Head of Department
Jo Moran-Ellis
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. Our research is world-class, with strengths in medicine and science, gender and inequality, and social theory and political sociology. Members of the Department are committed to the advancement of sociology as an interdisciplinary and globally oriented social science. 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 nationally and internationally.
Sussex success in the Sociology rankings
For parents and students alike, the subject rankings in the UK’s broadsheet press have become a key part of decision-making when choosing the right university for a particular subject. Always happy to be judged alongside our peers, Sussex is a strong performer in a wide range of subject areas and our Sociology faculty has become a regular feature at the top end of the tables.
In the Times Good University Guide 2013, for example, we are ranked 8th in the UK for Sociology. In the Complete University Guide 2014, we have been rising steadily through the rankings and Sociology is in 9th spot for 2014.
We have also performed consistently well in the Guardian subject rankings moving up 10 places to 10th in the Guardian University Guide 2014. On a global level, the QS subject rankings judge us to be within the top 100 providers in the world.
In 2013’s National Student Survey, our Sociology students scored us 3rd in the UK for student satisfaction and 5th in the UK for academic support, out of 79 departments.
There’s no substitute for visiting a university to get a feel for whether it’s the right place, of course, but the subject rankings are a valuable tool nonetheless.
Sociology will be housed in a new building from 2014.