Bachelor of Science in Social Policy and Politics

at University of Bristol - Clifton Campus United Kingdom

Whatever your career ambitions, this degree will encourage you to think critically and creatively about management practice. Renamed for 2021, this established course will give you an understanding of how organisations and managers operate in a global environment while developing analytical, problem-solving and interpersonal skills that are attractive to employers. You will join a friendly and supportive school with an active student society.

You will learn about management practice, organisation theory and the global business environment, as well as specific functions like finance and marketing. Our wide range of optional units means you will be able to personalise your degree to reflect your interests and career ambitions in areas such as strategy, business law and human resource management. 

Your first year will involve study of international business, accounting, finance, marketing, mathematics and statistics, providing you with a solid foundation on which to build, whichever aspect of business or management you choose as the focus of your studies.

During your second year we will help you to develop an understanding of research design, data collection and data analysis, including analysis of survey data, interviews and observation in organisations, in preparation for your final-year dissertation. This is a piece of individual research in which you can focus on a topic that stimulates your interest the most.

Alongside your preparation for, and production of, the dissertation, you will take other core and optional units during your second and final years.

Social policy provides an exciting opportunity to critically analyse contemporary social issues related to human wellbeing, inequality, disadvantage and crime. You will explore real-world challenges in a global context, drawing on social, political, public policy and economic theories.

Our BSc Social Policy course is one of the longest-running social policy degrees in the country and it consistently scores high in University subject rankings.

The first year introduces key concepts and ideologies and familiarises you with theoretical, comparative and historical analyses. It also develops your research skills as a social scientist.

Years two and three allow you to explore your interests in greater depth through a range of optional units which focus on contemporary, real-world political and social issues. Students may also choose a work placement option in the second year.

The final-year dissertation is an opportunity to choose a topic for in-depth investigation and independent work.

We place particular emphasis on undergraduate research. At Bristol students ‘do’ history as well as read history through a mix of core units and a choice of primary source-based optional units. You will undertake one substantial piece of independent research each year, culminating in a final-year dissertation.

In the first year you will study themes in medieval, early modern and modern history. You will then pursue your own pathway through the degree, choosing from a wide range of thematic and research-oriented units. Choice and small-group teaching are embedded in the degree at every level.

The joint honours English and Italian degree allows you to study two complementary disciplines, both of which ask you to think carefully about culture and history and to pay close attention to detail while comprehending and analysing language.

Students on this course will join two departments with top researchers in a great diversity of fields and will be encouraged to develop expertise and research skills relevant to both disciplines while also considering the relationships between them.

You will explore a rich variety of texts in their social, political and historical contexts and will develop excellent critical and communication skills, both in English and in Italian. You will also have opportunities to study aspects of history, film and linguistics as part of your Italian program.

You will spend a mandatory year abroad in an Italian-speaking environment to improve your language skills and global citizenship. You will develop excellent critical and communication skills that will prepare you for a wide range of professions.

You will also complete a dissertation during your final year – a project that will ask you to bring together the skills you have developed while studying both disciplines.

Through the combined study of theatre and English, this course provides you with the key skills to understand and make performance through exploring critical and historical frameworks alongside practical workshops.

There are opportunities to engage with professional theatre makers and our museum-accredited archive, the Theatre Collection.

In your first year of theatre studies you will learn how to analyse performance and develop practical skills in theatre. In your second and third years you will choose options that deepen your critical and practical expertise, culminating in independent study, a group or individual theatre performance, a dissertation, an extended essay and/or an industrial placement in your final year.

For English you will study a broad range of literature from the medieval period to the present day. This will include the close, analytical study of poetry, fiction and drama, and critical and theoretical approaches to studying literature.

In years one and two the study of successive periods of English literature is complemented by work on individual authors, topics and genres.

In your second and third years you will be able to choose from a range of stimulating options and research-led special subjects, including creative writing. Year three is fully optional and includes the opportunity to write a dissertation on a topic of your own choosing.

This degree offers you the flexibility to follow your own interests in classical civilisation by combining core units on Graeco-Roman literature and culture with more specialised units on topics such as ancient literature, philosophy, history, art and archaeology.

In your first two years you will explore core topics in the literary and artistic culture of the ancient Graeco-Roman world and consider its legacy in the modern world. You will choose optional units from a range of topics in ancient literature, history and culture and you may also choose to study Greek or Latin. There is the possibility of studying abroad in your second year.

In your third year you choose seminar-based subjects and write a dissertation on your own specialist research project. You will also plan, promote and execute a project aimed at presenting the ancient world to the wider public, with a member of staff acting as adviser.