Sociology

Course summary

A level sociology gives you the opportunity to question everything about society, to view it from a completely different perspective and develop your academic understanding of key issues relating to class, gender, ethnicity, inequality and power. You’ll develop skills such as essay writing, analysis, evaluation, critical thinking, teamwork and independent research. These skills are good preparation for university courses and complement many other humanities and social science subjects, particularly history, geography, English, philosophy, politics and psychology. Students progress to Russell Group and Oxbridge universities. They read for social science/humanities degrees including economics, law, psychology, politics, sociology and international relations. A sociology degree can be used for careers in the civil service, advertising, journalism, business, working for non-government organisations and think-tanks, law and policing. Trips include the Sociology in Action conference, and previous excursions include visiting the BBC, the Museum of Childhood and taking part in youth conferences. Course content: You will study a wide range of topics to develop your understanding of different areas of society, such as families, education, crime and social inequality. You will study why people commit crime, gender differences in crime, how childhood has changed over time, equality in families and how the education system has changed. You will also learn how to carry out research and the theories that sociologists use to understand society.