Politics and Sociology

Politics and sociology together provide a comprehensive framework for understanding power and social life. Politics examines how authority is organised, how policy is made, how political systems function and fail, and how competing interests are managed in democratic and non-democratic societies. Sociology examines the social structures, norms, institutions and relationships that shape human experience, asking how inequality is produced and maintained, how culture and identity are formed, and how social change happens.

The two disciplines are deeply connected: political structures are themselves social arrangements, and the distribution of social power always has political dimensions.

At the University of Exeter, this three-year full-time degree develops your understanding of both disciplines with the intellectual rigour and research-informed teaching that characterise Exeter's social science provision. You will engage with political theory, comparative politics, international relations and policy analysis alongside the major theoretical traditions in sociology, from classical nineteenth-century thinkers to contemporary debates about gender, race, globalisation and the environment. A year abroad is available, giving you the opportunity to study in another academic environment and to develop your understanding of how political and social arrangements differ across national and cultural contexts.

You will develop strong analytical and research skills, the ability to work with both quantitative and qualitative data, and the capacity to construct well-evidenced arguments about complex political and social questions. Critical thinking and clear written communication are central throughout.

Graduates from politics and sociology degrees move into the civil service, policy research, local government, the third sector, journalism, international organisations, social research, education, and a wide range of other careers. Postgraduate study in politics, sociology, social policy, or public administration is a natural pathway.