Anthropology and Sociology BSc

About the Course

This degree is particularly suited to students who are curious about their own and other societies, and who are interested in understanding social processes and meanings in the world around them.

Rigorous training is provided in a range of methodologies and research skills appropriate to anthropology and sociology.

Anthropology at Brunel

Anthropology at Brunel is one of the more outward-looking and cosmopolitan social sciences, its subject being the documentation and explanation of cultural diversity. The course differs from Anthropology courses at other universities because of the broad social science perspective from which it is taught.

Research has an international reputation, with particular expertise in child-focused anthropological research and medical anthropology.

Sociology at Brunel

Sociologists are concerned with developing theories that explain the changing nature of social behaviour in their own and other societies. The kinds of question with which they are concerned are: ‘What is society?’ ‘How and why is it changing?’ ‘What are the opportunities for future change and development?’

The earliest sociologists tried to understand the major issues of their time, such as poverty, unemployment, social conflict and the social and economic consequences of rapid and profound industrial and economic change. Sociologists today continue to examine how such social issues are redefined by the contemporary processes of individualisation, globalisation and the rapid growth of new forms of communication.

Within this broad framework, a central theme of Sociology at Brunel is the study of the development of techno-cultural phenomena such media and information technology, and environmental issues, which straddle traditional conceptual distinctions between the social, the natural, the technical and the material.

It also needs to be stressed that, at Brunel, Sociology has developed a particularly close relationship with Communication and Media Studies, reflecting and emphasising the central and ever-increasing importance of the communications media within our culture.

Among the more specific interests of Brunel sociologists are, for example, social theory, celebrity culture, the influence of the media, environmental risk, media regulation, media discourses, and contemporary social structure and change, urban spaces, and addiction and deviance. These various interests strongly reflect the options available in the third level of our degree course.

About the School of Social Sciences

Psychology, sociology, anthropology and communications together constitute the Social Sciences at Brunel, and we offer a wide range of BSc courses across these subject areas.

The focus of study is upon all aspects of human behaviour: its personal, social and cultural dimensions. We have a strong research reputation that enhances all our undergraduate teaching, with particular expertise in areas such as: neuropsychology; psychoanalysis; developmental psychology; social psychology; contemporary social structure and social change; popular culture and the media; ethnicity and kinship; and power, inequality and prejudice in modern societies. All of our academic staff are actively engaged in research and many have international reputations in their field.

We provide a stimulating introduction to the social sciences by teaching a broad base of cross-disciplinary modules in the first year. Thereafter, you specialise increasingly in your particular disciplines.

Our courses will help you to develop specific skills in the practical methods associated with your discipline, including ethnographic fieldwork. A full range of laboratory and technical facilities is used in the teaching of experimental psychology, including video production, psychophysics and information technology.

Aims

You will apply Anthropology ideas to practical issues and will gain a solid grounding in a broad range of social science topics, including sociology, social theory, social anthropology, psychology, communications and media the social sciences. Special emphasis is placed on cross-cultural studies.

Enquiries

Dr James Staples
Admissions Tutor

Helen Stevenson
Admissions and Marketing Administrator
School of Social Sciences
Tel: +44 (0)1895 265952
Email: helen.stevenson@brunel.ac.uk

Special Features

• You are encouraged to seize the valuable opportunity offered by our membership of the European Union’s SOCRATES scheme to study at one of 15 continental European universities.
  
  
• Students can carry out fieldwork placements overseas. Roughly half of our students spend their second work placement abroad, engaging in research in countries such as South Africa, Botswana, India and Nepal.

Facts and Figures

School of Social Sciences

Psychology, sociology, anthropology and communications together constitute the Social Sciences at Brunel, and we offer a wide range of BSc courses across these subject areas.

The focus of study is upon all aspects of human behaviour: its personal, social and cultural dimensions. We have a strong research reputation that enhances all our undergraduate teaching, with particular expertise in areas such as: neuropsychology; psychoanalysis; developmental psychology; social psychology; contemporary social structure and social change; the role of science and the media; ethnicity and kinship; and power, inequality and prejudice in modern societies. All of our academic staff are actively engaged in research and many have international reputations in their field.

We provide a stimulating introduction to the social sciences by teaching a broad base of cross-disciplinary modules in the first year. Thereafter, you specialise increasingly in your particular disciplines.

Our courses will help you to develop specific skills in the practical methods associated with your discipline, including ethnographic fieldwork. A full range of laboratory and technical facilities is used in the teaching of experimental psychology, video production, psychophysics and the use of information technology.

Course Content

Level 1

You will gain a broad social science training in your first year. This includes an introduction to key theoretical issues and practical training in research methods, such as interviewing and participant observation.

Level 2

Anthropology modules introduce students to the history and theory of Anthropology, and to some of the current issues in the fields of ethnicity, gender, religion and kinship. Sociology topics include sociological theory, methods and contemporary social institutions. You also continue your studies of research methods, and conduct your own research exercises.

