Top 3 for graduate prospects “on track”
We're in the top 3 UK universities in Sociology for graduates being on track to achieve their plans for the future (source: Complete University Guide 2022).

BA (Hons)
Undergraduate degree - combined honours
We accept a wide range of qualifications for entry to our undergraduate programmes. The main ones are listed under 'Typical offers' in the main column below. For combined courses, please check both subjects. If your qualification is not listed, please email admissions@bathspa.ac.uk with your specific details.
Do you want to know more about the world we live in? Do you care, and want to make a difference? If so, you’re well-suited to a Sociology degree at Bath Spa.
Sociology is the study of societies, cultures, and groups. We live in complex societies, with laws and informal rules that govern how we interact. Sociology helps you understand more about yourself, others and how society is organised.
You’re taught about society, social groups and social organisation. You’ll learn about social problems and social policies.
Learn how to make sense of social change and conflict, and gain a good understanding of social differences, inequalities and social divisions.
Apply your knowledge and skills to specific problems and issues to help you become a good decision-maker.
Year one
You’ll be introduced to sociology, and the techniques and philosophies of the social sciences. You'll focus on identities – beginning with thinking about your own identity, and building your knowledge and understanding so that you're more familiar with social divisions, structures, and the influence of culture. You’ll also learn how to visualise the most important components of society.
Year two
The second year builds on the first and teaches you about the history of and key ideas within sociology. You can also specialise in more specific areas of the subject, such as education and crime. You’ll undertake practical training in research skills. This will enable you to complete your final year project, and prepare you for the kind of employment that you’ll typically undertake as a sociology graduate.
Year three
You’ll concentrate on an aspect of sociology that most interests you in your final dissertation, undertaken with the support of a member of staff as a supervisor. You can also focus on more detailed subjects, such as globalisation, environment, ethnicity and gender.
Assessments vary and may include essays, reports, book and article reviews, seen and unseen examinations, portfolios, projects, learning journals, individual and group work, videos and screencasts, and research projects.
You’ll be taught in lectures, seminars, individual and group tutorials, and through our extensive online learning support environment.
This course offers or includes the following modules. The modules you take will depend on your pathway or course combination (if applicable) as well as any optional or open modules chosen. Please check the programme document (below the main image on this page) for more information.
“Sociology helps me piece things together and see the world how it really is. The campus at Bath Spa is beautiful! It’s a really peaceful place to think and the lecturers are passionate about what they teach.”
Kirsty Taylor, Sociology student
You’ll have the opportunity to study in a wide range of locations around the world. Our students have completed exchange programmes in a variety of countries including Spain, Sweden and the USA. We also offer you other overseas learning opportunities including an optional international field trip to India in your second year.
We run optional visits to places such as criminal justice institutions and religious places of worship. You can take a dedicated fieldwork module.
We provide support in obtaining placements and making links with professionals, and we invite our Sociology graduates back to meet with you. Optional modules have links with professionals and visiting speakers built into the teaching and learning. This means you’ll learn about the real-world application of what you're learning and be able to make more informed decisions about your future career.
A Sociology degree is useful for any career that involves working with people, either in the private, public or third sectors, typically:
Employers such as the National Osteoporosis Society, the Ministry of Defence, Wiltshire Council and Truro College have recruited graduates from this course. Students have also gone into roles including Assistant Education Officer, Student Services Assistant and Relocation Advisor.
We’ve made some changes to how we deliver our courses in response to the ongoing COVID situation. This is to enable students to get the most out of their studies and university experience and to facilitate an engaging, participative and interactive learning environment, all while keeping our community safe.
We keep our programmes under constant review, and we’ll make sure to let applicants know if there are significant changes to your programme. You can find out more about how the University has adapted its approach on our COVID advice pages, where you’ll also find support and signposting to useful services.
This optional placement year provides you with the opportunity to identify, apply for and secure professional experience, normally comprising one to three placements over a minimum of nine months. Successful completion of this module will demonstrate your ability to secure and sustain graduate-level employment.
By completing the module, you'll be entitled to the addition of 'with Professional Placement Year' to your degree title.
Before your Professional Placement Year, you'll work to secure your placement, constructing a development plan with your module leader and your placement coordinator from our Careers and Employability team.
On your return to University for your final year, you'll submit your Placement Portfolio, detailing your development on your placement.
Politics is taught at Newton Park campus.
You'll have access to excellent facilities and resources such as:
All modules can be found on our Virtual Learning Environment, Minerva, providing unlimited online access to learning materials such as handbooks, lecture slides, assessment information, discussion boards and other resources.
