Programme And Module Handbook
 
Programme Specification


Date Specification Approved 02/07/2018
College College Social Sciences
School School of Social Policy
Department Soc Policy, Sociology & Crimin
Partner College and School Political Sci & Intern'tl Stud
Collaborative Organisation and Form of Collaboration
Qualification and Programme Title B.A. Sociology and Social Policy Full-time
Programme Code 2071
Delivery Location Campus
Language of Study English
Length of Programme 3 Year(s)
Accreditations This programme has no outside accreditations
Aims of the Programme Sociology JH The degree offers a comprehensive, rigorous introduction to Sociology as a theoretically informed and evidence based discipline. The programme has a strong theoretical core at each level which critically examines the major sociological traditions and perspectives as tools for understanding modern societies. This is paralleled by training in the analysis of empirical sociological research, the design of research programmes and the methods for collecting, interpreting and presenting sociological data. Students are able to apply their core theoretical and empirical training in the critical and comparative analysis of major substantive sociological topics. These include the dynamics of multicultural societies, patterns of social divisions and how they relate to a global context. Students approach these issues by pursuing the distinctively sociological questions of the relationships between individuals, groups, institutions and wider social processes; the dynamics of stability and change and the distribution of power. Students complete their degree by designing and undertaking their own substantial piece of sociological research. This brings together their theoretical, methodological and substantive skills and knowledge and is an opportunity to demonstrate the achievement of a skilled, critical and reflexive sociological imagination. Social Policy Social Policy investigates the actions and inactions of a range of actors and organisations in the pursuit of human wellbeing. It pays particular attention to a range of problems which cause diswelfare and examines the systems and relationships that seek to end suffering and misery. The discipline requires a level of complexity which not only engages with key fields of welfare (poverty, unemployment, health, housing and education) but also the development of new topics and debates in a rapidly changing, global context. Understanding the pursuit of human wellbeing requires an engagement with ideological debates, conceptual differences and conflicting evidence, all of which are involved and drawn upon within the policy process to create the interventions which enhance (or diminish) wellbeing. The social policy at Birmingham enables students to understand the nature of social problems in the UK and beyond. It encourages students to not only develop an understanding of contemporary social issues but investigate potential solutions and how to promote change to tackle social problems. Social policy is constantly shifting and changing. In recent years there has been a plethora of organisations engaged in the generation of ideas and policies to address social problems. The subject of social policy therefore must rise to the challenge of equipping its students to not only understand but also engage in the process of policy reform and change. Consequently its requires an approach which embeds students in key concepts and topics of social policy alongside the analytical skills necessary for understanding and informing the policy process.
Programme Outcomes
Students are expected to have Knowledge and Understanding of: Which will be gained through the following Teaching and Learning methods: and assessed using the following methods:
The character of Sociology as a discipline that is both theoretically informed and evidence based
The major sociological traditions and perspectives and critical responses to them
The method of critical comparative analysis
The analytical issues of the relationship between individuals, groups and institutions and the processes that underpin stability and change
The substantive issues of the origins and consequences of social diversity, divisions and inequalities, especially as they relate to ethnicity, gender and class
The nature and appropriate use of research strategies and methods in sociological research
The scope, contested nature and development of social policy
The broad range of theoretical and social perspectives; how society and important features of the social are conceptualised
Research methodologies and the limitations of social research
The policy process
Specialist areas within social policy
Lectures, seminars, tutorials, workshops, presentations, student-led discussion groups, individual and group project work, observation visits.
Essays, unseen examinations, reports, individual presentations, group presentations, literature reviews, research outline, research project, dissertation, learning diaries, self-evaluation reports.
Students are expected to have attained the following Skills and other Attributes: Which will be gained through the following Teaching and Learning methods: and assessed using the following methods:
The ability to work individually and in groups
The ability to work flexibly and creatively, demonstrating independence and reflexivity
The ability to source, summarise, and critically engage with the existing theoretical and empirical material on a subject and deploy this, where appropriate, in constructing arguments
The ability to formulate research questions, select appropriate research tools, recognise ethical issues and collect and interpret sociological data
The ability to work to a given length, format, brief and deadline, properly referencing sources and ideas and making use, as appropriate, of a problem solving approach
Presentation skills and audience awareness
The ability to explore cutting-edge sociological debates, drawing upon the range of personal skills developed.
Team based working
Writing skills, essays, reports, briefing papers
Oral communication skills
Skills of critical analysis, logic and argument
Working with data
Reflecting on their own learning
Integrate and synthesise knowledge from a range of disciplines and apply it to particular policy problems
Lectures, seminars, tutorials, workshops, presentations, student led discussions groups, individual and group project work, observation visits.
Essays, unseen examinations, reports, individual presentations, group presentations, literature reviews, research outline, research project, dissertation, learning diaries, self-evaluation reports.