- We offer a range of flexible sociology and criminology courses to suit you
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Undergraduates
You can choose from single and joint honour Sociology and Criminology courses.
The flexibility of our courses means you can combine your studies with subjects such as history, cultural studies, international development, media and modern languages.
You also have the opportunity to do electives and pathways to help broaden your studies, and you can explore another culture, gain employability skills and improve your language abilities by doing a year abroad as part of your degree.
Postgraduate study
You will benefit from our interdisciplinary approach, meaning you will be able to take modules, or conduct research into, a diverse range of topics. You can also get involved in our departmental research events, allowing you to present your research in a friendly environment and receive feedback.
- We prepare you for your future career and develop your skills
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We prepare you for a variety of careers related to Sociology.
You'll learn practical and theoretical skills throughout your Sociology course including research-methods training, data analysis, presentational skills, and team-working. You will also get the opportunity to develop your research skills through your final year research project.
If you are a postgraduate or PhD student, you will also receive research training and support, as well as opportunities to attend frequent research seminars and events where you can present your work.
Our Careers and Employability team also run various events throughout the year for you to attend, including talks on careers in development and not-for-profit sector, the government and civil service, and career development for Masters students events.
- You will work in an exciting, research-intensive environment close to Brighton
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As our research is wide-ranging, you will be able to study modules in areas such as cosmopolitanism, racism and globalisation; regulation, clinical research and mental health; sexual violence, gender and the body.
With our research feeding directly in public and policy debates and our faculty members presenting to and advising organisations including the United Nations, you will be learning from researchers involved in the very latest developments in sociology.
To help further enhance your knowledge, you can also attend a variety of talks, debates and events throughout the year run by the department, the Sussex Sociology department and the University.
Head of Department Karen Lowton
The Department of Sociology at the University of Sussex is a small research-intensive Department offering high-quality teaching. We see Sociology as a discipline that explains major trends in society and as a distinctive and critical way of thinking about the social world.
The Department offers a comprehensive and innovative undergraduate degree in the field of sociology as well as postgraduate taught courses and doctoral studies. The discipline of Criminology sits within our overarching sociological approach, where we offer single and joint honours degrees in criminology, as well as an MA Criminology and doctoral studies.
Across the Department, our research is world-class, with strengths in medicine and science, gender and inequality, social theory, political sociology, and criminology, violence and transgression. Our faculty are committed to the advancement of sociology and criminology as interdisciplinary and globally oriented social sciences. We welcome students from all over the world.
Our research-led strategy is a major part of our overall policy for growth and for the advancement of sociology and criminology nationally and internationally.
"The thing that really differentiates sociology at Sussex is that you’re not spoon-fed here; you’re encouraged to stand outside society and develop a critical outlook. I’d say that’s down to the political history of the university and to the fact that we have such great teachers.
"Whatever I decide to do, I know that the blend of academic and extra-curricular activity at Sussex has given me the best possible start."
Isabel Young, MA in Gender Studies, BA in Sociology