Social Sciences

Course detail Description

The course is designed to connect social sciences to the lived world of policy and practice. Through studying key social and political issues of contemporary relevance you will learn about the most influential social science traditions and perspectives and the contributions they can make to understanding and shaping society. There is a strong emphasis throughout on problem solving and policy formulation, creativity, interpersonal co-operation and active citizenship.

Teaching on the course is underpinned by a philosophy of active and collaborative learning. You will be expected, and supported, to take responsibility for your own learning and to work collectively with your teachers and peers to help co-create the curriculum. A range of learning techniques are used to offer students variety and flexibility in their study and significant scope for group work, interaction and projects aligned with participants’ own interests and commitments.

Teaching methods include: seminars, lectures and supervision; reading and extensive use of library resources; use of digital resources, including videos, annotated power point presentations and online discussion fora; policy analysis, formulation and communication tasks done individually and collaboratively; case studies; work-placement or work-related study; data collection and analysis; coursework assignments and their associated formative feedback. We will also give you a personal tutor to support you through your studies.

The following will give you an idea of what a typical academic work load might look like:

Module

Lectures, seminars & supervision

Self and group study

Per 30-credit module

Typically four hours per week over a 10 week term. This can be split into a two-hour lecture and two-hour seminar or organised in another way.

260 hours

Per 15-credit module

Typically two hours per week over a 10 week term. This can be split into one lecture and one seminar or organised in another way.

130 hours

Dissertation module

8.5 hours of supervision (individual + group).

291.5 hours

Typically 1 credit equals 10 hours of work.

The course uses a progressive model of assessment that helps you to build up your knowledge and skills in a systematic way as you progress through the course. A variety of modes of assessment are used to support and test academic rigour and to help you develop capabilities that are valued in work and civic life. These include:

• traditional academic essays
• report writing
• podcasting
• writing articles for press and media outlets
• writing policy briefings
• oral, video and poster presentations
• personal learning diaries
• project proposals
• CV writing

In your final year you will write a dissertation. High quality formative assessment and feedback is used across the course to reinforce your learning and development

Our Waterloo Campus is situated next to London’s South Bank Centre which includes the National Film Theatre, British Film Institute (BFI), Royal Festival Hall, Hayward Gallery and the National Theatre. Covent Garden and the West End are only a short walk away, as is Shakespeare’s Globe. The School is based in the Waterloo Bridge Wing of the Franklin-Wilkins Building, with all the facilities offered by the university easily available. The on-site library and computing facilities are readily accessible together with the opportunity to use the University of London library at Senate House. The majority of learning for this degree takes place at the Waterloo Campus, although please note that locations are determined by where each module is taught and may vary depending on the optional modules you select.

• Global Health & Social Medicine BA
• Global Health & Social Medicine BSc
• Geography BA
• Geography BSc

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Structure

• Year 1
• Year 2
• Year 3

Year 1

Courses are divided into modules. You will normally take modules totaling 360 credits.

The first year offers a broad-based social sciences education after which you will follow one of two specialist pathways: ‘Sociology and Social Policy’ or ‘Children, Youth and Society’. In the first year the curriculum is set to provide you with a strong foundation in the subject. In the second and third years you will be increasingly free to choose modules that reflect your interests.

King’s College London reviews optional modules offered on a regular basis to provide up-to-date, innovative and relevant programmes of study. Therefore, modules offered may change. We suggest you keep an eye on the course finder on our website for updates.

You are required to take the following modules:

• Understanding the Social World (30 credits)
• Introduction to Social Theory (30 credits)
• Power, Inequality and Social Change (30 credits)
• Social Justice and Policy Analysis (30 credits)

There are no optional modules in your first year.

Year 2

In year 2 you will start to specialise in your chosen pathway. Students on both pathways will take 60 credits worth of required modules with the remaining 60 credits made up of optional modules, with at least 45 credits worth of modules taken from your chosen pathway.

You are required to take the following modules:

• The Uses of Theory (15 credits)
• Principles and Methods of Social Research (30 credits)

You are also required to take one of either:

• Work Placement (15 credits)
• Social Sciences at Work (15 credits)

In addition you are required to take 60 credits worth of optional modules, with at least 45 credits worth of modules taken from your chosen pathway.

Sociology and Social Policy Pathway

• The Everyday Politics of Gender and Sexuality (15 credits)
• Race, Ethnicity and Society (15 credits)
• Media, Culture and Society (15 credits)
• Environment and Society (15 credits)
• A 15-credit module from the Children, Youth and Society pathway or approved module from other courses or the Modern Language Centre

Children, Youth and Society Pathway

• Global Childhoods and Youth: past and present (15 credits)
• Philosophical Perspectives on Childhood and Youth (15 credits)
• Children, Families and the State (15 credits)
• Children in International Development (15 credits)
• A 15-credit module from the Sociology and Social Policy pathway or approved module from other courses or the Modern Language Centre

You will also have the opportunity to study abroad for the second semester of your second year. Our partner universities currently comprise:

• Hong Kong University
• National University of Singapore
• University of California
• George Washington University
• University of Sydney
• University of Auckland

Year 3

In Year 3 you will take a required 15 credit module in advanced research methods and the dissertation module which is worth 30 credits. The remaining 75 credits are taken as optional modules at least three of which must be from your chosen pathway.

You are required to take the following modules:

• Advanced Methods for Social Research (15 credits)
• Dissertation (30 credits). This is a 6,000 word project or theoretical essay on a social science topic of your choice.

In addition, you are required to take 75 credits worth of optional modules, including at least three modules from your chosen pathway.

Sociology and Social Policy Pathway

• Work Placement (15 credits) (if not taken in year 2)
• Social Sciences at Work (15 credits) (if not taken in year 2)
• Education for the 21st Century: a global perspective (15 credits)
• Analysing Health and Social Care (15 credits)
• Civil and Political Rights (15 credits)
• Political Activism and Social Change (15 credits)
• Culture, Media and Society (15 credits)
• Up to 30 credits worth of modules from the Children, Youth and Society pathway or of approved modules from other courses or the Modern Language Centre

Children, Youth and Society Pathway

• Work Placement (15 credits) (if not taken in year 2)
• Social Sciences at Work (15 credits) (if not taken in year 2)
• International and Comparative Youth Justice (15 credits)
• Transition to Adulthood: a multi-disciplinary perspective (15 credits)
• Childhood and Youth in Troubled Times (15 credits)
• Learning Out of School: play, youth work and social pedagogy (15 credits)
• Children, Families and the State (15 credits)
• Up to 30 credits worth of modules from the Sociology and Social Policy pathway or of approved modules from other courses or the Modern Language Centre