Sociology with Politics BA (Hons)

Teaching

You are taught through a combination of short, interactive lectures and student-led seminars and workshops. 

Taught sessions will encourage you to think reflexively in critically approaching the disciplines, their traditions, and perspectives, with a focus on identifying new, diverse and exciting research. 

Teaching in Sociology with Politics puts digital literacy, citizenship, and sustainable development at the centre of the student experience, helping you to develop transferable employability skills, and thinking ahead for further study or graduate employment. 

You will be empowered to develop your own independent learning and research skills, preparing you for lifelong learning and future graduate employment. 

Contact time

In a typical week, students will have around 12 contact hours of teaching. The precise contact hours will depend on the optional modules selected and in the final year there is normally slightly less contact time in order to do more independent study.

Typically, weekly contact time will be structured around 4 hours of lectures and 8 hours of seminars/workshops.

Independent self-study

In addition to the time in class, you will complete 25 hours of individual self-study. Typically, this will involve completing online activities, reading journal articles and books, working on individual and group projects, undertaking research in the library and online, and preparing assignments.

Independent learning is supported by Library Services, Blackboard, and IT at the University of Worcester.

Duration

3 years full-time; 4-6 years part-time

Timetables

Timetables are normally available one month before registration. Please note that whilst we try to be as student-friendly as possible, scheduled teaching can take place on any day of the week; and some classes can be scheduled in the evenings.

Teaching staff

The Sociology with Politics staff team knows how to make the subject interesting and students find them friendly and approachable. You can see examples of some of their staff profiles on the Institute of Arts and Humanities staff webpage. All have a teaching qualification or are Fellows of the Higher Education Academy.

Assessment

The course provides opportunities to test understanding and learning informally through the completion of practice or ‘formative’ assignments. 

Each module has one or more formal or ‘summative’ assessments which are graded and count towards the overall module grade. Assessment methods include essays, reports, discussion papers, discourse analyses, portfolios, presentations, and a final year independent study/dissertation.

The precise assessment requirements for an individual student in an academic year will vary according to the mandatory and optional modules taken, but a typical formal summative assessment pattern for each year of the course is:

Year 1

• 1 essay
• 2 reports
• 1 reflective autobiography
• 1 case study analysis
• 1 journal
• 1 portfolio
• 1 book review
• 1 study trip report
• 1 document analysis
• 1 discussion paper

Year 2

• 2 essays
• 1 book review
• 2 presentations
• 1 research proposal
• 2 reports
• 1 discourse analysis
• 1 case study analysis

Year 3

• 1 dissertation
• 1 annotated bibliography
• 2 case study analyses
• 1 essay
• 1 essay and poster
• 1 book review
• 1 presentation
• 1 discourse analysis
• 1 presentation
• 1 research briefing

Feedback

You will receive feedback on practice assessments and on formal assessments undertaken by coursework. Feedback on examination performance is available upon request from the module leader. Feedback is intended to support learning and you are encouraged to discuss it with personal academic tutors and module tutors as appropriate.

We aim to provide you with feedback on formal course work assessments within 20 working days of hand-in.  

Programme Specification

For comprehensive details on the aims and intended learning outcomes of the course, and the means by which these are achieved through learning, teaching and assessment, please download the latest programme specification document.