BA (Honours) Sociology with Foundation Year

Year of Entry 2024/25
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BA (Honours)

Sociology with Foundation Year

Full-time Sociology

Harness sociological knowledge to build your future career and change the world around you – with an initial foundation year to prepare for the course.

Everything you need to know...

  • Pound sign

    What is the fee?

    Home: £9,250 per year (£1,200 for placement year)
    International/EU: £16,655 per year (£1,200 for placement year)

  • Time

    How long will I study?

    4/5 Years

  • Location

    Where will I study?

    City Campus

  • Bookmark

    What are the entry requirements?

    64 UCAS Points

  • Checkmark

    What is the UCAS code?

    C005

  • Date

    When do I start?

    September 2024

  • Avatar

    Placement year available?

    Yes


Where will I study?

This course is moving into one of our new buildings at City campus. Teaching will be delivered at our Collegiate campus during the 2024/25 academic year while we get our new facilities ready. After that you will study in brand new facilities at City campus.  

Course summary

  • Gain an understanding of deviance, order, protest, inequality, identity and religion. 
  • Take on real-world projects with hospitals, the police, schools, councils, charities, and community associations.
  • Develop an expert approach to producing life-changing research in the future.
  • Tailor your course to your interests with elective modules, live projects and work placements.
  • Gain membership of the Social Research Association (SRA).

Human social behaviour and our society is becoming more diverse and intricate. Join us to delve into the challenges of privilege and disadvantage, investigate ethnicity, class, sexuality, age, disability, gender, and religion, and explore social movements for equality in a global context. 

By studying Sociology at Sheffield Hallam University you will learn, you will become independent, and you will build a career that affects the world around you.

If you don't meet the entry requirements for our BA (Hons) courses – or if you’re not quite ready for studying at degree-level – we recommend you take our foundation course. You’ll share the foundation year with other Social Science students before moving onto your degree.


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How you learn

At Sheffield Hallam, all our courses are designed to engage you with the world and challenge you to think in new ways. You’ll get to collaborate with others, and you’ll be taught in a supportive environment where you can thrive.

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 our unique student support triangle 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

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Karl Baker-Green
Principal Lecturer, Head of Sociology

Staff profile for Karl Baker-Green

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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 third 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.

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Location

Howard Street
Sheffield
S1 1WB

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Equipment and facilities

The university is investing £250 million in new facilities over the next five years. This means students have access to new, innovative, and flexible spaces to study and relax in, making their student experience even better.

Entry requirements

All students

UCAS points

  • 64

This must include at least 32 points from one A level or equivalent BTEC National qualifications excluding general studies For example:

  • CC at A Level
  • MPP in BTEC Extended Diploma.
  • Pass overall from a T level qualification with D or E from core
  • A combination of qualifications, which may include AS levels and EPQ.

You can find information on making sense of UCAS tariff points here and use the UCAS tariff calculator to work out your points.

GCSE

  • English Language at grade C or 4 or equivalent
  • Maths at grade C or 4 or equivalent

ACCESS

  • Access to HE Diploma, with at least 45 level 3 credits.

If English is not your first language, you will need an IELTS score of 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in all skills, or equivalent. If your English language skill is currently below IELTS 6.0 we recommend you consider a Sheffield Hallam University Pre-sessional English course which will enable you to achieve an equivalent English score.

Additional information for EU/International students

If you are an International or non-UK European student, you can find out more about the country specific qualifications we accept on our international qualifications page.

For details of English language entry requirements (IELTS), please see the information for 'All students'.


Modules

Important notice: The structure of this course is periodically reviewed and enhanced to provide the best possible learning experience for our students and ensure ongoing compliance with any professional, statutory and regulatory body standards. Module structure, content, delivery and assessment may change, but we expect the focus of the course and the learning outcomes to remain as described above. Following any changes, updated module information will be published on this page.

You will be able to complete a placement year as part of this course. See the modules table below for further information.

Year 1

Compulsory modules

Module
Credits
Assessment
Contemporary Issues In Social Science 1
Credits 60
Assessment Coursework(100%)
Contemporary Issues In Social Science 2
Credits 60
Assessment Coursework(100%)
Year 2

Compulsory modules

Module
Credits
Assessment
Deviance, Order And Protest
Credits 20
Assessment Coursework(100%)
 Researching Society
Credits 40
Assessment Coursework(100%)
Sociology – The Big Issues
Credits 40
Assessment Coursework(100%)
The Sociological Imagination
Credits 20
Assessment Coursework(100%)
Year 3

Compulsory modules

Module
Credits
Assessment
Applied Research Methods
Credits 20
Assessment Coursework(100%)
Inequality, Identity And Intersectionality
Credits 20
Assessment Coursework(100%)
Theorising Modernities
Credits 20
Assessment Coursework(100%)

Elective modules

Module
Credits
Assessment
Sociology – Real-World Application
Credits 60
Assessment Coursework(100%)
Study Abroad - Social Sciences
Credits 60
Assessment Coursework(100%)
Work Placement (Politics And Sociology)
Credits 60
Assessment Coursework(70%) , Practical(30%)
Year 4

Optional modules

Module
Credits
Assessment
Placement Year
Credits -
Assessment
Final year

Compulsory modules

Module
Credits
Assessment
Drugs, Crime And Society
Credits 20
Assessment Coursework(100%)
Education, Health And Disability
Credits 20
Assessment Coursework(100%)
Gender, Sexuality, And Culture
Credits 20
Assessment Coursework(100%)
Sociology Dissertation
Credits 60
Assessment Coursework(100%)

Fees and funding

Home students

Our tuition fee for UK students starting full-time undergraduate study in 2024/25 is £9,250 per year. These fees are regulated by the UK government and are therefore subject to changes in government policy. During your placement year you will pay a reduced fee of £1,200.

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 2024/25 is £16,655 per year. During your placement year you will pay a reduced fee of £1,200.

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Financial support for home/EU students

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

Learn more

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 Sociology courses (PDF, 336.9KB)

Legal information

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

 

How do I apply?

Apply now via UCAS

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Teaching

We are Gold rated in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) for the outstanding quality of our teaching and student outcomes

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We guarantee to find you an affordable place to live that’s close to campus and comes with all bills included

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Employment

95% of our UK graduates are in work or further study 15 months after graduating (2021/22 Graduate Outcomes Survey)

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