Sociology

Sociology is the discipline that asks how societies work, examining the structures, institutions, and processes that shape individual lives and collective experience. It investigates how inequalities of class, race, gender, and other dimensions are produced and maintained, how cultural meaning is created and contested, how social change happens, and what holds societies together or drives them apart. At its best, sociological thinking is both intellectually rigorous and practically engaged, capable of making sense of social life in ways that have direct relevance for policy, practice, and everyday understanding.

This three-year, full-time programme at the University of Exeter develops your sociological knowledge and research skills alongside the analytical abilities to investigate social questions with care and precision. The programme includes a placement year and a year abroad, giving you significant opportunities to develop professionally and to engage with sociological questions from an international perspective. Exeter has a strong research culture in sociology, with particular strengths in areas such as environmental sociology, digital society, and social inequalities, and the quality of the teaching and research environment informs what you encounter as a student.

Sociology graduates are widely employed across the public, private, and voluntary sectors. Common career paths include social research, public policy, local government, health and social care, education, the voluntary sector, human resources, journalism, and the civil service. The combination of analytical rigour, research skills, and the capacity to understand social patterns and communicate about them clearly is valued wherever organisations engage with people and communities.

The placement year and year abroad add professional and international dimensions that strengthen graduates' employability. Many graduates continue to postgraduate study in sociology, social policy, criminology, or social work, pursuing specialist expertise for academic or professional careers.