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Core modules:

Foundations of Social Science 1

This module is designed to provide strong foundations for you on the Applied Social Sciences programme. The module will provide a common foundation of theoretical, empirical and methodological work that is appropriate for students from diverse backgrounds and disciplines.. 

Following a planned programme of lectures, seminars and group tutorials, it will offer professional and peer teaching and support to you. You will further develop your research skills by undertaking practical research tasks, including conducting your own interviews and surveys. The module will help to create a solid foundation for a distinct community of learning that will help to sustain you throughout the course of your degree at Sheffield.

20 credits

Foundations of Social Science 2

This module is designed to further develop your foundational theoretical, empirical and methodological knowledge of social research. This is appropriate for students who have a foundational understanding of science concepts and methods.  

Following a planned programme of lectures, seminars and group tutorials, it will offer professional and peer teaching and support to you. You will further develop your research skills from the foundations 1 module, by undertaking assessment and project work. 

The module will help to create a strong framework for research and conceptual work at level two. It will prepare you to conduct your own independent research.

20 credits

Reading Social Science

This module offers a comprehensive introduction to core study skills in the social sciences, enabling students to succeed to the best of their abilities. Anchored by the practice of reading social science, the module supports students to find, read, critically review and synthesise academic texts. Acknowledging the relationships between reading and writing, this module also engages with the production of academic work alongside contemporary debates in (1) citation politics (2) academic misconduct and (3) the use of generative AI. The module, as such, presents students with a very  strong study skills foundation, equipping them with the necessary tools to undertake a wide range of scholarly activities. Beyond that, this module supports students to develop core employability skills including critical thinking, knowledge application, digital literacy and working with others.

20 credits

Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics

There's more and more data around us - in the media, used by politicians or governments, generated by users and businesses. Whether you are a data analyst, social researcher, journalist, or simply an informed citizen, understanding how data is used—and sometimes misused—is a crucial skill. In a world increasingly driven by data, the ability to critically interpret and evaluate statistical claims is more essential than ever.

This 20-credit module aims to demystify data and help you develop your analytical and critical thinking skills regarding data and statistics used in research, businesses, politics, and the media. Through engaging teaching, active learning and examples from research, politics, and the news media, the module will enable you to develop the knowledge and skills you'll need to understand, analyse, and interpret data with confidence, and tell good from bad data.

The module is comprised of weekly lectures as well as interactive computer workshops and is assessed through a written data communication task and a multiple-choice exam — both designed to reflect the types of assessments commonly used in recruitment and relevant workplace scenarios.

20 credits

Choice of two optional modules (20 credits each) from:
(subject to change and availability)

The World's Wicked Problems

The World's Wicked Problems serves as an introduction to International Relations as a discipline. 

Throughout this module you will engage in key international relations concepts and discussions, including migration, climate change, poverty and global inequalities, sexual violence and armed conflict.

As an introductory module, you have the opportunity to develop the tools needed to understand, analyse and reflect on in-depth theoretical and empirical international relations which shall continue to support you throughout your degree.

20 credits

Situating Crime

The module looks at what crime occurs, how, where and to whom. It provides an introduction to the social factors linked to offending and victimisation, including the geography of crime and social deprivation (and wealth). As well as considering traditional forms of crime against individuals and businesses (and people's fear of such crime), it will also explore the nature of and effects on the victims of internet crime, fraud, organised crime and human trafficking, as well as crime in war zones. It will examine whether there has been a drop in crime rates and if so, what might explain this.

20 credits

Cities, Places and People

The aim of this module is to provide you with an introduction to the central concept of place through a focus on the city of Sheffield, its communities and its people. In developing this understanding of place, you will be introduced to some of the theories, techniques and data  that planners use in their efforts to understand and create better places and the module will develop your skills of analysis for assessing the social, economic and environmental qualities of urban places. Through lectures, site visits and computer-based workshops, you will gain an understanding of several different areas in Sheffield so that you develop a broader appreciation of the city's strengths and some of the contemporary challenges that it faces.

10 credits

Exploring Human Geographies

The module provides an introduction to key principles, relations and processes that contribute to a diverse array of social, cultural, economic and environmental aspects of human geography.  It looks at spatial patterns of power, inequality and interdependence produced by economic and cultural globalisation, how we experience these at the local scale and and how they have changed over time.  It outlines key concepts and current debates shaping how human geographers approach these issues by drawing on examples from around the world and at a variety of geographical scales.  It highlights the value of a geographical perspective on the world we live in.

20 credits

Living with Environmental Change

This module will introduce students to a wide range of critical environmental issues facing the world today from physical science and social science perspectives. Using a range of environmental problems evident in the Global North and Global South (such as climate change, habitat loss, water resources, land-use change, agriculture), the physical and social processes implicated will be examined. Drawing on a range of examples, students will critically explore the causes, consequences, management and solutions to environmental issues and learn how to question assumptions about environmental processes.

