Sociology and Politics
Entry requirements
A level
Access to HE Diploma
Pass with 45 Level 3 credits including 30 Distinctions and a number of merits/passes in subject specific modules
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
With three Higher Level subjects at 655
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Scottish Advanced Higher
Scottish Higher
T Level
Each application will be considered on its individual merits. Where the T Level subject area does not directly match the degree programme being applied for, the personal statement and reference will be particularly important in demonstrating interest, enthusiasm and suitability for the subject.
UCAS Tariff
We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.
About this course
**BA Sociology and Politics programme equips you with the practical tools to understand the world around you, but also to think about how to change it for the better.**
By bringing together the concerns, theories and methodologies of both sociology and politics, you’ll develop rich, analytical and informed engagement with contemporary local and global events in departments with active research centres, excellent teachers and an engaged and friendly student body.
In sociology, you’ll explore how social inequalities operate and how social movements might combat oppression; you’ll analyse how historical processes such as colonialism continue to shape today’s societies and how the contemporary climate crisis requires us to develop new ways of thinking and acting. And in politics, you won’t just learn about voting systems, parliaments and conventional arenas of power in the West since you’ll be part of a department that brings into focus the politics of everyday life right across the world.
**Why study BA Sociology & Politics at Goldsmiths**
- You’ll be joining one of the world’s leading sociology departments. We've been rated top 10 in the UK for Sociology in the QS World University Rankings 2023.
- Staff in both the Department of Sociology and the Department of Politics and International Relations are specialists and pioneers in their fields. They write the books that are on reading lists across the country and you’ll be working with them directly.
- Our focus is on helping you become the type of sociologist and political scientist that you want to be. You’ll tailor your own learning journey from day one by choosing from a wide range of exciting option modules, including work placements.
- You'll ‘get messy’ with hands-on research methods modules in your first two years of study, before designing and carrying out your own research project in your final year. Recent projects have explored stigma and South Asian Muslim experiences of mental health, Green Party policies from a feminist persepctive, and an ethnography of labour practices and workers’ organisations in a Chinese street market.
- Our departments are committed to decolonising the curriculum and we offer expertise on questions of culture right around the world, as well as on radical approaches to race, gender, sexuality, and the organisation of political life.
- You’ll join an active community and be able to get involved in campaigns, debates, activities and societies and meet other people as passionate about the subject as you.
Modules
Year 1 compulsory modules
In your first year, you'll take the following compulsory modules.
Methods of Worldmaking 1
Modern Knowledge, Modern Power
Political Theory and Ideologies
Year 1 optional modules
You will then take 1 or 2 optional modules in the Department of Politics and International Relations. Optional modules will be published annually by the department, and may include the following:
UK and European Comparative Governance and Politics
World Politics
Colonialism, Power, Resistance
Introduction to Political Philosophy
Issues in Political and Cultural Economy
Year 2 compulsory modules
In your second year, you'll take the following compulsory modules:
Social Change and Political Action
Methods of Worldmaking 2
Modern Political Theory
Year 2 optional modules
You'll then choose 1 or 2 Politics and International Relations modules and 1 Sociology module including the possibility of a Sociology Work Placement.
You may also choose a relevant elective from another department the Goldsmiths Elective module, or Goldsmiths Social Change module.
The list of modules will be published each year depending on staff availability and student demand.
Politics and International Relations optional modules
Political Economy
International Trade
International Monetary Economics
An(other) Japan: Politics, Ideology and Culture
Chinese Politics: The Revolutionary Era
Contemporary International Relations Theories
Europe Since 1945
Global Governance and World Order
Ideologies and Interests: Political Thought in Modern Britain
Liberalism and its Critics
Life: A User's Manual
Modern Britain: Politics from 1979 - today
International Politics of the Middle East
Politics of Vision
Rough Politics
US Politics and Foreign Policy
Challenges to Democracy
Security Studies
The Making of Global Capitalism
Politics and Technology
Year 2 Sociology optional modules
Law and Contemporary Society
Religion, Crime, and Law
Crimes Against Humanity
The Making of the Modern World
Explaining Crime
Criminal Justice in Context
Knowledge and Subjectivity
Social Change and Political Action
Leisure, Culture and Society
London
Sociology of Culture and Communication
Central Issues in Sociological Analysis
Migration in Context
Food and Taste
Year 3 modules
In year 3 we support a strong programme of research in social and political theory, gender studies, and cultural studies of politics and government.
You will take the following compulsory modules, as well as 60 credits of optional modules in the Department of Politics and International Relations and a further 15 credits in the Department of Sociology.
Confronting climate crisis
Dissertation
You will then choose 1 Sociology option, and 2 to 4 Politics and International Relations options.
Please note that due to staff research commitments not all of these modules may be available every year.
Assessment methods
You’ll be assessed by a variety of methods, depending on your module choices. These include coursework, examinations, group work and projects.
The Uni
Goldsmiths, University of London
Sociology
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
How do students rate their degree experience?
The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Politics
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
Sociology
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Politics
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
The numbers of people taking politics degrees fell sharply last year and we'll keep an eye on this one - it can't really be because of graduates getting poor outcomes as politics grads do about as well as graduates on average. Most politics or international relations graduates don't actually go into politics - although many do, as activists, fundraisers and researchers. Jobs in local and central government are also important. Other popular jobs include marketing and PR, youth and community work, finance roles, HR and academic research (you usually need a postgraduate degree to get into research). Because so many graduates get jobs in the civil service, a lot of graduates find themselves in London after graduating. Politics is a very popular postgraduate subject, and so about one in five politics graduates go on to take another course - usually a one-year Masters - after they finish their degrees.
Sociology
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
We have quite a lot of sociology graduates, although numbers fell last year. But graduates still do pretty well. Most sociology graduates go straight into work when they complete their degrees, and a lot of graduates go into jobs in social professions such as recruitment, education, community and youth work, and housing. An important option for a sociology graduate is social work - and we're short of people willing to take this challenging but rewarding career. Sociology is a flexible degree and you can find graduates from the subject in pretty much every reasonable job — obviously, you don't find many doctors or engineers, but you do find them in finance, the media, healthcare, marketing and even IT. Sociology graduates taking further study often branch out into other qualifications, like teaching, law, psychology, HR and even maths, so don’t think a sociology degree restricts you to just one set of options.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Politics
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£20k
£25k
£29k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
Sociology
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£16k
£25k
£27k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):
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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).
This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.
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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.
You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.
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Post-six month graduation stats:
This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.
It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.
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Graduate field commentary:
The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show
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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
Have a question about this info? Learn more here