Our library gives you access to books, academic journals and DVDs and an extensive range of electronic services. It also provides a place for individual study and collaborative work.
Please note: Students from the EU, EEA and Switzerland are not generally eligible for the UK (Home) fee status. Please refer to the international student rate. Irish citizens and those granted Settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme are eligible for UK (Home) fee status. There are also other circumstances where this may apply: See UKCISA for more information.
Year 1 | £9,250 |
Year 2 | Published Jan 2023 |
Year 3 | Published Jan 2024 |
Year 1 | Published Jan 2023 |
Year 2 | Published Jan 2024 |
Year 3 | Published Jan 2025 |
Year 1 | Published Jan 2024 |
Year 2 | Published Jan 2025 |
Year 3 | Published Jan 2026 |
Year 1 | £4,625 |
Year 2 | Published Jan 2023 |
Year 3 | Published Jan 2024 |
Year 1 | Published Jan 2023 |
Year 2 | Published Jan 2024 |
Year 3 | Published Jan 2025 |
Year 1 | Published Jan 2024 |
Year 2 | Published Jan 2025 |
Year 3 | Published Jan 2026 |
Year 1 | £14,400 |
Year 2 | Published Jan 2023 |
Year 3 | Published Jan 2024 |
Year 1 | Published Jan 2023 |
Year 2 | Published Jan 2024 |
Year 3 | Published Jan 2025 |
Year 1 | Published Jan 2024 |
Year 2 | Published Jan 2025 |
Year 3 | Published Jan 2026 |
During the placement year, the fee is reduced to 20% of the full time fee. Otherwise, fees are the same as for full time study. This applies to UK, EU and International students.
We're looking for applicants who are concerned about social issues and social problems – maybe you’ve been part of a project group and taken a lead or tried to make a difference. You'll have a sense of social justice and fairness, and you'll be able to see things from different points of view.
We accept a wide range of qualifications for entry to our undergraduate programmes. The main ones are listed below:
English Language Requirements for International and EU Applicants
IELTS 6.0 - for visa nationals, with a minimum score of IELTS 5.5 in each element.
Course enquiries
For further information about the programme or entry requirements, please email us at admissions@bathspa.ac.uk.
Ready to apply? Click the 'apply now' button in the centre of this page.
Need more guidance? Head to our how to apply pages.
We recommend the following publications:
Course queries: sciences.admin@bathspa.ac.uk
Our innovative Politics degree has been designed to enable you to acquire specialised subject knowledge while developing practical and professional skills that you can apply to contemporary challenges, issues and debates.
Political action or inaction shapes our lives every day, in ways which are often invisible, or which seem remote or impenetrable. We know that it matters, but we can also feel removed from it: the vast sums of money spent on elections and then nothing seems to change, the narrowness of so much debate and the pointlessness of point scoring, getting power in order to keep it.
We want to try to get under the surface of all these assumptions and ask if it really has to be this way. We want to try to understand the politics of everyday life, as well as the major challenges of climate change, poverty and inequality, the imbalances of wealth and power nationally and internationally, and between elected governments and unelected corporations. Who decides: the local councillor, the member of parliament, or the chairman of the board?
Our course draws on a wider range of disciplines, and places the study of politics in historical, cultural and philosophical contexts. You’ll work collaboratively with students in other subjects in your first two years, in order to deepen your understanding and to sharpen your analysis of political ideas, processes and structures.
You’ll be able to develop the skills you’ll need in the next stage in your career: how to plan a project, how to measure and evaluate outcomes, how to communicate effectively with different audiences, for different purposes.
Our Politics course takes a creative and collaborative approach to global political issues. Our Politics modules have been carefully designed to encourage you to look across the boundaries between different disciplines.
You'll focus on contemporary change, movements and action. You’ll also explore the historical and philosophical contexts in which political ideas develop, and investigate the social, environmental and cultural impacts of these.
Our perspectives are local and global, and our approach is applied. Understand how the world works, and then take your place in it. You may not become ‘A Politician’ but work in education, the third sector, financial services, health or social care has a political dimension, and demands the skills you’ll develop through your degree.
Year one
Introductions and foundations: develop your skills in political thinking, and follow a broad curriculum which allows you to ask questions, challenge your own assumptions, interrogate evidence, data and opinions.
Year two
Practical, applied, relevant: this year combines the academic study of Politics with the acquisition of professional skills and the application of your knowledge and understanding to a defined problem or idea.
