Course summary
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 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. Course 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
- informing fairer teaching or admissions policies in education
- pioneering hiring initiatives to dismantle bias in recruitment and HR
- providing insights into wellbeing, welfare and safety online
- supporting community organisations to obtain funding for local initiatives by writing research proposals
Modules
Full-time Core module in this year include:
- Changing Society: Sociological Debates - 30 credits
- Sociological Research Methods - 30 credits
- Identities and Inequalities - 30 credits
- Dissertation - 60 credits
- Cultures of Production and Consumption - 30 credits
- Emotions, Intimacies and Affects - 30 credits
Assessment method
You'll be assessed through:
- essays
- reports
- research proposals
- presentations
- policy briefings
- podcasts
- dissertation
Entry requirements
A minimum of a second-class honours degree in Sociology or other relevant subject.
English language requirements
| Test | Grade | Additional details |
|---|---|---|
| IELTS (Academic) | 6.5 | English language proficiency at a minimum of IELTS band 6.5 with no component score below 6.0. |
| PTE Academic | 65 | An overall score of 65 with a minimum of 62 in each skill. |
| TOEFL (iBT) | 91 | 91 with a minimum of 20 in Reading, 19 in Listening, 21 in Speaking and 20 in Writing. |
| Cambridge English Advanced | Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) (taken after January 2015). An overall score of 176 with no component score less than 169. | |
| Cambridge English Proficiency | Cambridge English: Proficiency (CPE) (taken after January 2015). An overall score of 176 with no component score less than 169. | |
| Trinity ISE | Trinity College Integrated Skills in English (ISE) Level III with a Pass in all 4 components. |
Fees and funding
Tuition fees
| EU | £10900 | Year 1 |
| England | £10900 | Year 1 |
| Northern Ireland | £10900 | Year 1 |
| Scotland | £10900 | Year 1 |
| Wales | £10900 | Year 1 |
| Channel Islands | £10900 | Year 1 |
| Republic of Ireland | £10900 | Year 1 |
| International | £17900 | Year 1 |
Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .
Additional fee information
Students who are resident in EU countries: please note that the net fee is inclusive of the Transition Scholarship.
Fees are accurate at the time of publishing and are subject to change at any time without notice.
Fees may also go up in later years, in line with inflation.
Provider information
University of Portsmouth
University House
Winston Churchill Avenue
Portsmouth
PO1 2UP