Politics and Sociology BA Honours (LL32)

Our degrees are divided into Stages. Each Stage lasts for an academic year and you need to complete modules totalling 120 credits by the end of each Stage.

Please be aware that programme modules do change and therefore may differ for your year of entry.

• SOC1032 Politics and Society
• POL1045 Truth, Lies and Politics

You choose two Sociology modules from the list below:

• SOC1027 Comparing Cultures
• SOC1030 The Sociological Imagination: An Introduction to the Discipline
• SOC1031 Knowing in Sociology: An Introduction to Theory, Methods and Epistemology
• SOC1033 Understanding Everyday Life

You choose two Politics modules from this list:

• POL1017 Governing Under Pressure: The Politics of the UK and EU
• POL1032 Introduction to International Politics
• POL1046 Order and Disorder: The Shaping of the 21st Century
• POL1047 Power, Participation and Democracy: Comparative Perspectives
• POL1048 Foundations of Modern Political Thought

You take the following compulsory module:

• SOC2069 Researching Social Life I

If you plan to do a sociology dissertation in your final year you also take the following:

• SOC2070 Researching Social Life II

You take three modules from the list below.

• POL2012 Politics of the Middle East
• POL2022 Government and Politics of the USA
• POL2034 The Politics and Policy of the European Union
• POL2078 Critical International Politics
• POL2082 Political Violence and the Modern State
• POL2087 Contemporary Russian Politics
• POL2088 The Politics of Africa
• POL2091 The Politics of Happiness
• POL2092 Party Politics: Quantitative Analysis of Parties, Systems and Voter Choice
• POL2093 Politics, Participation and Citizenship in the Digital Age
• POL2094 The United Nations: An Introduction to International Organisation and Global Governance

You take two modules from the list below (unless you have selected SOC2070 above, in which case you take one module from the list below):

• SOC2038 Conceptualising Gender
• SOC2056 The Sociology of Health and Illness
• SOC2058 Understanding Social Change and Transformation
• SOC2067 Consumer Culture: An Anthropological Perspective
• SOC2071 The Sociology of Childhood
• SOC2082 Politics of the Arts
• SOC2085 Refugees and Displacement: Borders, Camps and Asylum
• SOC2086 Crime, Culture and Society

You may substitute 20 credits of Politics modules or 20 credits of Sociology modules (with approval of the degree programme director) for the following:

• NCL2007 Career Development

You choose one of the following dissertation modules:

• POL3046 Dissertation in Politics
• SOC3097 Dissertation in Sociology

If you are doing your dissertation in sociology you'll take 60 credits from the list below.

If you are doing your dissertation in politics you'll take 20 credits from the list below.

• POL3059 Democracy and the Constitution
• POL3077 Global Poverty and Global Politics
• POL3078 Britain and the European Union
• POL3079 The Government and Politics of Italy
• POL3092 Political Parties and Elections in the UK
• POL3098 War, Genocide, Terror: Understanding Organised Violence
• POL3099 Power, Security and Protest in the Middle East
• POL3100 History of World Political Thought
• POL3104 The Fall and Rise of China
• POL3106 Democracy in Deeply Divided Societies
• POL3108 Politics of the Far Right in Europe
• POL3109 Gender, Campaigns and Media
• POL3110 International Organisation and Diplomacy
• POL3111 UK Parliamentary Studies
• POL3112 Revitalising British Democracy

If you are doing your dissertation in sociology you'll take 20 credits from the list below.

If you are doing your dissertation in politics you'll take 60 credits from the list below.

• SOC3045 Regulating Sexuality
• SOC3073 Exploring Social Complexity
• SOC3077 Making People: Anthropology of Belonging, Life and Death
• SOC3078 Dreamworlds: Society and the Utopian Imagination
• SOC3085 Student Exchange
• SOC3089 Memory, Identity and Nation-Building in Eastern Europe
• SOC3090 Investigating the Body
• SOC3091 CSI Newcastle: The Sociology of the Forensic Sciences
• SOC3092 Moral Dilemmas, Judgements and Debates: The Anthropology of Rights and Wrongs

You also have the opportunity to spend semester 1 of Stage 3 studying abroad through a study exchange. You study modules that count towards your final degree and begin work on your dissertation.

Studying sociology will enable you to develop valuable skills which can be applied to many different careers, including understanding how society works and its diverse social situations, the ability to analyse complex data, team working, and communication skills.

Throughout the course you will be encouraged to develop a personal portfolio of knowledge and skills in a field best matching your tastes and abilities. This will provide you with an opportunity to get acquainted with the work environment in an area of employment of interest to you.

Employers recognise that sociology graduates tend to have an interest in dealing with people and this is reflected in some of the types of jobs sociology graduates do.

Previous Newcastle University sociology graduates can be found working across the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. Areas of employment include:

• the Civil Service
• education
• social welfare
• recruitment
• HR
• customer services

Some graduates will continue to postgraduate-level studies. Popular choices include Master's-level Sociology and the Postgraduate Certificate in Education.

Find out more about the career options for Politics and Sociology from Prospects: The UK's Official Careers Website.