Sociology and Social Policy

Studying Sociology as 50% of your degree gives you a comprehensive and critically informed understanding of the forces that structure everyday life, how inequalities emerge, and how social change happens. Our research-led programmes develop your critical thinking while equipping you with practical social research skills to investigate real-world issues. You will build a strong conceptual foundation through core modules that examine key social theories, both classic and contemporary. You can then tailor your degree through optional modules that reflect our department’s diverse research expertise, covering topics such as education, emotion, religion, cities, masculinity, and the digital world.

If you’re interested in a career in social services or public administration, studying Social Policy as 50% of your degree offers valuable insights into how governments design and deliver support in areas such as health, education and welfare. Our research-led Social Policy programme critically examines how societies decide who receives support, what form it takes and how it is delivered. You’ll be immersed in current political debates and real-world challenges, exploring the social changes and divisions that shape policy decisions, alongside broader issues of social inclusion and exclusion. You also have the option to focus on social research methods, gaining practical skills in investigating the social world.

This programme is available with either a Year in China or a Year Abroad. The Year in China offers undergraduate students the opportunity to spend one year at our joint venture, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU). You can choose either the China Studies Track, where you will take courses from the China Studies Degree, the Creative Track, or the Entrepreneurship Track . XJTLU is a fully English-speaking university, located in Suzhou. The Year Abroad offers students the opportunity to spend a full academic year studying at one of our partner universities around the world, following a mixture of culture and/or discipline-related modules. If you wish to study this programme with a Year in China or a Year Abroad you will have the opportunity to apply after you arrive at Liverpool.

Most Combined Degrees allow you to adapt the weighting of each by 25% after the first year, helping you to keep your options open. Please note, however, students studying either a Business or Economics pathway in combination with another subject cannot increase from 25% to 50% or from 50% to 75% and it is not possible to transfer from a 50% to 75% Law. To find out more about your programme choice, please go first to our Combined Degrees webpages: liverpool.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/combined-degrees.