20 credits

Why Geography Matters

Geography helps us plan for the future by investigating social and physical processes as they interconnect from the past through to the present. Geographers actively contribute to contemporary debates across the sciences, social sciences, and humanities.  We address some of the most pressing issues facing the modern world linking to social justice and environmental change.  Serving as a bridge between the general introductory modules, and the more specialist modules taught at levels 2 and 3, this module provides an opportunity for students to engage with topical issues in contemporary human and physical geography led by academics actively engaged in cutting edge research who are informing real world policy and practice.  The module provides a challenging but accessible insight into the origins of the discipline and how these translate into the cutting edge of contemporary geographical research, and how this helps us understand and contribute to our changing world.  The module will also begin to highlight for students how knowledge is always produced and reflective of those who produce it in ways that reinforce the positionality of some and silence others.

The following particular skills will be achieved in this module: exchanging knowledge; networking; emotional intelligence; inclusivity; positive mindset; innovation; commercial awareness.

20 credits

Social divisions and inequalities: causes, patterns and change

Sociologists are driven to understand how and why material and symbolic rewards are distributed unequally within and between social groups. In this module, you will explore how these inequalities arise from social divisions such as class, gender, and 'race' and ethnicity, and how they also interact to produce unequal outcomes. 

Throughout your learning, you will critically evaluate sociological research that provides evidence of structured inequality in society, as well as contemporary representations of inequalities. In doing so, you will gain an understanding of the difference between common-sense and sociological perspectives of social divisions.  This will support you in developing a sociological framework to critically assess how social divisions operate in the everyday, including in your own lives, and the constraints and opportunities that you and others encounter.

A series of lectures will provide scholarly evidence of and arguments relating to the causes of social divisions, the ways in which patterns of inequality manifest, and how these have changed and/or been challenged over time. Corresponding seminars will enable you to further develop your understanding of the ways in which social inequalities operate and manifest in social life, and how a different future can be imagined. This will deepen your  knowledge, develop your sociological imagination, and sharpen your study, research and communication skills

20 credits

Comprehending Criminology

This module introduces students to key areas of criminological definitions, empirical study, theory and the development of criminal justice systems. The module looks at case studies of crime and deviance from contemporary life to help students understand how some of the history and theory of criminology can be brought to bear on social and legal issues. Topics may feature, for example, youth crime, spouse murder, football hooliganism and credit card crime but also other areas if and when interesting cases arise.

20 credits

Introduction to Western Political Thought

During this module, you will be introduced to political theory as a distinctive way of thinking about politics. You will engage with some of the most influential and renowned thinkers from the history of Western political thought, critically analysing questions of power, justice and legitimacy.

Through the study of seminal texts, you will be challenged to evaluate historical responses to political questions and thereby start doing political theory for yourself. You will also develop a deeper understanding of various concepts that can be applied to your analyses of contemporary issues throughout the degree.

20 credits

Sociology of hope, community and social justice

This module aims to introduce and develop students' understanding of the concepts of hope, community and social justice and their related theoretical contexts, challenges and debates. 

Drawing on multidisciplinary sociological and social policy perspectives and debates, the module will develop students' knowledge and critical understanding of the concepts of hope, community and social justice and the range of historical and contemporary political and collective actions that have been shaped by transformative approaches and/or pursued these 'better world' ambitions. 

The module will adopt a thematic approach to facilitate students' understanding of what hope, community and social justice mean and how these have been defined as well as ensuring students have familiarity and confidence in navigating the theoretical approaches, empirical studies and substantive 'real world' case studies/topic areas associated with these thematic categories.

20 credits

Social divisions and inequalities: causes, patterns and change

Sociologists are driven to understand how and why material and symbolic rewards are distributed unequally within and between social groups. In this module, you will explore how these inequalities arise from social divisions such as class, gender, and 'race' and ethnicity, and how they also interact to produce unequal outcomes. 

Throughout your learning, you will critically evaluate sociological research that provides evidence of structured inequality in society, as well as contemporary representations of inequalities. In doing so, you will gain an understanding of the difference between common-sense and sociological perspectives of social divisions.  This will support you in developing a sociological framework to critically assess how social divisions operate in the everyday, including in your own lives, and the constraints and opportunities that you and others encounter.

A series of lectures will provide scholarly evidence of and arguments relating to the causes of social divisions, the ways in which patterns of inequality manifest, and how these have changed and/or been challenged over time. Corresponding seminars will enable you to further develop your understanding of the ways in which social inequalities operate and manifest in social life, and how a different future can be imagined. This will deepen your  knowledge, develop your sociological imagination, and sharpen your study, research and communication skills

20 credits

Data Visualisation

This module consists of three key elements. The first is principles of good graphic design, combined with how figures can be used to lie and mislead. The second is learning how to make a wide range of graphs, maps, and figures, for a wide range of different audiences, using the latest and most powerful software. The third is interpreting visual representations of data, whether from other sources or by students on the module themselves, and using them to answer substantive research questions. Fundamentally, this is a hands-on module that allows students to make and understand data visualisations.

10 credits

British Politics

You will be introduced to the key concepts and debates that have shaped British politics with an emphasis on history, institutions and culture.

Each lecture will focus on a specific element of British politics, with subsequent and linked seminars providing an opportunity to deepen this knowledge by looking at critical case studies or official reviews.

This module provides key employability skills and practice based knowledge through a focus on the theory and practice of political decision-making processes and the challenges of implementing policy.

20 credits