BA Sociology

3 Years On Campus Bachelors Program

University of Exeter

Program Overview

If you're curious about how society actually works, from culture and identity to inequality and technology, this degree gives you the tools to study it properly. It suits open-minded, socially-engaged students who want to explore everything from addiction and consumption to race and cyborg studies, while building genuine research skills along the way.

Curriculum Structure

Year One: You'll build your foundations with core modules like Contemporary Society: Themes, Perspectives and Case Studies and Social Analysis, alongside Imagining Social Worlds, giving you a broad grounding in sociological thinking. It's designed to get you comfortable with both theory and evidence right from the start, so you're ready to dig into more specialised topics later.

Year Two: You'll deepen your grasp of sociological theory and methods through Theoretical Sociology and Knowing the Social World, while choosing from a genuinely wide range of options like Addiction, Digital Society, or Sociology of Family and Gender. This is really where the degree lets you follow your own curiosity and start shaping your sociological interests.

Placement Year (optional): If you choose the four-year route, you can either study abroad at one of Exeter's partner universities or take on a graduate-level work placement in the UK or overseas, gaining real-world experience alongside your academic study.

Final Year: You'll complete a dissertation, giving you the chance to explore a topic you genuinely care about in depth, alongside advanced optional modules like BioSocieties, Contemporary Capitalism, Critique and Resistance, or Power and Domination. It's your opportunity to apply everything you've learned to a piece of independent research that's entirely your own.

Focus Areas: Cultural sociology, social theory, qualitative and quantitative research methods, and contemporary social issues spanning digital society, health, addiction, family, and inequality.

Learning Outcomes: Graduates come away with strong analytical and critical thinking, independent research skills, the ability to design and carry out their own research projects, and confident written and verbal communication. These are skills that translate into a genuinely wide range of careers.

Professional Alignment: This isn't a professionally-accredited degree, but it's designed with employability firmly in mind, and students can take part in schemes like the Exeter Award and Exeter Leaders Award, with additional support from dedicated Employability Officers throughout the course.

Reputation: Exeter is ranked Top 10 in the UK for Sociology, coming in 7th in the Complete University Guide 2027, with a distinctive emphasis on cultural sociology and a strong commitment to interdisciplinary teaching and research. 92% of Sociology, Philosophy and Anthropology graduates were in employment or further study 15 months after graduating, based on the HESA Graduate Outcomes survey 2022/23.

Experiential Learning (Research, Projects, Internships etc.)

BA Sociology at Exeter is built around genuine, hands-on research training, not just theory in a lecture hall. You're taught how to design your own research projects, use qualitative methods, and interpret real quantitative data from your very first year. You'll have access to the Q-Step Centre for Computational Social Science, based in the Clayden Building on Streatham Campus, along with dedicated library resources and support to help you develop research skills that genuinely stand out. Here's what that looks like in practice:

Computational Social Science Lab: the Q-Step Centre has a state-of-the-art lab with individual PCs for up to 30 students, where you can train in data analysis, coding, and data visualisation using industry-standard tools.
Fieldwork: assessment on this course includes field work notebooks, meaning you'll be applying sociological research methods in real settings, not just writing essays about theory.
Quantitative and qualitative research training: modules like Data Analysis in Social Science 1, 2, and 3 build genuine technical skills in statistics, survey data, and interpreting complex information alongside more traditional qualitative approaches.
Dissertation as independent research: your final year centres on a dissertation, giving you the chance to design and carry out your own original research project on a topic you're genuinely passionate about.
Group work and tutorials: regular small-group tutorials with your personal tutor let you discuss and refine written and oral assignments in a supportive setting, rather than working entirely alone.
Work placements: the "with Employment Experience" route lets you spend a full year in a graduate-level placement in the UK or abroad, applying your sociological skills in a real workplace.
Study abroad: the "with Study Abroad" route gives you the option to spend your third year at one of Exeter's partner universities worldwide.
Interdisciplinary research culture: the Sociology department works closely with Philosophy, Anthropology, and Criminology, giving you exposure to a genuinely broad and collaborative research environment.

Progression & Future Opportunities

A Sociology degree from Exeter gives you a genuinely broad and flexible skill set, and it shows in where graduates end up, from management consulting and IT to teaching, insurance, and youth and community work. Typical roles include management consultant, teaching professional, IT professional, and legal associate professional. Here's how Exeter helps you get from lecture hall to career:

Careers support: you'll have access to careers skills sessions, employer-led events, and bespoke one-to-one advice from Employability Officers throughout your degree.
Employability schemes: many students take part in the Exeter Award and Exeter Leaders Award, which combine workshops, volunteering, and work experience to build your CV alongside your studies.
Employment stats: 92% of Sociology, Philosophy and Anthropology graduates were in employment or further study 15 months after graduating, based on the HESA Graduate Outcomes survey 2022/23.
University-industry partnerships: the Q-Step Centre for Computational Social Science, which underpins the data skills in this degree, has direct research links with Devon and Cornwall Police through its Policing Lab, giving students real exposure to evidence-based, industry-facing research.
Work placement route: the "with Employment Experience" variant lets you spend a full year on a graduate-level placement in the UK or abroad, applying what you've learned in a genuine workplace.
Long-term reputation: Exeter is ranked Top 10 in the UK for Sociology, coming in 7th in the Complete University Guide 2027, so the degree carries real weight with graduate recruiters well beyond your first job.
Broad graduate outcomes: past graduates have gone into roles as actuaries, economists and statisticians, archivists and curators, IT professionals, insurance underwriters, legal associate professionals, management consultants, police officers, prison service officers, teaching professionals, and youth and community workers.

Further Academic Progression: If you want to keep building on this degree, Exeter offers a direct route into the MA Sociology, letting you specialise further in areas that already interest you from your undergraduate years. If your interests lean more towards data and quantitative research, the Q-Step Centre for Computational Social Science also runs an MSc Social Data Science, which lets you deepen the coding and data analysis skills you'll have already picked up during your BA. And if you want to branch into a related discipline, Exeter's Sociology department connects closely with Philosophy, Anthropology, and Criminology, opening up further postgraduate options across those fields too.