Politics and Sociology with Foundation Year

Politics and sociology together offer a comprehensive way of understanding how societies are organised, how power is distributed, and how social forces and political decisions interact to shape people's lives. Sociology examines the structures, institutions and processes through which human beings live collectively, asking questions about class, identity, inequality, culture and change. Politics gives you the analytical tools to understand how governing institutions work, how decisions are made, contested and implemented, and how ideas about democracy, rights and justice are translated into policy and practice.

At the University of Keele this programme includes a foundation year, which builds the analytical, social scientific and research skills you need before the main degree begins. Across the full four years full time, you will engage with the most pressing challenges facing contemporary societies, including inequality, climate politics, migration, demographic change and the crisis of democratic governance, bringing both sociological and political analytical frameworks to bear on them. You will develop skills in critical thinking, evidence-based argument, research design and communication that are central to both disciplines.

Graduates from politics and sociology programmes move into careers in the civil service, local government, policy research, non-governmental organisations, social work, community development, journalism, education, trade unions and the charitable sector. The combination of political and sociological understanding is particularly valuable in roles that involve analysing social problems, informing policy or working with communities affected by inequality and change. Postgraduate study in politics, sociology, social policy, public administration or related disciplines is a natural further route.