Politics and Sociology

Politics and Sociology at Keele University is a combination that takes some of the most important questions of our time as its starting point. Politics examines how power is organised, exercised, and contested in societies, from local governance to international relations, and how collective decisions are made. Sociology asks how societies are structured, how inequality is reproduced, how culture shapes behaviour, and how social change happens.

Together, the two disciplines give you a toolkit for understanding both the formal institutions of political life and the deeper social forces that shape and constrain them.

This three-year full-time programme includes a sandwich placement year, a year abroad, and work placement opportunities, making it one of the most practically grounded social science degrees available. You will study contemporary political systems, policy-making, social theory, the sociology of inequality, and the intersections of race, gender, class, and politics, developing the analytical and research skills that academic and professional careers in these fields demand. The placement year gives you direct professional experience, and the year abroad broadens your perspective in ways that are particularly relevant for subjects concerned with how different societies work.

Across both disciplines, you will develop the capacity to analyse evidence, construct arguments, and engage critically with competing perspectives.

Graduates go on to careers in the civil service, local government, policy research, journalism, community development, social work, the charitable sector, international organisations, and politics itself. The combination of political knowledge and sociological analysis is valued in any role that requires understanding how societies work and how they can be changed. Many graduates also pursue postgraduate study in politics, sociology, social policy, public administration, or law, building on the undergraduate degree to develop more specialised expertise.