Overview
- Degree awarded
- Master of Arts (MA)
- Duration
- MA 1/2 years (ft/pt); PGDip 9/18 months (ft/pt)
- Entry requirements
-
We require a UK bachelor's degree with a First or Upper Second classification or the overseas equivalent, in Sociology or a Social Science subject for direct entry to the MA programme.
When assessing your academic record we consider your degree subject, grades you have achieved and the standing of the institution where you studied your qualification.
- How to apply
- Apply online
Course options
| Full-time | Part-time | Full-time distance learning | Part-time distance learning | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MA | Y | Y | N | N |
| PGDip | Y | Y | N | N |
Course overview
- Develop your learning with leading innovators in research method.
- Benefit from an outstanding team of educators and well-resourced teaching support material.
- Study at one of the UK's largest and most prestigious centres for sociology.
Open days
The University holds regular open days, where you will have the opportunity to find out more about our facilities and courses.
On this day, you will find out more about the School, our resources, and meet academic and admissions staff who will be able to answer any questions you have.
See open days and visits for more information.
Fees
For entry in the academic year beginning September 2024, the tuition fees are as follows:
-
MA (full-time)
UK students (per annum): £12,500
International, including EU, students (per annum): £24,500 -
MA (part-time)
UK students (per annum): £6,250
International, including EU, students (per annum): £12,250 -
PGDip (full-time)
UK students (per annum): £8,333
International, including EU, students (per annum): £16,333 -
PGDip (part-time)
UK students (per annum): £6,250
International, including EU, students (per annum): £8,167
Further information for EU students can be found on our dedicated EU page.
The fees quoted above will be fully inclusive for the course tuition, administration and computational costs during your studies.
All fees for entry will be subject to yearly review and incremental rises per annum are also likely over the duration of courses lasting more than a year for UK/EU students (fees are typically fixed for International students, for the course duration at the year of entry). For general fees information please visit: postgraduate fees . Always contact the department if you are unsure which fee applies to your qualification award and method of attendance.
Self-funded international applicants for this course will be required to pay a deposit of £1000 towards their tuition fees before a confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS) is issued. This deposit will only be refunded if immigration permission is refused. We will notify you about how and when to make this payment.
Policy on additional costs
All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).
Scholarships/sponsorships
We offer a number of postgraduate taught scholarships and awards to outstanding applicants, such as the Manchester Humanities International Excellence Scholarship .
The Manchester Alumni Scholarship Scheme offers a £3,000 fee reduction to Manchester alumni who achieved a first-class bachelor's degree within the last three years and are progressing to postgraduate study.
For more information, see our Fees and funding page.
Contact details
- School/Faculty
- School of Social Sciences
- Contact name
- School of Social Sciences Admissions Office
- Telephone
- +44 (0) 161 804 9198
- pg-soss@manchester.ac.uk
- Website
- https://www.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/sociology/
- School/Faculty
-
See: School Subjects
Courses in related subject areas
Use the links below to view lists of courses in related subject areas.
Entry requirements
Academic entry qualification overview
When assessing your academic record we consider your degree subject, grades you have achieved and the standing of the institution where you studied your qualification.
English language
Applicants whose first language is not English should meet the following language requirements:
- IELTS Academic test score of 7 overall, including 7 in writing with no further component score below 6.5
- TOEFL IBT 100 with 25 in writing and no further score below 22 in each section. TOEFL code for Manchester is 0757
- Pearson Test of English (PTE) score of 76 overall, with 76 in writing and no further score below 70
Pre-Sessional English Courses
We will consider applicants who do not meet these scores but you will be required to complete a pre-sessional English language course at the University of Manchester prior to the start of the course.
To be considered for a pre-sessional English language course for this programme we require the following minimum IELTS (Academic) scores:
6 Week Pre-Sessional Course : IELTS 6.5 overall with 6.5 in writing and no more than one sub-skill of 6.0.
10 Week Pre-sessional Course : IELTS 6.0 overall with 6.0 or above in each sub-skill
If you have not yet completed your current academic study and are interested in studying a pre-sessional course, you must hold an IELTS for UKVI (Academic) test certificate to ensure that you are eligible for a separate visa for the English language course.