Year three
Achievement, consolidation, creativity: your final project in the third year brings all this together. You’ll identify your own area of study, develop your proposal and put it into practice. This might be an extended piece of academic writing, but it might also be a pitch to a local employer, a community project or the creation of digital resources.
We use a mix of traditional and contemporary assessments, including essays, group and individual presentations, online reports, surveys, projects, practical tasks and exams. You’ll also learn to communicate key messages visually, as well as in words.
You’ll participate in a variety of activities including lectures, seminars, workshops, practical sessions, masterclasses and field trips.
This course offers or includes the following modules. The modules you take will depend on your pathway or course combination (if applicable) as well as any optional or open modules chosen. Please check the programme document (below the main image on this page) for more information.
We’ve made some changes to how we deliver our courses in response to the ongoing COVID situation. This is to enable students to get the most out of their studies and university experience and to facilitate an engaging, participative and interactive learning environment, all while keeping our community safe.
We keep our programmes under constant review, and we’ll make sure to let applicants know if there are significant changes to your programme. You can find out more about how the University has adapted its approach on our COVID advice pages, where you’ll also find support and signposting to useful services.
This optional placement year provides you with the opportunity to identify, apply for and secure professional experience, normally comprising one to three placements over a minimum of nine months. Successful completion of this module will demonstrate your ability to secure and sustain graduate-level employment.
By completing the module, you'll be entitled to the addition of 'with Professional Placement Year' to your degree title.
Before your Professional Placement Year, you'll work to secure your placement, constructing a development plan with your module leader and your placement coordinator from our Careers and Employability team.
On your return to University for your final year, you'll submit your Placement Portfolio, detailing your development on your placement.
Our Politics course is based at Newton Park campus.
You'll have access to excellent facilities and resources such as:
All modules can be found on our Virtual Learning Environment, Minerva, providing unlimited online access to learning materials such as handbooks, lecture slides, assessment information, discussion boards and other resources.
Our library gives you access to books, academic journals and DVDs and an extensive range of electronic services. It also provides a place for individual study and collaborative work.
Please note: Students from the EU, EEA and Switzerland are not generally eligible for the UK (Home) fee status. Please refer to the international student rate. Irish citizens and those granted Settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme are eligible for UK (Home) fee status. There are also other circumstances where this may apply: See UKCISA for more information.
Year 1 | £9,250 |
Year 2 | Published Jan 2023 |
Year 3 | Published Jan 2024 |
Year 1 | Published Jan 2023 |
Year 2 | Published Jan 2024 |
Year 3 | Published Jan 2025 |
Year 1 | Published Jan 2024 |
Year 2 | Published Jan 2025 |
Year 3 | Published Jan 2026 |
Year 1 | £4,625 |
Year 2 | Published Jan 2023 |
Year 3 | Published Jan 2024 |
Year 1 | Published Jan 2023 |
Year 2 | Published Jan 2024 |
Year 3 | Published Jan 2025 |
Year 1 | Published Jan 2024 |
Year 2 | Published Jan 2025 |
Year 3 | Published Jan 2026 |
Year 1 | £14,400 |
Year 2 | Published Jan 2023 |
Year 3 | Published Jan 2024 |
Year 1 | Published Jan 2023 |
Year 2 | Published Jan 2024 |
Year 3 | Published Jan 2025 |
Year 1 | Published Jan 2024 |
Year 2 | Published Jan 2025 |
Year 3 | Published Jan 2026 |
During the placement year, the fee is reduced to 20% of the full time fee. Otherwise, fees are the same as for full time study. This applies to UK, EU and International students.
We're looking for imaginative, critical and independent people who want to understand the world in order to change it.
You'll be inventive, thoughtful and aware of fresh narratives. You'll also be connected, socially engaged, and keen to challenge the status quo.
Digitally literate, you'll question your sources, and contest received opinion.
We accept a wide range of qualifications for entry to our undergraduate programmes. The main ones are listed below:
English Language Requirements for International and EU Applicants
Ready to apply? Click the 'apply now' button in the centre of this page. Need more guidance? Head to our how to apply pages.
If you’re an international student or based overseas, web-based interviews may be offered. Please contact International Admissions for more information: internationaladmissions@bathspa.ac.uk.
International students should visit our international pages for more information about our entry requirements, fees and scholarships, and student support.
Keep up with the news, but always with healthy scepticism. Never take a story at face value. Read widely and critically around issues that concern you.
Find out more about the people and organisations making changes in the world – changes you want to see, and those you don’t!
Programme Leader: Dr Alison Hems
Email: a.hems@bathspa.ac.uk
Website feedback to web@bathspa.ac.uk