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Full time
1 year
OCT-25
Access to Higher Education
Social Sciences
Why study a social sciences foundation year?
Explore the theories and concepts used in the social sciences during this foundation year, before delving deeper into the subject of your chosen undergraduate degree.
Course overview
On this practical, career-focused foundation year, youll study a range of topics that are central or highly relevant to the study of the social sciences before progressing on to your chosen undergraduate degree - armed with the essential academic skills and broad foundation of knowledge.
You will explore areas such as mental health and wellbeing, crime, contemporary issues in social sciences, and professional practice to help prepare you for undergraduate study. This course has an applied focus – you are encouraged and enabled to apply theoretical knowledge to real-world problems, including poverty, health inequalities, and the growing influence of technology.
During this foundation year, youll explore basic theories and concepts used in the social sciences and apply appropriate methods and working practices in a range of social scientific disciplines. Youll also be supported in developing your research and academic literacy skills, such as critical thinking and writing.
Youll be taught by an experienced team who are accessible and approachable, and ultimately dedicated to providing an inclusive learning environment.
Who this course is for
The Social Sciences Foundation Year is specifically designed for those wanting to study social sciences but who do not meet the entry requirements. Its also suitable for those who wish to refresh their academic skills and subject-specific knowledge before starting an undergraduate degree.
Our foundation years are designed to offer a broad range of academic skills alongside a taste of the wider industry before you start your chosen specialist undergraduate degree. Some degrees also include a year in industry, meaning you can gain valuable first-hand work experience with a year-long full-time work placement between the second and third years of your degree.
We use key sociological concepts – such as identity, power and social institutions – to explore a range of topics that shape our society including education, the family and healthcare.
During this module, you’ll focus on an area of crime and justice that enables you to examine offending in our communities. Exploring a range of different types of crimes, you’ll use sociological approaches and crime theories to understand criminal behaviour. You’ll consider where and when crime takes place, as well as identify factors that contribute to criminal acts. Drawing on real crime cases, you will use a range of academic and popular sources to understand the complexities of criminal behaviour and the elements within society that work together to maintain social control.
In this module you will focus on your own intended professional practice through the process of personal development planning.
The module will introduce you to the methods used by social scientists to carry out research. You will learn about examples of research from different disciplines within the social sciences, such as psychology, sociology and medicine.
This module invites you to examine and question the ways in which online social media; television; newspapers, and other media sources communicate and represent contemporary topics and issues in the social world.
This module will introduce the topic of mental health and will explore the different psychological approaches - such as biological, psychological and social - which psychologists use to understand positive and negative aspects of mental health.
For this course (per year)
£17,750
For this course (per year)
£17,750
You need 48 UCAS tariff points. You need a minimum of two completed A-levels, a BTEC Extended Diploma at PPP or BTEC Diploma at MP, a T-Level Pass (D or E), or equivalent. We will consider mature students who have not recently undertaken a formal course of study at A-level, or equivalent, but can demonstrate relevant work or voluntary experience, that's indicative of their ability to complete the course successfully.