Level 3

You can choose from a wide range of advanced options in topics as varied as family, gender, kinship, ethnicity, medical anthropology and cultural patterns of consumption.

Dissertation

All students produce a dissertation of about 10,000 words in their final year. This is based on a topic of your choice, but is usually related to your second work placement.

Typical Modules

Level 1 Core

• Introduction to Anthropology: Themes
• Introduction to Anthropology: Institutions and Beliefs
• Anthropology Through Film
• Dimensions of Ethnography
• Introduction to Social and Cultural Research  
• Individual and Social Processes
• June-December – first work placement (four-year degree only)

Level 2 core

• History and Theory of Social Anthropology
• Social Theory and Everyday Life
• Work and Society
• British Ethnic Minorities
• Issues in Social Anthropology
• Knowledge, Culture and Modernity

Level 3 Core

• Sociology/Social Anthropology Dissertation

Level 3 Options

• Anthropology of Childhood and Youth
• Medical Anthropology in Clinical and Community Settings
• The Age of New Media
• Kinship and New Directions in Anthropology
• Anthropology and Global Health
• Crime, Deviance and Addiction
• Anthropology of the Body

Teaching and Learning

Our approach

We pursue excellence in both teaching and research. Our aim is to produce degree programmes which combine innovative and classical teaching methods with leading-edge research, and which recognise the value of practical work experience in the learning process. We take great pride in both the quality of teaching and the extensive pastoral care of our students.

The latest thinking

All members of the academic staff are actively engaged in research and many have international reputations in their field. Their innovative findings feed into your courses to help to ensure that teaching is topical and interesting.

How will I be taught?

The course is taught through a mixture of lectures, seminars, tutorials, practical laboratory sessions and small group projects.

Lectures – Most modules involve one or two hours of lectures a week. These provide a broad overview of key concepts and ideas relating to your course and provide you with a framework from which to carry out more in-depth study.

Seminars – These relatively small groups (3 to 15 students) are used to discuss the content of lectures as well as issues arising from the modules. Seminars are often student-led. You can use them to clarify your own ideas in an atmosphere of discussion and debate.

Research work – All students take part in practical modules. In the first year you will experience the similarities and contrasts between methods of enquiry used in psychology, sociology and anthropology. The investigative methods used in projects include observation, interviewing, questionnaire design and more specific research techniques. As you progress through the course, direction by staff over the design and implementation of projects is reduced.

One-to-one – You will have one-to-one supervision on your final year dissertation and at all levels you will have a personal tutor who is available to discuss personal and academic problems. When you go on placement, you will also be allocated a work placement tutor who will monitor your progress and provide further support if you need it. Lecturers are usually available to answer particular queries outside of scheduled hours – either in one-to-one tutorials or by email.

Assessment

Level 1 does not count towards your final degree mark but you have to pass this level to continue with your degree. Level 2 is worth a third, and Level 3 the rest. The final year dissertation is worth a third of Level 3 marks.

Methods of assessment vary and depend on which modules you select. Some courses are assessed on coursework only, some by (seen or unseen) examination only, and some by a combination of the two.

Employability

Students will gain a grounding in new information and communications technologies. These are valuable skills, no matter which career you hope to pursue.

Careers

This degree provides a good general education, from which students can take up wide-ranging careers in, for example, television and radio production, press and publishing, the media, marketing, advertising, market research, public relations, IT work and consultancy, industrial relations, local and central government and administration, and academic research.

Placements

Few other degrees in Sociology or Anthropology offer work placements, let alone high quality organised placements. At Brunel, you can choose from either a conventional three-year degree or a ‘thin-sandwich’, four-year degree, which allows you two 15 or 22 week work/field placements during your studies.

Students benefit from our excellent links with external organisations.

Fees for 2012/13 entry

Home/EU students: £9,000 full-time, £6,750 part-time

International students: £11,330 full-time

Brunel is introducing over 1000 new scholarships for 2012, meaning that one in three applicants who join Brunel next year will receive financial support from the University. See our fees and funding page for full details

Fees quoted are per annum and are subject to an annual increase.

Entry Requirements for 2012 Entry

• GCE A-level BBB (General Studies/Critical Thinking accepted).
• Irish Leaving Certificate ABBBB.
• Scottish Advanced Highers BBB.
• Advanced Diploma Progression Diploma Grade B in Society, Health and Development plus a B at A-level for Additional and Specialist Learning.
• BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma DDD in a related subject.
• IBDP 32 points.
• Access Pass, including at least 50% of units with Merit or Distinction.

For all of the above, 5 GCSEs or equivalent at Grade C or above are also required, to include English and Maths (please note that these must have been gained by the time you submit your UCAS application).

Entry Requirements for 2011 Entry (click to expand)

English Language Requirements

Brunel also offers our own BrunELT English Test and accept a range of other language courses. We also have a range of Pre-sessional English language courses, for students who do not meet these requirements, or who wish to improve their English.