Program Overview

What holds societies together? Do people pull together because they have to or because they want to? What motivates so many people to migrate from their own societies to others? On our course you explore why individuals, groups, and cultures are the way they are, and examine why they might be different.

At Essex we investigate what connects people with each other, as well as what divides them. We consider every aspect of our daily lives, from how we relate to politicians, celebrities and friends, to how we define ourselves, our families, and others. You study topics ranging from digital media and society, to psychiatry and mental illness, to Japanese culture, to the art, film and personal testimony of war.

We are a large and friendly department, offering a range and diversity of specialisms including:

• Social divisions, inequality, the nature of work and commercial culture
• Culture, identity and subjectivity
• Public policy regarding health, the environment, crime and aging
• Citizenship, multiculturalism and human rights
• Receive training in sociological methods – how to design a survey, conduct an interview, and use quantitative analysis from basic statistic to big data – in order to ask the difficult questions

You also have the opportunity to complete a supervised dissertation on the topic that most inspires you, encouraging you to think differently and connect with live issues and debates, and preparing you for your graduate career.

Study abroad

Your education extends beyond the university campus. We support you in expanding your education through offering the opportunity to spend a year or a term studying abroad at one of our partner universities. The four-year version of our degree allows you to spend the third year abroad or employed on a placement abroad, while otherwise remaining identical to the three-year course.

Studying abroad allows you to experience other cultures and languages, to broaden your degree socially and academically, and to demonstrate to employers that you are mature, adaptable, and organised.

If you spend a full year abroad you'll only pay 15% of your usual tuition fee to Essex for that year. You won't pay any tuition fees to your host university