Get degree ideas using our A level explorer tool

Social Science and Psychology

Entry requirements


A level

B,B,C-B,C,C

Access to HE Diploma

M:45

112-104 UCAS tariff points from International Baccalaureate qualifications.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DMM-MMM

T Level

M

UCAS Tariff

112-104

from a combination of Level 3 qualifications.

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subjects

Psychology

Sociology

Our society is rapidly changing. The study of sociology and psychology is a fascinating and distinctive synergy of two closely related disciplines, that can provide you with an enhanced set of ‘people skills’.

On this joint honours course, we’ll give equal weight to both sociology and psychology. On the sociology side, you’ll study and analyse a range of social relationships, identities, and human experiences. From analysing relationships between men and women to the formulation of class and ethnic identities – through to examining social dynamics the relationship between the powerful and powerless in society – you’ll cover some fascinating topics.

Psychology examines similar issues, but from the viewpoint of the individual, focusing on their mental processes, structures, motivations, and behaviour. By combining sociology and psychology, you could, therefore, gain a well-rounded picture of human society, social interactions, and human behaviour.

**Why Study Social Science and Psychology BSc(Hons) at University of Huddersfield?**
This course is an ideal starting point for a career in the civil service, public services, and the charitable sector, as well as a range of other employment environments, including marketing or teaching.

You'll be taught and supported throughout your degree by experts in the fields of sociology and psychology. Our staff are active researchers in areas including health, activism, race, child development and victimisation you'll learn about important research related to these issues and consider a range of important real-life examples and situations.

You’ll gain insight into social inequalities, social justice, diversity, and human behaviour, enhancing your knowledge in areas directly applicable to range of people-oriented work contexts.

You’ll complete a work placement in your second year, too, which will help you put your skills into practice and boost your employability prospects. You may also have the opportunity to study abroad.

You'll also be eligible for student membership of the British Sociological Association (BSA), which could help you stand out post-university.

**Professional Bodies**
By studying this course, you'll become eligible for student membership of the British Sociological Association (BSA), giving you access to resources, events, and networking opportunities via the BSA community.

**Why Huddersfield?**
Huddersfield’s vibrant and friendly campus is a great place from which to study, while the town itself offers lots to see and do, with good transport links in and around the area.

**Not quite ready to start Social Science and Psychology BSc(Hons)?**
Successful completion of our Social Science Foundation Pathway will equip you with the foundation knowledge to study Social Science and Psychology.

Modules

This is a common first year, comprising:
• Child Development
• Exploring Popular Cultures and New Media
• Foundations of Sociology
• Introduction to Social Psychology and Personality
• Social Issues and Structural Sociology
• Sociological Inquiry.

To see the full range of modules and descriptions, please visit our website. A link to this course can be found at the bottom of the page in the ‘Course contact details’ section.

Assessment methods

You’ll be taught through seminars, group work, practical experience, lectures, workshops, Brightspace (an online learning platform) and work placement.

Assessment will include coursework, practice/competency-based learning, and examination. Your module specification/course handbook will provide full details of the assessment criteria applying to your course.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£16,500
per year
International
£16,500
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

Extra funding

Please see our website for more information - http://www.hud.ac.uk/undergraduate/fees-and-finance/undergraduate-scholarships/

The Uni


Course location:

University of Huddersfield

Department:

Department of Behavioural and Social Sciences (HDBSS)

Read full university profile

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.

85%
Psychology
69%
Sociology

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.

Psychology (non-specific)

Teaching and learning

79%
Staff make the subject interesting
90%
Staff are good at explaining things
81%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
75%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

79%
Library resources
90%
IT resources
90%
Course specific equipment and facilities
67%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

96%
UK students
4%
International students
17%
Male students
83%
Female students
88%
2:1 or above
18%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
B
C

Sociology

Teaching and learning

63%
Staff make the subject interesting
74%
Staff are good at explaining things
71%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
66%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

71%
Library resources
81%
IT resources
75%
Course specific equipment and facilities
62%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

94%
UK students
6%
International students
10%
Male students
90%
Female students
94%
2:1 or above
15%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
C
C

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.

Psychology (non-specific)

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.

£17,500
med
Average annual salary
99%
high
Employed or in further education
43%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

13%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
11%
Other elementary services occupations
10%
Welfare professionals

20 years ago, this was a specialist degree for would-be psychologists but now it is the model of a modern, flexible degree subject. One of the UK's fastest-growing subject at degree level, and the second most popular subject overall (it recently overtook business studies), one in 23 of all graduates last year had psychology degrees. As you'd expect with figures like that, jobs in psychology itself are incredibly competitive, so to stand a chance of securing one, you need to get a postgraduate qualification (probably a doctorate in most fields, especially clinical psychology) and some relevant work experience. But even though there are so many psychology graduates — far more than there are jobs in psychology, and over 13,800 in total last year — this degree has a lower unemployment rate than average because its grads are so flexible and well-regarded by business and other industries across the economy. Everywhere there are good jobs in the UK economy, you'll find psychology graduates - and it's hardly surprising as the course helps you gain a mix of good people skills and excellent number and data handling skills. A psychology degree ticks most employers' boxes — but we'd suggest you don't drop your maths modules.

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.

£18,500
med
Average annual salary
99%
high
Employed or in further education
38%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

17%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
8%
Business, finance and related associate professionals
8%
Welfare professionals

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.

Psychology (non-specific)

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£18k

£18k

£22k

£22k

£23k

£23k

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.

£17k

£17k

£20k

£20k

£22k

£22k

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.

Explore these similar courses...

Share this page

This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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