Core modules
Teaching on this course is equally split between the GSD Department and the Sociology Department.
In the first year, you will study core GSD modules designed to provide a critical understanding of the 'three pillars of sustainable development':
- Economic Principles of Global Sustainable Development
- Environmental Principles of Global Sustainable Development
- Social Principles of Global Sustainable Development
You will also study the core Global Sustainable Development Project module, giving you the chance to see how the principles of GSD apply to a real case affecting a local community. For the Sociology half of the workload, you will take four introductory core modules:
- History of Sociological Thought
- Class and Capitalism in the Neo-Liberal World
- Introduction to Social Analytics in Social Inequalities Research
- Researching Society and Culture
In the second year, in GSD you will have the opportunity to engage with a key issue in sustainability, studying one optional core module from the following:
- Health and Sustainable Development
- Security, Sovereignty and Sustainability in the Global Food System
- Inequalities and Sustainable Development: Inclusion and Dignity for All
You will also choose optional modules with a GSD focus from within GSD or from other departments across the University. For the Sociology half of the workload, you will have one core module, Designing and Conducting Social Research, and a choice between:
- Modern Social Theory
- Practice and Interpretation of Quantitative Research
You will also choose second-year optional modules offered by the Sociology Department.
You may choose to study abroad for part of your second year at Monash University. In Term One at Warwick, you will study an optional core GSD module, an optional module with a GSD focus, a core Sociology module, and an optional module offered by the Sociology Department. The remaining study will consist of pre-approved modules at Monash University.
In the final year, you will take the core GSD Dissertation module. You will also study optional modules with a GSD focus from within or outside of the School for Cross-faculty Studies. For the Sociology half of the workload, you will choose from final-year optional modules offered by the Sociology Department.
Year One
GSD
Why and how can economics address issues of global sustainable development? In this module, you will learn about the relationship between economic activity, social inclusion and environmental sustainability, and critically analyse the economic theories that underpin sustainable development policy interventions and how those theories impact upon policy design.
Read more about the Economic Principles of Global Sustainable Development moduleLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).
This module focuses on the natural science of the world’s most pressing environmental issues. We will cover well-known topics like climate change and biodiversity loss and less prominent problems like biochemical flows. You will evaluate existing governance and management efforts and develop innovative responses of your own. You will learn how to write a policy briefing and create a policy briefing paper and policy pitch, aimed at a specific decision-making audience.
Read more about the Environmental Principles of Global Sustainable Development moduleLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).
This is an exciting, innovative, and practical module. It is designed to give you research and analysis skills and to enable you to apply the theories from your other first-year core modules. You will learn how to research sustainability by designing and developing a group project on the topic of sustainable transport, under the guidance of an academic supervisor. Staff from across the GSD Department with expertise in transport policy as well as research methods teach this module.
Read more about the Global Sustainable Development Project moduleLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).
Sociology
History of Sociological Thought
What holds societies together? How do societies change? And how is politics in the conventional sense affected by factors such as class, status, ethnicity or religion, or the state of the economy? These are some of the questions with which you will engage with when you consider the history of sociological thought. You will gain skills of research, analysis and debate by considering the extent to which sociology may be considered a science and how the evolution of sociological thought has been shaped by events and the cultural, economic and political problems of the day.
Read more about the History of Sociological ThoughtLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study.
Class and Capitalism in the Neoliberal World
Protest and anger characterise the contemporary era – young people taking part in militant politics, protest parties gaining more votes, and even NHS doctors taking to the streets.
In this module, we will explore the social consequences of the economic and political transformations associated with neoliberalism that have taken place in recent decades. We will ask why these changes might be responsible for the global rise in urban unrest and dissatisfaction.
Topics will include growing inequality and elite power, militant policing, consumerism, anxiety, debt, the destruction of industrial communities, class identity, the marketisation of education, and the diminishing spaces of public life.
Read more about the Class and Capitalism in the Neoliberal World moduleLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).
Introduction to Social Analytics in Social Inequalities Research
In the age of ever-increasing data availability which is paired with a growing sophistication of statistical techniques, the opportunities for social science research are vast. This module will give you an understanding of the basic elements of core descriptive statistics which will allow you not only to critically engage with quantitative findings in existing social science research, but also conduct quantitative analysis yourself. The module covers the topics of conceptualisation, operationalisation and measurement, as well as the principles of sampling and the basics of research design. You will be introduced to the process of social science research and quantitative methods in one hour lectures, and then explore these in extended seminars (2h) both through readings, and the statistical software SPSS. We will be working on real data sets, such as the European Social Survey.
Read more about the Introduction to Social Analytics in Social Inequalities Research module, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).
Researching Society and Culture
What is society and how do you study it? Is human behaviour governed by rules similar to the natural world that you can study objectively? Or do human beings consciously act upon their environment and change the world through creativity and intelligence, driven by their own understanding and motivations? These are some of the questions that this module will explore.
