Select your course options:
Summary:
Course Code: L841
Course Code: L842
Where Are You Applying From?
How Would You Like To Study?
When Do You Want To Start Your Studies?
Which Campus Would You Like To Study At?
Which Options Would You Like With Your Course?
Why choose the School of Applied Social Sciences
Our social sciences courses gained overall positivity scores of 90% in the National Student Survey 2023, with 92% of students believing they teach skills for the future.
This course maps to the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) standard for social researcher, giving you the specific knowledge and skills needed to thrive in the industry.
About the course
Through industry-informed teaching and real-world application, this course gives you a firm understanding of key policy areas - from health and housing to criminal justice and human rights – while developing your skills in data-analysis techniques as well as primary and secondary research. Thanks to our practical learning opportunities and collaboration with leading organisations, you graduate with the expertise and confidence needed to address social issues and drive positive change in a range of professional roles.
Facilities and specialist equipment
- Seven-storey library with an extensive collection of physical and digital resources
- Tailored lecture halls, presentation spaces and collaborative study spots
- State-of-the-art technology
Industry links
Our close collaboration with local statutory and voluntary organisations, as well as the Institute for Applied Social Research (IASR), helps shape the course delivery, ensuring our practice-led curriculum reflects the demands of modern society.
Your student experience
Benefit from our academic team’s wealth of experience and active industry involvement, with specialist knowledge in fields such as modern slavery; contextual safeguarding; cultural sociology; and comparative welfare.
Put your theoretical knowledge into action with practical work, workplace simulations and placement opportunities.
Get involved in subject-relevant field trips and interactive talks by external speakers.
Explore topic areas of most interest to you with your choice of final-year work-based project or research dissertation.
Develop transferable workplace skills, with an emphasis on data-driven analysis, interpretation, decision-making and leadership.
Work alongside local charities, policymakers and communities in our empowering #SASS Change Maker initiative as you raise awareness of society’s most pressing issues.
with Professional Practice Year
This course has the option to be taken over four years which includes a year placement in industry. Undertaking a year in industry has many benefits. You gain practical experience and build your CV, as well as being a great opportunity to sample a profession and network with potential future employers.
There is no tuition fee for the placement year enabling you to gain an extra year of experience for free.
*Only available to UK/EU students.
​
with Foundation Year
A Degree with a Foundation Year gives you guaranteed entry to an Undergraduate course.
Whether you’re returning to learning and require additional help and support to up-skill, or if you didn’t quite meet the grades to pursue an Undergraduate course, our Degrees with Foundation Year provide a fantastic entry route for you to work towards a degree level qualification.
With our guidance and support you’ll get up to speed within one year, and will be ready to seamlessly progress on to undergraduate study at Bedfordshire.
The Foundation Year provides an opportunity to build up your academic writing skills and numeracy, and will also cover a range of subject specific content to fully prepare you for entry to an Undergraduate degree.
This is an integrated four-year degree, with the foundation year as a key part of the course. You will need to successfully complete the Foundation Year to progress on to the first year of your bachelor’s degree.
Why study a degree with a Foundation Year?
- Broad-based yet enough depth to give you credible vocational skills
- Coverage of a variety of areas typically delivered by an expert in this area
- Gain an understanding of a subject before choosing which route you wish to specialise in
- Great introduction to further study, and guaranteed progression on to one of our Undergraduate degrees
The degrees offering a Foundation Year provide excellent preparation for your future studies.
During your Foundation Year you will get the opportunity to talk to tutors about your degree study and future career aspirations, and receive guidance on the most appropriate Undergraduate course to help you achieve this; providing you meet the entry requirements and pass the Foundation Year.
Ìý
Course Leader - Dr Tom Hoctor
Tom is a political sociologist whose research and teaching sit at the intersection of political economy and social theory. He has published and lectured extensively on the ideological direction of the British Conservative Party, the relationship between political theory and the economy, and work and welfare in the UK and Scandinavia. This focus on how ideas are put into practice is reflected in his teaching agenda which takes concepts like ideology, power and work and asks students to think about how they manifest themselves in the real world. He has also taught extensively on research methodologies at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. He is currently co-Principal Investigator of the research project: What Happened to the Affluent Worker? Deindustrialisation and Identity in Luton.
Course Leader - Dr Tom Hoctor
Tom is a political sociologist whose research and teaching sit at the intersection of political economy and social theory. He has published and lectured extensively on the ideological direction of the British Conservative Party, the relationship between political theory and the economy, and work and welfare in the UK and Scandinavia. This focus on how ideas are put into practice is reflected in his teaching agenda which takes concepts like ideology, power and work and asks students to think about how they manifest themselves in the real world. He has also taught extensively on research methodologies at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. He is currently co-Principal Investigator of the research project: What Happened to the Affluent Worker? Deindustrialisation and Identity in Luton.
Course Leader - Dr Tom Hoctor
Tom is a political sociologist whose research and teaching sit at the intersection of political economy and social theory. He has published and lectured extensively on the ideological direction of the British Conservative Party, the relationship between political theory and the economy, and work and welfare in the UK and Scandinavia. This focus on how ideas are put into practice is reflected in his teaching agenda which takes concepts like ideology, power and work and asks students to think about how they manifest themselves in the real world. He has also taught extensively on research methodologies at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. He is currently co-Principal Investigator of the research project: What Happened to the Affluent Worker? Deindustrialisation and Identity in Luton.
What will you study?
