Sociology and Criminology
Salford offers a friendly and lively environment in which to study Sociology and Criminology. Students come from a wide range of backgrounds, and from all over the UK, Europe, and from overseas. In addition to recent school- and college-leavers taking undergraduate degrees, we are home to a substantial proportion of mature students, and have a long tradition of welcoming and ensuring the success of Access Course graduates.
Our academic staff actively research and teach in six clusters of expertise:
Crime, punishment and social control
Health, risk and technology
Popular culture
Qualitative research
Social and cultural theory
Social inclusion
Why Study at Salford?
Our subject group has particular and distinctive strengths, which inform our teaching and provide students with a unique set of academic and practical skills.
An international focus
By drawing on comparative research experience, cross-national studies, collaborations with other sociologists and criminologists internationally, we are able to provide multi-national classes which encourage students to compare their own experiences with those of contemporaries in other cultures. We offer international exchanges to our undergraduate students, and are expanding these to include a wide range of universities in a number of countries.
Links with the real world
Students taking our degrees can undertake Independent Learning and Enterprise Project modules, both of which involve working with practitioners (police, prison officers, etc.) and policy-makers, and allow students to engage with the community on local issues and problems. Our other modules incorporate external speakers from a wide range of practical and professional backgrounds, ensuring that where appropriate a vocational element is included in our teaching. Our innovative teaching methods combine policy and theory teaching, contextualising policy debates with key sociological and criminological theories, and using contemporary social phenomena to clarify and explain the relevance of theoretical ideas.
Research-informed teaching
Our staff have both extensive teaching experience, and are very active researchers, allowing them to focus their teaching on current debates and problems in the field, in which they are active participants. Many of our modules are based around, or include as a major component, the analysis of contemporary research papers.
Innovation
Assessment in sociology and criminology at Salford goes beyond just the usual university essay. Students are assessed by pictorial projects, enterprise work, applied interactional analyses, group work, reports and projects, reflective log books, and more—all designed to appeal to a diverse and ambitious student population. Technology is central to our teaching methods, in lectures, workshops and research training. We make extensive use of virtual learning technologies, both for the dissemination of teaching materials and for out-of-class student interaction and development.
Career Prospects
Graduates in Sociology and Criminology are able to use their knowledge and skills in a wide variety of occupations, for example professional training in the police, probation, social services and social work; teaching in secondary and further education; administration, management and research in local government, the civil service and health service; and management in business and industry. Some graduates have gone on to careers in advertising, journalism and the media, others have entered the computing industry. Some go on to complete postgraduate courses and research, and then become professional researchers or lecturers in higher education. For further general information about sociology, take a look at the British Sociological Association and British Society of Criminology websites.
Who we are
We are a multidisciplinary team of experts from the fields of sociology, criminology, anthropology, psychology, law, social policy and geography. Other colleagues from these disciplines, as well as business studies, English, politics, contemporary history, journalism, media studies, health, mathematics and engineering contribute to our teaching, and we work closely across disciplines on a number of joint programmes and modules. We are a friendly and collegial team, externally praised for our student support and approachability for students.