3-Term Pathway - Foundation Certificate in Social Sciences - Continue to Bachelor of Arts (Honours) - Sociology (Placement Year)

Program Description For students who've finished high school but don’t meet the entry requirements for university, a Foundation Certificate can help them gain entry to an undergraduate degree. After completing this pathway option students qualify for progression to the 1st year of an undergraduate degree at the University of Essex.

A student’s course length is determined mainly by their English language level (UKVI IELTS score). Students on all course lengths take a set of common or similar modules to gain a solid base of skills for university. Students taking a course longer than 2 terms, will take additional modules designed to improve one or more of their English language level, academic skills, and basic knowledge of particular subjects.

Bachelor of Arts (Honours) - Sociology

In this University of Essex course students explore why individuals, groups, and cultures are the way they are, and examine why they might be different. Essex investigates what connects people with each other, as well as what divides them. Essex considers every aspect of human daily lives, from how they relate to politicians, celebrities and friends, to how they define themselves, their families, and others. Students study topics ranging from digital media and society, to psychiatry and mental illness, to Japanese culture, to the art, film and personal testimony of war.

Essex has a large and friendly department, offering a range and diversity of specialisms including: social divisions, inequality, the nature of work and commercial culture, culture, identity, and subjectivity, public policy regarding health, the environment, crime and aging, citizenship, multiculturalism, and human rights.

Students also have the opportunity to complete a supervised dissertation on the topic that most inspires them, encouraging students to think differently and connect with live issues and debates, and preparing them for their graduate career. Essex's Department of Sociology was rated top 10 in the UK for research quality and ranked 7th in the UK for Sociology in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2020.

A good sociology course, especially one from a recognized centre of excellence like Essex, can open many doors.

Sociology students are in demand from a wide range of employers in a host of occupations, including local and central government, NGOs, social work, market research, project management, fundraising, auditing, marketing, case-work, youth and community work, voluntary sector management and lobbying.