Sociology takes its place alongside other disciplines in the Arts Faculty as part of a liberal education. One of our purposes in teaching sociology is to help students to see their own experience as contingent, as only one of many ways in which social life may be lived.
Sociology is a generalising study that combines scientific method with a theoretical approach.
We seek both to understand specific features within different kinds of society and to explore the most fundamental truths that may be discovered about the social arrangements that human beings make. This makes sociology a critical discipline that questions rather systematically the social arrangements within which we live our lives, and which we usually take for granted. For those who discover both the interest in and aptitude for advanced study, it is possible to do both a Master's degree and a PhD in sociology. Postgraduate degrees can lead to professional employment as a sociologist in research or teaching. A sociology major in the BA degree can be a useful qualification for a range of careers.