Studying our Social Policy and Social Research BSc (Hons) course will equip you with in-depth knowledge and skills around policy, research and social issues. From the first year of your study, you will receive crucial support in preparing for your career in social sciences in our Career Planning for Social Scientists unit. This will be an opportunity for you to discover your motivations, consider possible graduate destinations, understand employer expectations and explore employment options. To provide a foundation to your study, you will be introduced to the history, function and future of key areas of social policy and its provision in the United Kingdom within our Critical Debates in Policy and Society unit. You will draw upon this knowledge going into our unit in Modern Britain where you will recognise the fluid relationships between the social, political and economic aspects of post-World War II history in the UK including a focus on Brexit and its effects in contemporary British society. Similarly, The Policymaking Process will introduce you to the various structures, systems and processes of public policy with a focus on five key issues in social policy including education, health and social care, housing, criminal justice and social security.
In your second year, you will move on to examine more complex social issues. Our unit in Poverty and Inequality: Identity, Difference and Outcomes will allow you to interrogate the intricate relationships between poverty, inequality, identity and their diverse outcomes based on key sociological theories. At the same time, you will be given the opportunity to engage in Work-Based Experience in Social Policy where you will apply theory to practice in a 300-hour work-focused experience. To support you with your research work as part of the course, Managing and Evaluating Research Projects will equip you with the skills for effective research project design and execution in the field of applied social research. Building on these research tools, our unit in Data and Research for Policymaking will allow you to develop the confidence to work with data in the field of research in social policy which you will be able to apply to academic work such as in your research dissertation, or in future employment contexts. You will build on these skills further in your final year by learning to apply data management and analysis skills to real-world social policy issues based on an introduction to data analytics, handling, security and ethics in our Data Analytics for Social Policy unit. To further equip you with the research skills in the field of social sciences, you will explore debates and theories in social research, identify quantitative and qualitative data research methods, and learn to interpret and analyse this data across different levels of your study with our units in an Introduction to Research and Social Enquiry, Research Methods 1: Collecting Data and Research Methods 2: Exploring Data.
In your final year of study, you will draw on your existing understanding of the policymaking process to inform your study of Governance and Stakeholders. With a critical approach, you will interrogate the stakeholders in positions of power in governance and the increasingly networked nature of policy making to question the implications of this for social justice. Drawing on your knowledge from previous units, in Critical Debates in Policy and Society and Poverty and Inequality, you will consider social policy through the lens of ‘wicked’ problems to question how policymakers define, manage and attempt to resolve some of the most complex problems in social policy within our Wicked Problems in the Internet Age unit. You will also be introduced to international human rights and international sustainable development goals in our Human Rights and Social Policy unit to understand its impact on social policy development, implementation and advocacy.
Finally, you will have the choice of completing a SASS Change Maker Project Dissertation or a Research Dissertation to develop and demonstrate your academic and professional skills. In the project-based dissertation, you will have the opportunity to work with a community-based organisation to deliver a project while building on skills that will support your personal development towards your desired graduate career. If you choose to undertake a research dissertation, you will work on developing a research proposal and move on to conduct an in-depth, focused research enquiry around an area of professional interest while considering the ethical implications of your work.
How will you be assessed?
Course work; practical tests; exams; group and individual project work; audio-visual course work.
Careers
As a graduate of this degree, you will develop a sound training in subject-specific skills, knowledge and professional values and practice, together with the skills required for lifelong learning. Its emphasis on applying social policy and social research to current health and social-care challenges will help you make a difference locally, nationally or internationally, opening up a range of professional roles with employers in the public, private and third sectors in the fields of policy, consultancy and business analysis.
Entry Requirements
Entry Requirements
Entry Requirements
Fees for this course
UK
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2025/26 is £9,250 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees. You can also apply for a maintenance loan from the Government to help cover your living costs. See
Excellence Scholarships
Worth £2,500 per year of study over three years when you score a defined number of UCAS tariff points from specified qualifications*
» If you don’t qualify for an Excellence Scholarship but have 120 UCAS tariff points, you have enough points for one of our Achievement Scholarships offering £500 per year of study**
» Other scholarships, bursaries and financial support packages are available
* Points requirements vary depending on type of qualification.
** Threshold is 120 UCAS tariff points across all awarding bodies and qualifications.
Ìý
International
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the academic year 2025/26 is £16,900 per year.
There are range of Scholarships available to help support you through your studies with us.
A full list of scholarships can be found here.
Fees for this course
UK
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2025/26 is £9,250 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees. You can also apply for a maintenance loan from the Government to help cover your living costs. See
Excellence Scholarships
Worth £2,500 per year of study over three years when you score a defined number of UCAS tariff points from specified qualifications*
» If you don’t qualify for an Excellence Scholarship but have 120 UCAS tariff points, you have enough points for one of our Achievement Scholarships offering £500 per year of study**
» Other scholarships, bursaries and financial support packages are available
* Points requirements vary depending on type of qualification.
** Threshold is 120 UCAS tariff points across all awarding bodies and qualifications.
Ìý
International
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the academic year 2025/26 is £16,900 per year.
There are range of Scholarships available to help support you through your studies with us.
A full list of scholarships can be found here.
Fees for this course
UK
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2025/26 is £9,250 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees. You can also apply for a maintenance loan from the Government to help cover your living costs. See
Excellence Scholarships
Worth £2,500 per year of study over three years when you score a defined number of UCAS tariff points from specified qualifications*
» If you don’t qualify for an Excellence Scholarship but have 120 UCAS tariff points, you have enough points for one of our Achievement Scholarships offering £500 per year of study**
» Other scholarships, bursaries and financial support packages are available
* Points requirements vary depending on type of qualification.
** Threshold is 120 UCAS tariff points across all awarding bodies and qualifications.
Ìý
International
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the academic year 2025/26 is £16,900 per year.
There are range of Scholarships available to help support you through your studies with us.
A full list of scholarships can be found here.