Introduction to the University of Kent

The University of Kent is a prestigious institution located in the United Kingdom, offering a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate programs. One of the programs offered by the university is the BSc (Hons) in Sociology.

Overview of the BSc (Hons) in Sociology

The BSc (Hons) in Sociology is a three-year full-time program that explores the key issues facing society today. The program is designed to provide students with a critical understanding of social structures, institutions, and relationships. Students will learn to think differently, question assumptions, and make sense of the social world around them.

Course Structure

The program is divided into three stages, each with its own set of compulsory and optional modules. In the first stage, students will take compulsory modules that introduce them to the fundamentals of sociology, sociological theory, and research methods. In the second stage, students will take a combination of compulsory and optional modules that allow them to specialize in areas such as inequality, crime, and social justice. In the third stage, students will take optional modules that allow them to further specialize in areas such as environmental sociology, science and society, and sociology of urban life.

Compulsory Modules

The compulsory modules in the program include:

• Fundamentals of Sociology
• Sociological Theory: The Classics
• Making Sense of Society
• Society, Culture, Power
• Sociological Theory: Contemporary Perspectives
• Investigating Social Issues
• Researching Digital Society and Culture
• Applying Social Research

Optional Modules

The optional modules in the program include:

• Inequality, Crime, and Justice
• Popular Culture, Media and Society
• 'You think you're better than me?' The Sociology of Status
• Race and Ethnicity in Multicultural Societies
• Migration and Belonging
• Education in a Global World
• Digital Culture
• Protest, Activism, and Social Change
• Environmental Sociology: Politics and Protest
• Money and Power: Sociology of Economic Life
• Science and Society
• The Sociology of Urban Life
• Researching Bodies and Gender
• Sociology in the Global South
• Research Project

Teaching and Assessment

The program is taught through a combination of lectures, seminars, and workshops. Assessment is based on a variety of methods, including essays, critical reviews, portfolios, and presentations.

Entry Requirements

The typical offer for the program is BBB at A level, or equivalent qualifications. International students are required to have a good level of English language, equivalent to B2 on the CEFR.

Fees and Funding

The tuition fees for the program are £9,790 for UK students and £19,300 for international students. The university offers a range of scholarships and funding opportunities to support students.

Career Prospects

Graduates of the program have gone on to pursue careers in a variety of fields, including policy and research, media and journalism, government and public services, social work and community development, and marketing and human resources.

Research Areas

The university has a strong research focus, with staff working on a range of projects related to sociology, including digital society, global inequality, and environmental activism.

Why Study at Kent?

The University of Kent is a great place to study sociology, with a strong research focus, excellent teaching, and a supportive learning environment. The university is ranked 3rd in the UK for research in sociology, and has a global outlook, with students and staff from all over the world. The program offers flexible final-year options, including the opportunity to undertake a research project or a work placement.

What you'll study

Your degree your way. Discover the wide range of modules available to you. This listing is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation:

Stage 1

Stage 2

Year abroad

Stage 3

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Stage 1

Compulsory modules currently include the following

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This course is designed to provide students with an introduction to the ways sociologists attempt to document and explain the social experience of everyday life. Each week the category of 'social experience' is held up for analytical scrutiny in relation to a particular component of ‘everyday life’. The course aims to illustrate the value of sociology for helping individuals to better understand the contents and conditions of their social experience of the world. It also aims to document the ways in which sociological theories and methods have developed in correspondence with the evolution of modern societies. The curriculum will include topics such as: Sex, Gender and Sexuality, Racial and Ethnic Identities, Risk and Society, Crime and Deviance, Health, Media, Religion or Family.

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Sociology is the study of human societies. It is a discipline committed to the attempt to map out and explain the constitution of society. It also aims to attend to and explain the distinctive character of people's social experience of the world. Sociologists operate from the premise that, by working to explain human characteristics and behaviours in social terms and as relative products of society, they stand to offer insights into some of the major forces that determine our thoughts and behaviours. They work under the conviction that human beings are fundamentally social beings and are products of distinct forms of society. This course is designed to provide you with a basic introduction to Sociology. A particular focus is brought to how sociologists venture to understand the social structures and determinant social forces that shape our living conditions and life chances. It also outlines some of the ways in which such matters are addressed as problems for sociological theory and empirical sociological research.

The curriculum will include topics such as:

What is Sociology?

