Social Policy and Sociology

This popular joint degree programme provides a grounding in both social policy and sociology, two subjects which complement and enrich each other.

Social policy

Social policy at the University of Edinburgh will enable you to engage with confidence in many of the political debates of our time.

We cover a wide range of policy areas, for example:

• health

• welfare

• labour markets

• education

• family and childhood

We discuss how policies affect our civic culture through studying political engagement and citizen participation.

Our programme will equip you to understand how policies affect society and the economy. It will also enable you to critically assess how policies are made, and what actors and processes influence the policy-making process.

Sociology

Sociology examines how individual choices are affected by wider social forces and how they can be understood by placing them in their social context.

You will study:

• the relationship between individuals and groups

• issues of belonging and identity

• the social causes of cooperation and conflict

• the way societies and social institutions are formed and change over time

You will also learn to compare different national contexts and understand contemporary social issues from a global perspective.

We work closely with:

• governments

• non-governmental organisations (NGOs)

• third sector and interest representation groups

• international organisations

• other external actors

Programme benefits

• We have close relationships with the Scottish and UK governments, as well as European and global institutions. You will have the opportunity to be immersed in a diverse range of contemporary policy developments.

• International comparative analyses are one of our main strengths. We place a strong emphasis on providing you with empirical research skills, so that you can become a critical researcher yourself.

• We will challenge you to re-evaluate how you look at politics, society and the economy with the ability to improve others’ understanding as well.