Sociology and Social Policy

Sociology and social policy are disciplines that look at the same world from closely related but distinct vantage points. Sociology asks how society is structured, how inequality is produced and reproduced, how institutions shape behaviour, and how people make sense of their social worlds. Social policy asks what governments and other institutions do in response to social problems: in housing, health, education, welfare, criminal justice and beyond.

Together they form a powerful combination for anyone who wants to understand both why things are as they are and what can be done to change them.

At the University of Stirling, you will study sociology and social policy across four years full time, with a year abroad that gives you the opportunity to engage with social structures, policy systems, and academic traditions in another country. Seeing how social problems are framed and addressed differently elsewhere is one of the most effective ways to understand both the contingency of your own society's choices and the possibilities for things to be different. The typical entry tariff is 152 points.

You will develop skills in qualitative and quantitative social research, the ability to read and evaluate social science evidence, and the critical thinking needed to analyse social structures and policy debates with rigour. Stirling has a strong social science faculty and a research culture that takes questions of inequality, health, welfare and social change seriously, providing an engaged environment for this kind of study.

Graduates from sociology and social policy programmes move into careers in social research, local and national government, social care, the voluntary sector, health services management, housing, education, policy analysis, community development and journalism. The combination of analytical skills and policy knowledge makes graduates valuable across public, private and third sector organisations concerned with social outcomes. Further study at postgraduate level in sociology, social policy, social work, or public administration is a common next step for those who want to specialise.