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What is Sociology?

Sociology is the study of social life, social change, and the social causes and consequences of human behaviour. Sociologists investigate the structure of groups, organisations, and societies, and how people interact within these contexts. The discipline recognises that class, race, age, gender, culture and technology determine the path of an individual's life in ways that become more clearly visible through the study of sociology. Sociology is committed to the exploration of the social and cultural challenges facing fast-changing contemporary societies and equipping students with research methods skills. Because sociology addresses the most challenging issues of our time, it is a rapidly expanding field, the potential of which is increasingly tapped into by those who craft policies and create public programmes.

Course overview

Each of the four degree courses through which sociology may be studied cover a range of subjects including migration, work, employment and organisations, innovation, technology and society, globalisation and development, gender, conflict, post conflict and social movements, family, race, ethnicity and identity, education, popular culture and digital lives.

Is it the right course for you?

If you want to understand the social changes taking place in the world today, and you're curious about people and society, then Sociology is for you. As an area of university study, it discusses numerous ways of describing and analysing society and investigating social change. Ireland and the world are currently experiencing rapid processes of social change. The old world is changing, but what will the new world be like, and how can we participate in its development? Sociology is foremost among the social sciences in its understanding of social change.

Course content

The Freshman years

The Junior Freshman (first) year comprises foundation modules in Sociology, Political science and Economic policy. In the Senior Freshman (second) year you study issues around gender and society in different cultures, European societies, and are introduced to sociological research methods.

The Sophister years

Specialisation in sociological topic areas, and more advanced analysis, research and presentation skills are provided in the Sophister (third and fourth) years. In your Junior Sophister (third) year, you learn about social theory, globalisation and development, race, ethnicity and identity, and carry out research projects involving analysis of both numerical data from surveys, and verbal data that are the outcomes of recorded interviews and focus groups. The Senior Sophister year offers modules in a variety of topic areas, including popular culture and digital lives, the economic sociology of Europe, migration, and conflict studies. You have the opportunity to carry out your own independent research project from start to finish on a topic of your choice (recent projects included: Immigration and the prison system, Unmarried fathers' participation in their children's lives, and Counter-urbanisation in the Irish countryside). Many students find this the most satisfying part of the whole four years. They also find it a great asset when talking to employers and applying for jobs.

Assessment

Modules are examined by a combination of continuous assessment and formal examination. Lectures and tutorials take up 6 to 10 hours a week, depending on the year.

Study abroad

Students may participate in full-year or half-year exchanges with universities in France, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Malta and Denmark as well as Australia, Singapore, China, Canada and the USA in their third year. Some of these universities offer their courses through English.

Career opportunities

Sociologists work in a wide variety of settings. Sociology graduates find that their broad training and appreciation of how society and people work means they can thrive in careers in the public service, community development, social research in statutory or voluntary social-service organisations, the print and broadcast media, business or as university lecturers. Graduates are working for organisations as diverse as Goodbody Stockbrokers, the ESRI, the Abbey Theatre, the Department of Foreign Affairs, Friends of the Earth and Enterprise Ireland. Careers range from industrial relations to fashion and marketing and from teaching to tourism.

Did you know?

• Trinity College Dublin is ranked 1st in Ireland and 48th in the world for Sociology (QS World University Rankings 2011).
• The Department of Sociology is a leading participant in the Trinity Immigration Initiative and in the Trinity Centre for Post Conflict Justice. It also specialises in research on technology and society, and on globalisation, reflecting the integration of Ireland into a globalising world and the need to understand the processes and implications involved.

Further information

www.tcd.ie/Sociology
Tel: +353 1 896 2701