Course summary

Do you want to understand better how society works? Are you keen to know more about the purpose, processes and outcomes of social welfare, both here and abroad? Why and how do people break the law? How can the criminal justice system define this and how do we police, prosecute and punish people? Our courses look at the nature of social change, social differentiation, the construction and definition of social problems and the maintenance of social order as well as broader questions of process and policy. And we offer an international and comparative approach covering topics that analyse society and welfare issues in various countries. We have particular expertise covering Scotland, the UK, the European Union, Western and Central Europe, Australasia, North America and Latin America. In your first two years you will take three subjects each semester. One of these is a core subject for your degree, but you can choose the other two from Faculties across the University. For example, you could take Sociology with English or another language, Social Policy with Marketing or Criminology with Law. The key benefits of this system are that you can change the emphasis of your degree as you progress, change from full-time to part-time if you need to, change your degree subject(s) and not until midway through your second year do you need to decide what your final degree subject(s) will be. Many of our students go on to complete Combined Degrees with subject such as Law, History, Education, Politics, Philosophy, Business Studies, Spanish, Computing Science and Psychology. The core modules for Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology students in the first two years – Social Differentiation, Social Problems, Understanding Social Policy and Development of Social Theory – provide a coherent and cumulative introduction to key concerns. In Years 3 and 4, you will specialise in your chosen area. As well as taking core modules you will chose from a list of optional modules. Politics permeates every aspect of people’s lives: shaping their opinions, informing their decisions, guiding their alliances and enabling their understanding of others’ beliefs and motivations at individual, organisational and societal levels. Studying this subject will increase your awareness of the different political systems, ideologies and policies, which impact people’s lives at regional, national and international levels. Our Politics division is highly regarded and students benefit from a strong research-led approach to teaching. Our Politics programmes are informed by a strong emphasis on research training and transferable skills, which will prepare you for the challenges ahead in the workplace and in the wider world. Politics can be studied at Stirling as a specialist four-year Single Honours degree in Politics or International Politics or taken in combination with another subject as part of a four-year combined Honours degree. Stirling Politics students make extensive use of the Study Abroad opportunities offered at the University to study for a full semester or a whole academic year at participating universities in Australia, Canada, Europe, Hong Kong, Japan and the United States. The ERASMUS programme is particularly popular and Politics students participate in dedicated Politics ERASMUS exchanges with the University of Gothenburg in Sweden and Collegium Civitas in Warsaw, Poland.