BA Sociology and Japanese

Residence abroad support

We offer dedicated financial support packages of up to £2,000 for residence abroad students, based on household income.

You will be automatically assessed for this, based on your Student Finance financial assessment - you just need to make sure you apply for a financial assessment in the academic year in which your residence abroad will take place.

RWS Brode Scholarship

You may be eligible for this scholarship if you fulfill the following conditions:

• your qualifications were achieved at a state-funded school in the UK;
• your total household income does not exceed £60,000 (as verified by the Student Loan Company);
• you achieve high marks in your A-levels (or equivalent qualifications), usually AAB or above;
• you apply to (and remain on) either a single honours Language course, or a dual-language course.

Awards will be made according to a sliding scale, benefitting those who have achieved the highest marks relative to backgrounds.

You will be automatically assessed for this after you have registered on your degree.

You simply need to make sure you allow the University access to your records when applying for your student lLoan (we cannot otherwise assess your eligibility).

The Sociology Dissertation (40 credits) provides students with the opportunity to undertake an independent social research project. The topic of research is chosen by the student in consultation with their supervisor, and can involve the use of existing datasets, existing literature, or where appropriate, the collection of original data. The dissertation will develop expertise in an area of sociology that is of personal interest, while applying and developing the research skills gained so far in the degree. It also offers a valuable opportunity to demonstrate and refine transferable skills of critical analysis, writing, and project management. 

SOCY30920 & SOCY30930 Cannot be taken together

The dissertation module is only open to BSocSociology students and students on any joint programme or pathway that involves sociology (although each joint programme has its own pre-requisites or regulations about credit options etc).  

In order to pursue a dissertation project involving primary qualitative data, such as observations or interviews, you must have completed a relevant qualitative research methods module in year 2 of your programme. To pursue a project involving quantitative data, you must have completed a relevant quantitative methods or statistical methods module in year 2 of your programme. Students who have not completed relevant research methods modules in year 2 may still choose the dissertation module, but they will be limited to a theoretical or library-based dissertation.  

The aims of the 40-credit dissertation are to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate their capacity to undertake a piece of independent research; allow students to choose a topic of study of particular interest and to engage in an in-depth examination of the topic making use of advanced bibliographic skills, existing quantitative or qualitative datasets, or, where appropriate, to engage in original data collection and analysis; encourage students to explore the contribution the discipline makes to an understanding of social life and social order; enable students to develop their sociological skills under the guidance of the unit-coordinators and a supervisor, in particular, their skills in the selection of a researchable topic, the development of a research proposal, the conduct of research, the analysis of results, and the process of structuring, writing and formatting a 8,000-9,000 word dissertation thesis; allow students to gain expertise in the area of sociology that forms the topic of their dissertation.

The dissertation runs throughout the year and is taught by a combination of lectures, group and individual supervision. 

All sociology courses include both formative feedback - which lets you know how you're getting on and what you could do to improve - and summative feedback - which gives you a mark for your assessed work.

Alan Bryman (2001) Social Research Methods, Oxford 

Jennifer Mason (1996) Qualitative Researching, Sage  

Andrew Balmer and Ann Murcott (2017) The Craft of Writing Sociology  

http://www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781784992705/