Social Sciences (with a foundation year)
Entry requirements
A level
You will need evidence of a broad range of GCSEs (or equivalent) at grade 4 or above (or grade C).
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
From the full IB Diploma.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
You will need evidence of a broad range of GCSEs (or equivalent) at grade 4 or above (or grade C).
Scottish Higher
T Level
Merit overall in a relevant subject. You will need evidence of a broad range of GCSEs (or equivalent) at grade 4 or above (or grade C).
UCAS Tariff
We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.
About this course
**9th in the UK for Social Sciences (The Times Higher Education World University Rankings by Subject 2023)**
**About the course**
By starting your degree studies at Sussex with our Foundation Year, you develop a wide-ranging understanding of the social sciences, from current issues affecting the globe to the structures that shape our societies.
You experience a range of subjects in the Social Sciences through modules in geography, anthropology, international relations, development, law, politics and sociology. Successfully completing your Foundation Year guarantees that you'll be able to continue studying your choice of degree from a wide range of subjects in the Social Sciences at Sussex.
You'll build essential skills in critical analysis, developing arguments and self-expression through a dedicated programme of support and development. No matter which social sciences subject you go on to study, our experienced staff will help you develop the academic knowledge and practical skills you’ll need to succeed throughout your degree and in your future career.
**About Sussex**
Sussex graduates change the world. Our students become the leaders of the future, making discoveries, improving lives and changing things for the better.
Study with us to join a welcoming and inspiring community of staff and students from more than 140 countries.
**Location**
We shape the world from a fantastic campus on the UK’s beautiful south coast.
We are the only UK university surrounded by a national park, so you can step off campus to explore the hills and woodlands of the South Downs. The vibrant, colourful and creative seaside city of Brighton & Hove is just nine minutes away.
With Brighton voted the happiest city in England for students, (Student Living Survey, Sodexo, 2018) there can be few better places to study.
Modules
See the modules you will study by year by going to the 'view course details' link.
Tuition fees
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What students say
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.
Social sciences
Sorry, no information to show
This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.
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.
Social sciences (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.
Top job areas of graduates
This section covers a range of subjects that are often very different, so if you have a particular course in mind, the data here might not fully reflect the possible outcomes from your particular choice. Graduates from these subjects tend to do similar sorts of things to graduates from other social studies courses, so welfare and community roles are common, as are education, whilst graduates also often go into management, marketing and HR jobs and jobs in the police, and employment rates are good in general — but talk to course tutors and attend open days and try to get stats for the course you’re interested in.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Social sciences (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.
£20k
£23k
£28k
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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This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.
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This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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