Theories and Theorizing

Methods and Research

Cities and Communities

The State, Social Policy and Control

Globalization

Work, Employment and Leisure

Inequality, Poverty and Wealth

Stratification, Class and Status

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This module is designed to help students understand and critique the numbers and research they encounter in their everyday lives. The first half of the course focuses on teaching the knowledge and skills need to critically evaluate factual quantitative claims. Each lecture uses example quantitative claims, largely drawn from the news media, to teach a particular quantitative skill. For example, highlighting a statistic based on a biased sample to teach students the principles of sampling. The seminars build on the content of the lectures and aim to teach students the practical, computer-based skills needed to evaluate quantitative claims.

The second half of the module is based around students conducting their own research, and also brings in qualitative skills element. Students apply the critical and quantitative skills they have learned to conducting their own mixed-methods project.

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This module provides an introduction to the major issues and controversies surrounding the definition, development and teaching of 'classical' social theory. It introduces students to the key problems that have set the agendas for sociological inquiry as well as the main concepts and theoretical traditions that have shaped sociological thought. A considerable debate surrounds the meaning of ‘classical’ social theory and what should be associated with this term. For some, ‘classical’ social theory refers to ideas developed by a generation of thinkers whose works belong to a particular period of our cultural/intellectual history (usually dated c.1880- c.1920). Others understand this as a label for ‘canonical’ texts that define the project and enterprise of sociology. For many, it simply means the works of Karl Marx, Émile Durkheim, Max Weber and Georg Simmel (the so-called ‘founding fathers’ of the discipline). Classical sociology has also been identified as a critical tradition of placing society in question so as individuals may be better equipped to understand how their personal troubles are the product of determining socio-economic structures and processes. Each of these approaches to understanding ‘classical’ social theory will be explored and analysed.

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Optional modules may include the following

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The module aims to develop the understanding of the policy making process and the role of the different actors within the wider context of the tools and limits of the ability of the UK national government to influence behaviour. It has a particular focus on processes of social control as they relate to social policy. Learning will be centred around two main tasks:

i. Understanding the links between social policy and the regulation of behaviour e.g. the uses and outcomes of incentives, sanctions and educative communication to promote behavioural changes sought by policy makers.

ii. Taking topical examples of policy issues, contextualised analysis of the policy making process, its 'stages', key actors and institutions will be used to explore how and why particular policy options emerge and evolve. A central concern will be to help students understand the nature of support and opposition for particular policy proposals and the implications for developing alternative policies.

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Health, care and wellbeing are central concerns in all our lives; and they raise questions of the interconnected roles of the state, the market and the individual in their creation and support. In this module we explore how we understand and conceptualise these areas, and the potential role of policy interventions in support of them. The module examines the social determinants of health, exploring the ways in which inequalities in society can be replicated. It asks how we might best address changing health needs, particularly in relation to the growing proportion of older people, exploring these in the context of the new politics of the NHS. What are the best structures to deliver health care? How should these best be funded? Life style is increasingly implicated in health outcomes, and the module explores the dilemmas raised by rising levels of obesity and alcohol consumption. These are matters of personal choice, but they challenge the health and wellbeing of the population, and raise questions of how choices are shaped in the context of market production. Governments increasingly declare that they are interested not simply in health or prosperity, but also of wellbeing. The module explores what this means, and why there is a new interest in this area. It also examines the interface between health and care, both institutionally and conceptually and in turn, how these relate to issues of wellbeing. The module's content covers a range of issues affecting adults and children/young people.

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Crime is a major social and political issue and the source of much academic and popular debate. Key criminological issues will be examined during the course of the module within their wider sociological and social policy context. There will be a particular focus on understanding the nature and extent of crime and victimisation, analysing public and media perceptions of crime, and exploring the relationship between key social divisions (age, gender and ethnicity) and patterns of offending and victimisation.

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Societies expend huge amounts of intellectual and financial capital attempting to understand and explain the problem of crime. The module will provide a general introduction to the different types of crime that occur throughout the social structure in Western democracies, from the mundane, quotidian crimes of everyday life, to crimes perpetuated by the most powerful members of society. To that end, the module will contain lectures on subjects such as the nature and extent of violent crime, the process and effects of victimisation, and the relationship between key social divisions (age, gender and ethnicity) and patterns of offending. The module will also include a focus on how the media and popular culture intertwine with the practices of crime and crime control.

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This module introduces students to discussions and debates surrounding modern culture. It looks at why culture has always been such a contested sphere and has a decisive impact on society at large. Students will look at culture in the widest sense, ranging from 'the arts' to the banalities of everyday life in our consumer society; at how culture has expressed and organised the way people think and live from the days of 'protestantism' to those of post-punk. Books, magazines, radio, TV, movies, cartoons, fashion, graffiti, the cult of celebrity, youth subcultures and pop music will be used to understand class, history, sexuality, colonialism, revolution, conflict and globalisation.

