
Course description
The BA in Politics and Social Anthropology is one of the pathways within the BA Social Sciences degree.
It is ideal if you want to keep your options open or study specific topics such as race, class, crime or religion from different perspectives.
This flexible degree lets you study at least three subjects in Year 1, and then in Years 2 and 3 you deepen your understanding of the subjects you feel passionate about.
The six subject areas are:
- Criminology - The study of the causes and consequences of crime.
- Philosophy - The study of the nature of knowledge, truth and values. It also encourages greater consideration of our reasoning, judgement and ethics.
- Politics - The study of human organisation, government and power. It examines and evaluates political systems and institutions.
- Data Analytics - The study of data and analysis to understand the social world.
- Social Anthropology - The study of societies and cultures across the globe in comparative perspective.
- Sociology - The study of society and examines such issues as social inequalities and forms of everyday life.
You are not tied to the course code you apply to through UCAS and have the option to change after Year 1.
Special features
Professional Experience Year Opportunity
You apply in year 1 to boost your employability through a paid Professional Experience Year.
If you meet the criteria, the Professional Experience Team and Careers Service will work with you to find a suitable placement in your 2nd year.
You will then complete your Professional Experience Year in 3rd year extending your degree to four years, before returning to University to finish your final year.
Your degree title will be extended to include 'with Professional Experience', giving you the added advantage of relevant work experience when entering the competitive graduate jobs market.
Paid placement opportunity
You can apply for a paid Q-Step internship between Years 2 and 3.
Find out more about the benefits of completing a placement
Study abroad
You can apply in Year 1 to spend a semester abroad in Year 2. If you are successful, you will put together a package of course units at your host university in consultation with your Academic Exchange Advisor in Manchester.
Teaching and learning
Course units feature formal lectures supported by smaller tutorials or seminars where you explore the contents of lectures and recommended reading in greater depth.
Tutorials and seminars are key to improving your written and oral communication skills through group discussions, essay-writing, and presentations.
You are assigned an Academic Advisor who can advise you on selecting course units and career opportunities.
Coursework and assessment
The range of methods is designed to promote in-depth learning and understanding, including:
- essays, coursework and other mid-term evaluations;
- dissertations;
- presentations and group projects; and
- exams.
Course content for year 1
Year 1 gives you a broad introduction to the Social Sciences, enabling you to make an informed choice of areas to specialise in for your second and third years.
Course units for year 1
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 |
---|---|---|---|
Engaging With Social Research | SOAN10081 | 20 | Mandatory |
Key Ideas in Social Anthropology | SOAN10321 | 10 | Mandatory |
Intro to Ethnographic Reading | SOAN10322 | 10 | Mandatory |
Crime and Society | CRIM10001 | 20 | Optional |
Criminological Research Methods | CRIM10072 | 20 | Optional |
Foundations of Criminal Justice | CRIM10421 | 20 | Optional |
Psychology, Crime and Criminal Justice | CRIM10432 | 20 | Optional |
Foundations of Criminological Scholarship | CRIM10441 | 20 | Optional |
An Introduction to Development Studies | ECON10002 | 10 | Optional |
Microeconomics 1 | ECON10221 | 10 | Optional |
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Course content for year 2
In Year 2 you begin to specialise. If you specialise in one subject you take 60 to 80 credits in it.
If you specialise in two subjects you take 40 credits in each.
Course units for year 2
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 |
---|---|---|---|
How to Conduct Politics Research | POLI20902 | 20 | Mandatory |
The Ethnographer's Craft | SOAN20842 | 20 | Mandatory |
Policing and the Police | CRIM20051 | 20 | Optional |
Explaining Crime and Deviance | CRIM20412 | 20 | Optional |
Making Sense of Criminological Data | CRIM20441 | 20 | Optional |
Modelling Criminological Data | CRIM20452 | 20 | Optional |
Understanding Punishment | CRIM20692 | 20 | Optional |
Criminology and Criminal Justice in Action | CRIM20701 | 20 | Optional |
Jurisprudence | LAWS20101 | 20 | Optional |
Philosophy of Religion | PHIL20021 | 20 | Optional |
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Course content for year 3
In Year 3 you pick your final areas of specialisation. If you specialise in one subject you take 60 to 80 credits in it.
If you specialise in two subjects you take 40 credits in each.
Course units for year 3
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 |
---|---|---|---|
Drugs and Society | CRIM30601 | 20 | Optional |
From Imprisonment to Rehabilitation | CRIM30662 | 20 | Optional |
Victims, Crime and Justice | CRIM30792 | 20 | Optional |
Serious and Organised Crime | CRIM30811 | 20 | Optional |
Youth, Crime and Justice | CRIM31101 | 20 | Optional |
Crime Mapping: an introduction to GIS and spatial analysis | CRIM31152 | 20 | Optional |
The Criminal Psychopath | CRIM31172 | 20 | Optional |
Metaphysics | PHIL30212 | 20 | Optional |
Language and Analysis | PHIL30352 | 20 | Optional |
Philosophy of Psychology | PHIL30361 | 20 | Optional |
Displaying 10 of 65 course units for year 3 | |||
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