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Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
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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?
n
Trinity College Dublin
is ranked 1st in Ireland and
48th in the world
for Sociology (QS World University
Rankings 2011).
n
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
Tel: +353 1 896 2701
Sociology and social policy
COURSE CODES:
PLACES 2012:
POINTS 2011:
DEGREE AWARDED:
TR083
28
435
B.A.
See also:
TR001: TSM, page 36
What is Sociology and social
policy?
Sociology and social policy combines the study of social theory,
social policy and social research. The programme aims to give
you a thorough training in the systematic study of society and
the social and economic policies utilised in different countries.
At the end of your four years you should have developed both
a general sociological understanding and specific expertise in
various contemporary policy issues.
Is this course right for you?
This course demands both academic and vocational qualities. It
is particularly relevant to students intending to pursue a career
in research, social policy analysis and evaluation, management
and planning within the social services, both voluntary and
statutory.
Course content
The subjects studied include general social science disciplines
such as economics and politics, and specialist areas such
as family policy, welfare policy, criminology and the extent of
poverty and inequality. The Freshman (first two) years are more
general and foundational in nature, while the Sophister (third and
fourth) years will focus more specifically on sociology and social
policy. A strength of the course is that it explores these issues
in a genuinely comparative context. Teaching methods include
lectures, seminars and group project work.
The Freshman years
In the first and second years you will take introductory modules
in economic policy, political science, social policy and sociology.
Optional modules include statistics, law, and psychology along
with a range of language modules (French, German, Russian,
and Polish). The Senior Freshman (second) year places greater
emphasis on social policy and sociology modules, as well as
the introduction to social research methods. You also have the
choice of taking a complementary subject, such as psychology,
or you may continue your language study.
In the Freshman years, students take six modules, with typically
two lectures and one tutorial per week for each module.
