Sociology and Social Policy

The Learning Outcomes for this Program can be found below:

Knowledge & Understanding:

On successful completion of the Program you will be able to demonstrate:

• An understanding of the key ideas, theories and concepts used in sociology and social policy and their relationship to themes, theories and findings from cognate disciplines.
• An understanding of the main research methods used within the social sciences and the philosophical issues that inform their application and use in research settings.
• A critical and in-depth understanding of research and theory in selected sub-fields of sociology and social policy and the relevance of this work to contemporary social debates, issues or problems.
• An understanding of the role empirical evidence plays in the creation and constraint of theory, and how theory guides the collection and interpretation of empirical data.

Intellectual Skills:

On successful completion of the Program you will be able to demonstrate:

• Critically evaluate existing knowledge, scholarship and research in sociology and social policy and use this knowledge to reach a balanced judgement about the merits and relevance of competing claims and theoretical perspectives.
• Critically evaluate the use of evidence in social science disciplines and policy debates, drawing on both broad methods training and subject specific knowledge
• Utilise knowledge and skills to understand and explain social phenomena of interest to sociology and social policy and apply this understanding to new or novel questions.

Professional Practical Skills:

On successful completion of the Program you will be able to demonstrate:

• Design and use a range of data collection instruments needed to explore and understand the social world
• Critically evaluate, synthesise and interpret primary and secondary data generated using different methods, using specialist software where necessary
• Work both collaboratively and individually on theoretically informed and empirically-grounded projects that draw on appropriate and relevant research evidence

Transferable/Key Skills:

On successful completion of the Program you will be able to demonstrate:

• The capacity for problem-solving and originality in thinking by using knowledge and skills to tackle familiar and unfamiliar problems
• Academic and personal skills such as critical thinking, writing, oral presentations, problem solving, group work, time-management, and the use of information technology.
• The ability to communicate complex information in a variety of formats including reports, oral presentations, posters and dissertations