Course summary

The Foundation Year gives you a perfect introduction in what it means to be a university student, equipping you with the necessary skills and knowledge for effective undergraduate study. At BGU You’ll benefit from small class sizes, intensive teaching and personalised support which will help you to get the most out of your study. It will provide you with a solid base for future study and allow you to settle into university life. BGU’s Sociology programme provides a comprehensive and exciting introduction to the study of all aspects of the social world. The course takes you on a journey from the 19th-century foundations of the discipline through to the social, cultural and political changes that are reshaping our globalising world. Along the way, you’ll see how sociological thinking is crucial for people who want to understand the world around them, whether as students, tuition-fee payers, citizens, employees (or via any of their other social roles). Studying Sociology at BGU means you won’t ‘just’ be studying sociological theory – you’ll be exploring the ways theories help demystify phenomena like terrorism, nationalism, sexism, surveillance, globalisation and multiculturalism. Similarly, when you study research methods you won’t ‘just’ be studying research methods – you’ll be looking at how those methods are used in the real world by marketing agencies, governments, local councils, advertising agencies, PR companies, polling companies and many others. The course showcases sociology’s relevance beyond the confines of academia. Sociology at BGU will provide you with state of the art understanding of key classical and contemporary social, cultural and sociology theories as well as rigorous training in social research methods that are in demand from employers. On completion of this course, you’ll leave us equipped with a wide range of transferable skills that work successfully in an array of public, private and third-sector settings. At BGU our commitment to small group teaching and one-to-one supervisions means that you’ll never be an anonymous face in a large lecture theatre. Over the course of your degree, you’ll benefit immeasurably from such direct access to academics. We believe that students learn best when they’re being taught by staff who are actively engaged in high-quality research. That’s why our staff have drawn upon their own extensive research experiences to create this degree programme. Find out more: https://www.bishopg.ac.uk/course/socs-foundation-year/