CPS Wessex Hate Crime Panel and the Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner's Stop and Search Panel.

Dr Healy teaches across sociology programmes, as well as representing Criminology programmes on the department's Placement Committee.

Stephanie studied social anthropology and Balkan studies at Free University Berlin, conducting her first ethnography in Albania in 1992, when the country had only just emerged from isolation and state socialism.

Stephanie became fascinated with the translocal evocations of local pasts in the rapidly, often violently, changing period of post-socialist transition. Social actors mobilised these pasts to construct new identities and social statuses and to negotiate conflicts over scarce resources. From 2000, Stephanie extended her research to the politics of memory and identity in post-war Kosovo.

From 1997 to 2003, Stephanie served as the first Nash Fellow for Albanian Studies at SSEES, UCL. Subsequently, she worked as an independent academic consultant with international agencies including the OSCE, World Bank, NATO, IOM and the ICTY. Stephanie was also called upon as an academic expert by police and social services, the Crown Court and immigration tribunals in the UK in cases involving blood feuds, homicide, war rape, trafficking, ethnic and sexual minorities and migrant family conflicts. This work sharpened her interests in applied anthropology, ethics and the relation between local and global culturist representations and their impact on social realities in practice.

Stephanie’s current research investigates local responses to the international paradigms of peace-building and state-building in post-war Kosovo. She explores how pre-war and war experiences in Kosovo are symbolically and ritually codified and transmitted through the generations; how these cultural reproductions underpin private and public memory, emotions, ideals and perceptions in the present; and who contests these.

Stephanie joined Bournemouth University in autumn 2013. She teaches undergraduate units on gender, childhood and youth, the life course, kinship and family. 

Dr Jonathan Parker is Professor of Society & Social Welfare. He moved to Bournemouth in 2006 after 11 years at the University of Hull, where he was one of the founders and director of the Family Assessment and Support Unit, a practice placement agency attached to the University and awarded the Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher Education in 1996, and latterly Head of Department of Social Work.

Jonathan's research projects focus on disadvantage and marginalisation, cross-cultural aspects of social work, research ethics and violence, conflict and religion. He has also researched and published in theories and methods in social work and dementia care. He has recently conducted cross cultural research on learning and practice with colleagues in Southeast Asia. He is currently working on projects concerning the meanings constructed during church visiting, constructions of adult safeguarding, gendered rituals in professional practice, and research ethics and learning disabled people.

He has published widely, including over 25 books and over 150 academic papers, chapters and reports. Jonathan is the co-editor of the highly successful series of Social Work text books 'Transforming Social Work Practice' and editor of the 'Journal of Practice Teaching and Learning', and joint editor-in-chief of the international journal 'Social Policy & Social Work in Transition'.

Patrick completed a Magister Artium (pre-Bologna reform) in Cultural Anthropology, Indonesian Philology, and Philosophy from the University of Cologne and a PhD in Social Anthropology from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. His research, writing and teaching seek to advance our understanding and critique of colonial, plantation-driven racialised capitalism and postcolonial, sweatshop-labour driven neoliberal capitalism. Patrick works on the historical political economy of colonial plantation regimes, racialised capitalism, gendered super-exploitation, and neoliberalism in postcolonial special economic zones. His publications further cover the invention of tradition debate, the anthropology of tourism, secular rituals, and prospects for an antifascist anthropology.

Patrick is lead-editor of FocaalBlog, one of the longest-running blogs in social anthropology, and serves on the editorial boards of Focaal – Journal for Global and Historical Anthropology and Social Analysis as well as for Marxism & Sciences, a journal edited by colleagues in Turkey and across the Global South. He is also co-founder and current President of the Commission on Global Transformations and Marxian Anthropology in the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences/World Council of Anthropological Associations.

What’s included in your tuition fee?

Your tuition fee covers expenses associated with your course including tuition materials, access to facilities, mandatory field trips and the following:

• Materials for laboratory and mandatory field-based teaching activity
• Support for finding placements (UK or abroad) and fieldwork, and non-financial support whilst on placement if this is part of your course of study
• A range of student services – advisors, help desks, counsellors, placement support and careers service
• The Library – access to a wide range of electronic resources (databases, e-journals and e-books), print and multimedia collections, subject librarians and study spaces
• Access to Brightspace, our virtual learning environment, which offers a responsive and personalised learning experience with powerful learning analytics capabilities, integrated social media and advanced video features.
• IT labs (some open 24/7), wireless network, AV equipment to borrow
• Disability and additional learning support, according to individual circumstances 
• The BU Language Centre to help you develop/improve foreign or English language skills
• 24 hours a day, 365 days a year security team.

Additional costs

We are committed to offering you value for money and ensuring there are no hidden costs while you are studying with us, therefore we have listed below any additional costs you may incur that are not covered by your tuition fee:

• Laptops, tablets and mobile devices and any software used on personal devices. Access to a personal computer is strongly recommended for your study. If you are experiencing financial difficulty, visit our website for information regarding hardship funds
• Accommodation and living costs. Our accommodation price guide can be found on our website
• Travel costs, outdoor wear and footwear for optional field trips (where applicable)
• Textbooks, general stationery and other supplies. Our award-winning library is stocked with a large range of textbooks and online resources, free of charge. The Students’ Union shops stock a wide range of stationery supplies on both campuses
• Travel costs to and from the University campus. An annual bus pass can be purchased alongside your rent if you are living in halls of residence/Unilet accommodation or may be purchased separately
• Travel costs to and from your placement (both in the UK and overseas) if this is part of your course of study
• Information about funding your placement year can be found on our website
• SportBU membership.

If you need to repeat one or more units during your studies (with or without attendance) the pricing will be pro-rata of the full-time fee.