Sociology University of Portsmouth

Overview

Sociology helps us understand how society works, connecting the dots between individual lives and the structures they live in.

Studying a Master's in Sociology at University of Portsmouth can completely change the way you view the world around you, developing you as a skilled researcher, excellent critical thinker, robust theorist and agent for change.

On this MSc Sociology degree, you'll explore all aspects of social life, because it all matters. You'll cover topics such as identity, intimacy, wellbeing, popular culture, consumption, colonialism, global inequalities, social media, feminism, racism and sustainability.

You don't need to have studied sociology before, but we hope you'll have a passion for understanding social issues and a desire to make a difference. You'll use qualitative and quantitative research methods to generate reliable data and insights, and ultimately deepen your knowledge on these issues.

Once you graduate, you'll have skills and awareness to succeed further in a huge range of careers, such as social research, policy making, law, social work, charity or community work, marketing, advertising, teaching or human resource management.

Highlights

• Study with a Sociology team whose research has helped make us the top modern UK university for research quality and research power in Area Studies - Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021

• Discover how to use data and research to explore social issues and widely-held societal beliefs, across topics such as poverty, gender and the climate crisis

• Learn from active sociological researchers, in areas including trans and non-binary inclusion at work (included in guidance from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development), and the sociology of migration (resulting in free legal advice and casework on complex immigration applications)

• Develop sustainable and durable critical thinking and problem-solving skills you can apply in your career 

• Have the opportunity to take part in short placements supporting staff research activity, such as in immigration advice and migrant homelessness

• Become ready to take the next steps in your career with a deep understanding of the structural basis of inequality in contemporary society and gain insight into how to address some of our more pressing social injustices 

Careers this Master's prepares you for

• In an increasingly polarised world, studying sociology empowers us with the knowledge and evidence to confront challenges in contemporary society.

• Sociology is a subject with huge social and economic value. It can improve public policy by providing evidence on trends and public opinions, helping governments, charities and businesses make informed decisions. It can enable charities to serve their communities more effectively by researching their needs. It can help businesses to enhance their operations through analysing consumer beliefs, tastes and decision making.

• Sociologists themselves occupy vital occupations within educational institutions, social services, business and non-profit organisations.

• While a sociology degree might not necessarily lead you automatically into a specific field of work, it equips you with a wide variety of skills that are easily transferable to a number of different sectors. Rather than closing down options, this degree opens them up.