I think what Sociology at Birmingham offers is on the one hand a relatively small programme
We take about 40 students on the single honours programme each year students all get to know
each other really well crucially the staff get to know all the students by their name
and we build up a productive relationship over the years but at the same time we're
part of a bigger School of Government and Society at the University which hosts a number
of different disciplines and is incredible well resourced so students get to make connections
outside of sociology to get access to resources for things like debates and visiting speakers
and the other sorts of activities that the University has to offer.
All members of staff are active researchers we’re publishing in our own areas of expertise
and it's that knowledge and enthusiasm for the disciple that we also bring to our teaching.
We really want our students to be as excited about contemporary debates in sociology as we are.
Sociology at Birmingham has a long heritage
these days we're also quite a young small department and I think that's one of the main
characteristics that would attract you here to Birmingham.
For me the main attraction to Birmingham was the course itself it offers the right balance
of academic work in terms of the theoretical side of the argument whereas also it offers
research based modules as well, I quite like that balance here at Birmingham.
The Sociology course here is brilliant. The department is absolutely fantastic and they
are more than happy to help you as an individual to grow. I can only really sum up my experience
at University in my first year as being challenging yet extremely satisfying.
And that sense of community doesn't stop at graduation either in the sense that we will
support you in your search for careers or further education through references for example
or giving you guidance and advice as to where you might best use your sociology degree.
What we find is that there isn't really a single pathway into a career when you study
sociology with us our students go on to enjoy success in a wide variety of careers including
things like Human Resources, Law, Teaching, Market Research and of course the degree provides
an excellent platform for further study at the postgraduate level. While our students
are here we encourage them to take advantage of the wide variety of activities that are
on offer the can get involved in doing internships or voluntary work and it's those kinds of
activities that help them discover what kinds of careers are out there but also more importantly
that while they're here they're developing the kinds of skills that employers are really looking for.
You'll be coming here to become a part of
a community and a community that is bound together by a shared interest in sociology
and knowing society better so that community of enquiry is what I like to call it is a
community because we as staff are on that same path so we're interested and we've pursued
that path knowing more about society and finding out more about society we're just a bit further
down the path then the students themselves and in that sense we can benefit from our
experience but we also share that experience because we've been there too.