Social Policy, Sociology

Entry requirements

A good honours degree in a related discipline is required. Students without a Masters degree in a relevant discipline will be required to undertake a taught research training programme in their first year. Students should submit a research outline which must be approved by the Course Director.

Months of entry

September

Course content

The School of Social Sciences provides a stimulating and supportive environment for postgraduate training. The emphasis is on small groups, close working relationships between students and supervisors, and development towards full professional participation in the subject area. For research students we are able to provide both a full ESRC recognised research training programme and high quality expert supervision across a broad spectrum of subjects.

Research Areas

Social Policy and Sociology with specialisations in:

• Comparative Social Policy
• The historical sociology of health
• Health Policies and devolution
• Mental illness and learning disabilities
• Ageing and social change
• Housing Policy
• Ethnographic and ethnomethodological studies of work
• Conversation Analysis
• Membership categorisation analysis
• Schooling and social interaction
• Culture and Media
• Popular Culture
• Language and social interaction
• Identity and diversity
• Childhood and family

Communities and Social Networks with specialisations in:

• Community and locality
• Activism and citizenship in rural areas
• Lifestyles and environment
• Civil society in Wales
• Environment and sustainability
• Food and farming cultures
• Later life, generations and the lifecourse
• The shaping of European identities

Minority Languages and Cultures with specialisations in:

• Language
• Migration
• Identity and belonging

Current graduate students are conducting research on:

• The social organisation of net-based learning
• Migration, ideas of national belonging and policy responses in Wales and Ireland
• The economic and social significance of the SARS outbreaks
• Wales in a global neighbourhood
• Categorisation and special educational needs: implementing the SEN code of practice
• The social construction of Welsh identity
• The use of the Welsh language in the voluntary sector in Wales
• The role of programme evaluation in the public sector organisation

Research Excellence Framework (REF) score

The 2014 Research Excellence Framework recognised that more than three-quarters of Bangor’s research is either world-leading or internationally excellent. Based on the University submission of 14 Units of Assessment, 77% of the research was rated in the top two tiers of research quality, ahead of the average for all UK universities.

Information for international students

For those whose first language is not English or Welsh, the minimum English language requirements is:

• IELTS: 6.5 (with no individual score lower than 6.0)
• Pearson PTE: 62 (with no individual score lower than 58)
• Cambridge English Test – Advanced: 176 (with no individual score lower than 169)