Sociology with Foundation Year

Sociology is the science of society, examining how human social life is structured, how it changes over time and why it takes the forms it does. It investigates the major social divisions of class, ethnicity, gender, age and sexuality alongside the institutions of family, education, work, religion and the state, asking how these structures shape individual experience and how individuals in turn reproduce or challenge them. Sociology develops critical thinking about the world we live in, questioning what is taken for granted in media, politics and everyday life, and provides the analytical tools to investigate social problems and evaluate claims about the social world with rigour.

At York St John University this four-year programme includes a foundation year, making sociology accessible to a wider range of students and providing the academic preparation needed before the main degree. You will deepen your understanding of contemporary society through social theory and empirical analysis, investigating the challenges societies face and examining topical social and cultural issues. A sandwich year in professional practice and a year abroad are built into the programme, giving you extended professional experience and an international perspective on the social and cultural questions the discipline raises.

Sociology graduates work across social research, social policy, public services, education, social work, journalism, communications, human resources, community development, the voluntary sector and a wide range of other careers where understanding how society works and how it might be changed is relevant. The research skills, critical thinking and analytical writing the degree develops are valued across many professional fields. Many graduates pursue postgraduate study in sociology, social policy, criminology, social work, education or related disciplines, moving into research, practice or policy roles that draw directly on their sociological training.