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Contemporary culture is 'now-time' culture, but when did 'now' begin - and will it be over before the course starts? This module focuses on analysing contemporary culture and media and aims to demonstrate the range of possible interpretations that mediated culture can be open to. It raises questions about how culture can be viewed from aesthetic, political, ethical and economic perspectives. What is culture really for? Is it product or a process? Who owns it? Is it for fun or is it deadly serious? In order to think through contemporary issues such as gender relations, sexuality, multiculturalism and otherness, and what they might imply about our changing perceptions of space, place, and belonging, we'll be taking a case study approach to a range of cultural products and objects, media and institutions, and post-modern practices of communication. This module aims to understand the transformation of culture and media and everyday life we are living through and the way it changes who we are.

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You have the opportunity to select elective modules in this stage.

The teaching in social sciences modules really great. Gaining some practical experience in classrooms helped me in my role working with young people.

Ravi Vyas

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Stage 2

Compulsory modules currently include the following

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In this module students will begin to understand the process and debates surrounding how researchers learn more about the social world. What techniques and approaches do social researchers draw upon to organise, structure and interpret research evidence? How do we judge the quality of research? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the range of frameworks and methodologies? The first part of the module introduces students to the conceptual issues and debates around the 'best' way to explore social questions, forms and issues, and an overview of some popular methods for doing so. In the Spring Term, students will spend most of their time applying what they have learned in a group research project and an individual research design project.

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This module provides an introduction to the major issues and controversies that have shaped key developments in contemporary social theory. It surveys the development of social theory through the second half of the twentieth century and up to the present day. Following on from the SO408 module on 'classical' social theory, it questions the distinction between the 'classical' and the ‘contemporary’ so as to highlight the intellectual decisions, values and problems involved in the packaging of social theory under these terms. It also provides critical introductions to the following theorists and issues: Talcott Parsons and his legacy; Symbolic Interactionism up to Goffman and beyond; The Frankfurt School: Critical theory and the crisis of western Marxism; Jurgen Habermas and the decline of the public sphere; Michel Foucault and a his understanding of ‘power’; Pierre Bourdieu and the reproduction of inequality; From Modernity to Post-modernity?; The feminising of social theory; Globalisation, networks and mobilities; New challenges for the twenty-first century.

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Optional modules may include the following

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This module is a one-term placement opportunity that allows you to teach aspects of your degree subject in a local school. Launched to coincide with Kent's 50th anniversary in 2015, it highlights the longstanding excellence of human and social science research and teaching at the University, and the important role the institution has in contributing to the local community.

If selected for this module you will spend approximately 6 hours in a Kent secondary school in the Spring term (this session excludes time to travel to and from the School, and preparation and debrief time with the teacher). Generally, you will begin by observing lessons taught by your designated teacher and possibly other teachers. Later you will act somewhat in the role of a teaching assistant by working with individual pupils or with a small group. You may take 'hotspots': brief sessions with the whole class where you explain a topic or talk about aspects of university life. Finally, you will progress to the role of "teacher" and will be expected to lead an entire lesson. Throughout the module you will be given guidance and support by a local convenor based in your academic school as well as the overall module convenor.

You will be required to keep a log of your activities and experiences at each session. You will also create resources to aid in the delivery of your subject area within the curriculum. Finally, you will devise a special final taught lesson in consultation with the teacher and with your local module convener. You must then implement and reflect on the lesson.

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This module aims to develop standard research skills into a quantitative research skillset that will enable the student to work with data, from working with different types of datasets/variables to analysing this data and presenting it in oral and written form.

Learning will be orientated towards:

• Learning ways to work with and manipulate datasets to make them ready for statistical analysis (i.e. to create tidy data)

• Critically understanding the limitations of simple (OLS) regression, with particular emphasis on endogeneity/confounding and causal heterogeneity;

• Learning a number of advanced methods for investigating the social world through quantitative research (e.g. associative and causal methods). For each method, students will first consider the rationale for the method (its strengths and limitations), and then use the method in hands-on statistical analysis sessions using appropriate statistical software (e.g. R);

• Learning how to communicate and present data and quantitative analysis (e.g. with various types of data visualisations)

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This module provides students with an understanding of the concept of social status: how it differs from (and interacts with) other aspects of social stratification, such as power, class, and material circumstances. Students will explore theories for why human beings value social status so highly, and why they often take such dramatic steps to avoid losing it. The module will examine how considering social status concerns helps us to understand a variety of important social phenomena, encompassing health, violence, education, cultural participation, morality, and identity. Students will become familiar with the empirical tools researchers have used to understand the role of status, along with the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches.