You will be introduced to the core ideas behind sociological research and the practical tools to undertake research yourself. As well as looking at some of the key qualitative methods (for example, interviews, ethnography and discourse analysis), you will also examine the political, ethical and practical issues that social research inevitably entails.
Read more about the Researching Society and Culture moduleLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).
Year Two
GSD
Viable and equitable solutions in health and sustainable development require interdisciplinary and critical thinking. The first part of the module will introduce you to fundamental concepts of global health governance and health systems, whilst acquainting you with key global health priorities like drug resistance and mental health from the perspective of global sustainable development. The second part of the module will focus on issues that relate to policies and behavioural change, and are also applicable beyond health, for example in areas like education or technology transfer.
Read more about the Health and Sustainable Development moduleLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).
or
Goal 2 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development aims to end hunger, end all forms of malnutrition, and ensure sustainable food production systems. However, the world population will likely increase to nearly 10 billion people by 2050. After decades of positive change, the incidence of malnourishment is again on the rise, global stocks of key food are contracting, and it is currently more expensive to buy food than for most of our planet’s modern history.
This module addresses these significant challenges by encouraging students to adopt a 'food systems approach' in responding to the imperative agendas of food security, sovereignty and sustainability. The module is taught in collaboration with researchers from across various disciplines at Warwick, especially those involved in the University's Global Research Priority on Food.
Read more about the Security, Sovereignty and Sustainability in the Global Food System moduleLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).
or
This module focuses on how inequalities shape our societies, economies, environments and politics. Starting with the question ‘Does inequality matter?’, you will critically reflect on the United Nations' decision to integrate inequalities into the Sustainable Development Agenda. You will then explore six different dimensions of inequalities (work, politics, environmental justice, societal discrimination, automation and globalisation, empowerment) and gain an understanding of the complexities of these problems. Finally, you will appreciate the challenges faced by today’s policy makers who aim to address issues of inequalities while taking into consideration all three pillars of sustainable development.
Read more about the Inequalities and Sustainable Development: Inclusion and Dignity for All moduleLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).
Sociology
Designing and Conducting Social Research
This module will teach you the core concepts and practical skills to undertake qualitative social research in academic and professional settings. These include research design, ethnography, in-depth interviewing, documents and discourse. As well as practical skills, you will investigate how social research has changed in recent decades, considering:
- ethical questions when researching life online
- how (and whether) you should study Twitter
- effects of social media on social interactions
- how to engage diverse audiences
You will also gain analytical skills to critically evaluate previous research and develop your ability to collect and analyse data using a range of qualitative methods.
Read more about the Designing and Conducting Social Research moduleLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).
Modern Social Theory
This module will introduce you to the main thinkers and movements in critical social theory. Topics include Marxism, post-structuralism, class and culture. The changing conceptualisation of power and class is a focus throughout the module. This helps you to see how the different theoretical approaches relate to each other, and to historical and political events.
Read more about the Modern Social Theory moduleLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).
or
Practice and Interpretation of Quantitative Research
Quantitative methods can help you answer questions such as:
- Is income inequality in the UK growing?
- Does marriage improve health?
- Does growing up in a poor neighbourhood affect your life chances?
Analysing representative, large-scale social surveys is crucial for sociologists to understand social processes. This module will introduce you to quantitative methods and how to analyse large data sets using SPSS Statistics software. It will help you engage with published quantitative sociological research and to undertake your own basic quantitative data analysis.
Read more about the Practice and Interpretation of Quantitative Research module,Link opens in a new window including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).
Final Year
GSD
In this module you will bring together all your learning and experiences on the course – the theoretical concepts and principles and your practical know-how – to address a specific sustainable development problem of your own choosing. This will be a problem that concerns you most and which you would like to tackle.
You will be supported by an academic supervisor to devise a suitable project and to undertake research to explore the issue, taking a transdisciplinary approach to your investigation in order to produce an original research output. This may be a concept paper, a practical project, a film production, a long essay, an advocacy campaign...use your creativity!
You will design a strategy for disseminating your findings (for example at a conference presentation, via online publication or an article in a journal, or at a public meeting that you have arranged). This provides you with an opportunity to have your voice heard in a forum where it matters and could have lasting impact.
Read more about the GSD Dissertation/Long Project moduleLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).
Optional modules
Optional modules can vary from year to year. Example optional modules include:
GSD modules
- Managing Natural Resources
- The Energy Trilemma
- Human Rights and Social Justice in Latin America and the Caribbean
- Realising Sustainable Development
- Surviving the Apocalypse
- Challenges of Climate Change
Read more about our optional modules.Link opens in a new window
Sociology modules
- Becoming Yourself: The Construction of the Self in Contemporary Western Societies
- Commercial Cultures in Global Capitalism
- Racism and Xenophobia
- Punishment, Justice and Control
- Sociology of End Times
Co-curricular Certificates
We offer a range of unique certificates outside of the curriculum as a way of continuing your professional development.
In the first year, you can complete certificates in Climate Literacy and Professional Communication.
Explore our range of certificates.
