Sociology and Politics of Science

The sociology and politics of science is a discipline that examines science not just as a body of knowledge but as a social institution, asking how scientific knowledge is produced, validated, and contested, how science relates to political power and public life, and how the practices and cultures of scientific communities shape what scientists discover and believe. It draws on science and technology studies, sociology, history and philosophy of science, and political theory to ask genuinely challenging questions about one of the most powerful forces shaping the modern world.

At University College London, this three-year, full-time programme engages with these questions at the highest academic level. You will study the sociology of scientific knowledge, examining how laboratory practices, peer review, funding structures, and social norms shape what counts as scientific fact. You will explore the history and philosophy of science, developing an understanding of how scientific revolutions happen and what distinguishes science from other forms of knowledge.

You will engage with the politics of science and technology, examining how scientific expertise is mobilised in policy debates, how public trust in science is constructed and eroded, and how technologies shape and are shaped by social relations. UCL's location in London, at the centre of major scientific institutions, policy debates, and public discourse, adds considerable richness to the programme.

Graduates from this programme are particularly well suited to careers in science policy and communication, journalism, think-tanks, government advisory roles, academic research, public engagement, and organisations working at the interface of science and society. The combination of sociological analysis, historical understanding, and political awareness that the programme develops is genuinely distinctive, and graduates bring a critical perspective on science that is increasingly valued as societies grapple with complex scientific questions about health, environment, technology, and risk. Further postgraduate study in science and technology studies, history of science, or related disciplines is also a natural pathway.