Sociology (with Foundation Year)

The Integrated Foundation Year offers a new and exciting route into studying for a degree, attracting ambitious and driven students who are willing to learn and advance.

If you have non-standard qualifications or do not quite meet the admissions requirements for Sociology we can offer you a fantastic opportunity to study a four year Sociology programme which includes an Integrated Foundation Year.

The Integrated Foundation Year will help you develop the theoretical/practical and academic skills you need, in order to successfully progress to the full award. Featuring a reduced tuition fee in the first year, this four-year course will enable you to successfully follow the degree pathway of your choice while gaining essential study skills. The foundation year of your chosen degree will be studied on a full-time basis and is aimed at supporting the transition to higher education. Years two, three and four are then studied as a standard degree programme.

By studying at the University of Northampton, you can be sure that:

• Our expert academics teach in small groups supported with one to one assistance. Our academics and students form a tight bond, providing individualised support and guidance whilst challenging students academically.

• Whatever your ambitions, we’re here to help you to achieve them. We’ll support you to identify the skills you’re learning during your course, find your strengths and secure practical experience so that when it comes to applying for jobs or further study you’ll feel confident in standing out from the crowd.

• You will experience student life at the University’s £330 million Waterside Campus. Come along to an Open Day and find out more.

• At UON we guarantee a room in our Halls of Residence for all new full-time, first year students who apply and accept their room offer by June 2026 - and we won't ask for a deposit for September 2026**.

• Students enrolling on this course at Northampton will be provided with their own brand new laptop** to keep at no additional cost. All sports clubs and societies are free to join at Northampton and every essential course text book is available via the library, meaning you won’t have to purchase copies. For more information on this visit our website (northampton.ac.uk/benefits).

The Northampton Employment Promise

• In fact, we’re so confident in our careers and employability support that if you achieve at least a 2:2 degree and complete either our Employability Plus Gold programme or achieve a Changemaker Gold Certificate during your time studying with us, but still haven’t secured full-time employment 12 months after graduating, we will secure a three – six month paid internship for you or support you into postgraduate study.

✱ eligibility criteria apply. See northampton.ac.uk/student-life/accommodation/ for more information.
✱✱ eligibility criteria and terms and conditions apply. See northampton.ac.uk/benefits for more information.

The Integrated Foundation Year (IFY) offers a new and exciting route into studying for a degree. The foundation year will be studied on a full-time basis and is aimed at supporting your transition to higher education. Years two, three and four are then studied as a standard degree programme.

Stage 1a:

• Transition to University – Learning to Learn (Compulsory)
• Investigating Your Subject (Compulsory)
• Foundations in Development and Education (Compulsory)
• Negotiated Learning Project (Compulsory)

Stage 1b:
• Sociology of Education (compulsory)
• Media, Crime and Society (compulsory)
• Identity and Social Change (compulsory)
• Spaces and Places of Social Inequalities (compulsory)
• The Sociological Imagination (compulsory)
• The Sociology of Love and Intimacy in the 21st Century (compulsory)

STAGE 2:
• Sociological Research and Reflection in Action (compulsory)
• Methodology and Application in Social Research (compulsory)
• Social and Cultural Transformations (designated)
• ‘Race’, Ethnicity and Migrations (designated)
• Culture, Representation and Social Inequalities (designated)
• Sociology of Health and Wellbeing (designated)
• Sexual Intimacy and the Body (designated)

Optional Placement Year
• The FHES Placement Year Experience
Students must have successfully completed 100 credits at Level 5 in order to undertake placement.

STAGE 3:
• Sociology Dissertation (compulsory)
• Sexuality, Gender and Power (Optional)
• Sociology of the Future (Optional)
• Environment and Sustainability (Optional)
• Sociology of Death (Optional)
• Sociology of the Self (Optional)
• Possessed: Stuff, Selfhood and Society (Optional)
• Power, Hate and Activism in Digital Culture (Optional).

*Students must take the compulsory module plus four designated modules.
**Module information is quoted for 2026 entry. Please note that modules run subject to student numbers and staff availability, any changes will be communicated to applicants accordingly.

The course is assessed in a number of ways:
• Essays
• Seminar portfolios
• Seen and unseen exams
• Internet-based exercises
• Group presentations
• Research projects
• Academic posters