BA (hons) Social Science
About This Course
If you love people watching and trying to understand human behaviour, how people tick, and how society works. A social science degree could be for you. This course offers students the opportunity to develop a critical appreciation of the social sciences. The course is about you, your relationships, the world you live in and it will change the way you think. You will study criminology, sociology and psychology, which will enable you to understand the contemporary world and to apply knowledge to social issues and problems.
This is an inter-disciplinary programme based on the disciplines of Psychology, Sociology and Criminology. The core social issue linking the three academic disciplines is crime. This course offers students the opportunity to develop a critical appreciation of the Social Sciences. Themes that are explored in the programme include explanations for criminal and deviant behaviour, historical and contemporary issues in policing, social control, social identity and the development of deviant personalities
Standard
A standard offer for the degree (a) will be 96 points at A level, Level 3 GNVQ/BTEC or Access to HE Diploma with 15 merits in a related subject.
Non-Standard
There may be an opportunity for students to be admitted with credit for prior certificated learning (APL) or other uncertificated learning APEL, if credit or experience are deemed relevant by the programme team.
All Modules are mandatory
Year 1 Level 4 Certificate stage modules are:
- Introduction to Psychology
- Introduction to Sociology
- Crime Deviance and Society
- Academic Skills
- Social Policy
- Introduction to Criminological Theory
Year 2 Level 5 Diploma stage modules are:
- Social Control
- Cognitive Development
- Sociology of Global Development
- Prisons, Penology and Policy
- Criminal Justice and Crime Prevention
- Research Skills
Year 3 Level 6 Honours stage modules are:
- Dissertation
- The Impact of Globalisation on Contemporary Britain
- Psychology of Addiction
- Drugs, Crime and Society
• Sex workers, Policy and Crime in Contemporary Society
The underpinning rationale for the assessment design is the ability for students to apply their skills and knowledge to a wide variety of tasks. By applying knowledge in different ways, it will increase students’ employability skills by finding novel solutions to the task in hand. Assessments methods include essay, reports, padlets, posters, presentation and academic posters.
The key teaching and learning approach will focus on critical evaluation and research into the concepts, theories and norms of each academic discipline studied. This method will enable students to critically evaluate any social problems they come across throughout the duration of the course and into their future working life. By developing the students’ critical evaluation skills, it will be necessary for students to research the background to a particular social issue and not just accept social issues/ problems at face value.
- Assessment based- no exams
- Small classes
- Inter-disciplinary gives students an opportunity to study a wide range of topic areas
- Supportive staff
- Opportunity to do some placement work
- Range of guest speakers
This course offers students the opportunity to develop a critical appreciation of the Social Sciences. Being inter-disciplinary, it will enable progression to a wide variety of further study and occupations. These include teaching, health related professions such as public and environmental health, community work, social work, probation, market research, business management, the police, the probation service, local government administration, housing and social research amongst others. Some students may chose to study for their masters degrees in a similar area.
