This MA programme provides you with a thorough grounding in the classics of Social and Political Thought, and a deep and varied engagement with their 20th and 21st century offshoots. It addresses key concepts and ideas that are central to the analysis of contemporary society, politics and culture. These include debates over the basis of contemporary capitalism, neoliberalism, biopolitics, ideology, and the fundamental question of what it means to be ‘social’ and/or ‘human’.

Module overview

Core Modules

• Politics and Social Theory
• Capitalism, State and Market
• Dissertation

Optional Modules

Previously, a selection of the following options have been offered:

• Mastering Complex Real-World Data
• Qualitative Methods in Social Research
• Quantitative Methods in Social Research
• Gender, Imperialism and International Development
• Gender Analysis and Development Practice
• Cultures of Life, Authority and Power in Modernity
• Market Life: Wealth and Poverty in Global Capitalism
• Social Research for Social Change
• State of the Art of Sociology
• Understanding Social Science
• The Sociology of Urban Life
• Postcolonial Theory and Politics
• Transnational Media Ecologies
• Feminist Pedagogy/Feminist Activism
• Queering Sociology
• Key Problems in Criminal Justice
• Creative Research Methods
• Ethnography and the Anthropological Tradition
• Sociology of End Times
• Social Data Science
• Researching Inequality: Race, Class, Gender in Global Perspective

More about our modules

Teaching

Each of our MA courses has specified core modules which will be studied alongside a range of optional modules. You’ll be required to choose four optional modules from our departmental list. All our MA courses follow a consistent structure meaning that you will follow a programme of taught modules, followed by a 15,000 word dissertation.

Contact Hours

Each module will consist of at least 20 hours of teaching. Many modules are taught in 2 hour seminars of 10-15 students. Others follow a 1 hour lecture and 1 hour class format. You will also have a supervisor for your dissertation, who you will meet regularly to support this independent research project.

Class Sizes

Class sizes can range from 6 to 30 students, depending on the module.

Assessment

Taught modules are assessed through written assignments. You will focus on your 15-000 word dissertation after the end of Spring Term.

Skills from this degree

• Ability to analyse and evaluate complex intellectual ideas
• Ability to analyse and evaluate competing approaches to understanding the contemporary world
• Ability to build sophisticated and persuasive arguments from an array of sources
• Ability to carry out independent research
• Ability to write about complex ideas in a clear way

Minimum requirements 2:i undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in a related subject

English language requirements Band B
IELTS overall score of 7.0, minimum component scores of two at 6.0/6.5 and the rest at 7.0 or above

International Students
We welcome applications from students with other internationally recognised qualifications. For more information please visit the international entry requirements page.

Department advice

Department specific advice on applying to ensure your application has the best chance for success.

For up-to-date information concerning fees, funding and scholarships for Home, EU and Overseas students please visit Warwick's Fees and Funding webpage.

For up-to-date information for department fees and funding opportunities please visit the Department Fees and Funding webpage.

Additional Course Costs

This course may also include additional course costs.

Graduates from these courses have gone on to work for employers including: Coventry University, KPMG, Oxfam and Waitrose. They have pursued roles such as: business and financial project management professionals; higher education teaching professionals; IT project and programme managers; legal professionals and research and development managers.

Our department has a dedicated professionally qualified Senior Careers Consultant offering impartial advice and guidance together with workshops and events throughout the year. Previous examples of workshops and events include:

• Make Your Mark - Careers with a degree in Sociology
• Working for More than Profit
• Warwick careers fairs throughout the year
• Your Sociological future: Sociology Alumni Evening
• My Sociological Future- What next? Career planning for undecided Sociology finalists

There are a number of different ways to visit the University of Warwick throughout the year. We host bespoke PG visits, where you can talk directly with your chosen department and explore our campus through a personalised tour. Some departments also host their own events and open days, where you can learn more about your department or course of study. To find out more about all of these opportunities, visit our Postgraduate Visits page.