English language test validity
Some English Language test results are only valid for two years. Your English Language test report must be valid on the start date of the course.
Applicants from Majority English-speaking countries
If you are a national of a majority English-speaking country (or have studied for a full bachelor's degree or higher from one of these countries) you may be exempt from submitting further evidence of English language proficiency.
Other international entry requirements
We accept a range of qualifications from across the globe. To help international students, the university provides specific information for many individual countries. Please see our country-specific information page for guidance on the academic and English language qualifications which may be accepted from your country.
Application and selection
How to apply
Advice to applicants
Please note, due to the high volume of applications we receive the course may close before the advertised deadline and as such, early application is advised.
If you meet our entry requirements but we are unable to make you an offer you may be placed on a waiting list. Candidates on a waiting list will receive an offer only if places become available.
Re-applications
Course details
Course description
Sociology at Manchester is one of the UK's largest and most prestigious centres for the subject, with over 30 academic staff and 60 postgraduate students forming a diverse and rigorous academic community.
The MA course aims to provide those of you who have an interest in sociology the opportunity to extend and deepen your knowledge of the discipline. Our teaching includes all areas of contemporary sociology but we have particular expertise in the fields of socio-cultural change, gender and sexuality, and consumption and sustainability.
We are consistently highly rated for our research and were ranked in the top three in the UK for our research environment, research quality, and research power in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF). Our research feeds into all of our postgraduate teaching.
The Sociology MA is the perfect course to develop your analytical and investigative skills, training you in methods of social investigation in order to equip you with the ability for independent thinking, research and analysis, setting you up perfectly for the world of employment.
Teaching and learning
Part-time students complete the full-time course over two years. There are no evening or weekend course units available on the part-time course.
You must first check the schedule of the compulsory course units and then select your optional units to suit your requirements.
Updated timetable information will be available from mid-August and you will have the opportunity to discuss your unit choices during induction week with your Course Director.
Coursework and assessment
Course unit details
You will take four compulsory course units:
- social theory and cultural identity;
- cultural criticism: sources for a public sociology;
- research design;
- research strategy and project management;
- Together with four options chosen from a wide range of specialist units.
Examples of optional course units include:
- postcolonial theory and method;
- protest and progress;
- Sociology of consumption;
- new developments in theories of gender and sexuality;
- urban sociology;
- social capital and social change qualitative research methods; or
- philosophical and methodological issues in social research.
You may also negotiate an independent studies course unit, linked to your particular research interests, subject to a suitable academic supervisor being available. If you have registered for the MA (or upgraded from the PG Diploma), you will need to complete a 12,000-word dissertation, on a research topic of your choice, in addition to the eight taught course units.
Course unit list
The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.
| Title | Code | Credit rating | Mandatory/optional |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dissertation | SOCY60000 | 60 | Mandatory |
| Social Theory: Structure, Relations and Interaction (SRI) | SOCY60332 | 15 | Mandatory |
| Cultural Criticism: Sources for a Public Sociology | SOCY60342 | 15 | Mandatory |
| Research Design | SOCY60401 | 15 | Mandatory |
| Research Strategy and Project Management | SOCY60412 | 15 | Mandatory |
| Protest and Progress: Understanding Movements for Social and Political Change | SOCY60142 | 15 | Optional |
| Critical Theory | SOCY60282 | 15 | Optional |
| Doing research with social network data and visualizations | SOCY60292 | 15 | Optional |
| Mitchell Centre seminar series | SOCY60360 | 15 | Optional |
| Social network analysis: concepts and measures | SOCY60361 | 15 | Optional |
| Displaying 10 of 19 course units | |||
| Display all course units | |||
What our students say
Disability support
Careers
Career opportunities
- education;
- social and community work (such as welfare advice, working with families, or dealing with issues such as homelessness and mental health problems);
- human resources;
- working in the media.
The University has its own dedicated Careers Service that you would have full access to as a student and for two years after you graduate. At Manchester you will have access to a number of opportunities to help boost your employability .