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This module will appeal to students interested in education from a global, sociological perspective. It will allow students to opportunity to consider their own experiences of education through the lens of sociological theory. The module will include the history of education in the local and global context, and an examination of the intersections, hierarchies, ethics and dynamics of power and inequality in the classroom, in particular how educational systems contribute to the production and re-production of social inequalities (such as class, gender, dis/ability and race). Other topics covered will include the marketization and digitization of further and higher education; the rise in 'radical pedagogies', and the inclusive curriculum. The module will ask students to consider ideas around the purpose of education and educational policy, and their sociological implications, as well as encouraging comparative analysis of international education systems. There will be a practical focus on students’ own reflexive experience of education, and how it might be experienced as a UK, international, widening participation or non-traditional students, in light of current discourse and educational policy.

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The aim of this module is to provide students with a critical understanding of the nature and extent of crime and deviance in contemporary society, and the main ways in which they can be explained and controlled. Focusing upon contemporary sociological theories of crime against a background of the classical ideas within the field, this module will provide undergraduates with an opportunity to engage with the most up-to-date debates in an area of great interest in contemporary society.

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'Health', ‘illness’ and ‘medicine’ are not static concepts. Their meaning changes over time, and there is competition and conflict over what they mean. For example, in recent decades, health has come to mean much more the absence of disease. This is the age of healthy eating, sexual health, holistic health, healthy lifestyles and healthy living. The term ‘epidemic’ is no longer used only in relation to contagious disease; we have epidemics of teenage pregnancy, obesity and ‘mental health’. We live in a time when medicine can mean homeopathy or acupuncture, as well as heart surgery and vaccinations. ‘Health’ is also something we seem to worry about, and panic over, including about some things like vaccinations and contraceptive pills that are also part of ‘public health’. Of course, our experience has been reshaped profoundly by global experience of, and responses to, pandemic.. This module draws on sociological ideas that can help us understand, and critically evaluate, what we mean by health, illness and medicine and what the meaning we give to these terms tells us about the society we live in.

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Environmental issues have become central matters of public concern and political contention. In this module we shall consider explanations for the rise and social distribution of environmental concern as well as the forms of organisation that have been adopted to address environmental questions, including the emergence of global environmental issues and the responses to them. The development of environmental protest, environmental movements and Green parties are central concerns, but we shall also consider the 'greening' of established political parties and political agenda. Is it realistic to expect the development of a global environmental movement adequate to the task of tackling global environmental problems. The approach is broadly comparative and examples will be taken from Europe (east and west), North America, Australasia and south-east Asia.

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This module introduces students to the sociological approach to understanding and critiquing mental health. It begins by outlining historical definitions of mental health; and how policy and practice have changed over time from incarceration in large institutions to present-day community care. Sociological perspectives of mental illness (for example, labelling and social causations of mental ill-health) are considered alongside psychiatric and psychological approaches to treating people with mental illnesses. The module then looks at social inequalities in relation to opportunities to recover, including gender and race, as well as other 'actors'. Please note, as this is not a clinical module material covered will not include in-depth investigations of specific diagnoses of mental illnesses.

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University of Kent

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Overview:

The University of Kent is a public research university located in Canterbury, Kent, England. It is known for its commitment to ambition and providing a supportive environment for students to thrive.

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Services Offered:

Guaranteed Campus Accommodation:

First-year students are guaranteed a place in campus accommodation upon accepting their offer.

Free Gym and Fitness Membership:

First-year students receive a free sport and fitness membership.

Campus Tours:

Prospective students can book tours to explore the campuses and learn more about accommodation options.

Clearing Support:

The university provides comprehensive support for students applying through Clearing, including a dedicated website with information and resources.

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Student Life and Campus Experience:

The university emphasizes a vibrant student life with opportunities for community building, fitness, and social activities. Students can expect a welcoming and supportive environment.

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Key Reasons to Study There:

Guaranteed Campus Accommodation:

Ensures a comfortable and convenient living experience.

Free Gym and Fitness Membership:

Promotes a healthy lifestyle and fosters a sense of community.

Comprehensive Clearing Support:

Provides reassurance and guidance for students applying through Clearing.

Vibrant Student Life:

Offers a range of opportunities for social interaction, personal development, and community engagement.

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Academic Programs:

The context does not provide specific details about academic programs.

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Other: