Bachelor of Science in Sociology

at University of Bristol - Clifton Campus United Kingdom

This course combines politics and international relations with study of Spanish, the second most widely spoken European language in the world. This provides a valuable skill set tailored to the increasingly globalised workplace.

You will study the politics of individual countries and governments, and the relationships between countries, communities and individuals.

Politics is organised around three themes:

• Political theory
• Comparative and national politics
• International relations.

In Spanish you will study a combination of language and culture units. You will spend your third year abroad, enabling you to refine your language skills and cultural knowledge and gain valuable work experience. For details on year abroad opportunities please see Global Opportunities.

Both schools encourage synergy between research and teaching, resulting in a vibrant learning environment for students as staff respond in their teaching to new research. This course combination offers an enriching experience with exciting intellectual challenges.

Do you enjoy both physics and computing? Our MSci Physics with Scientific Computing with Industrial Experience combines the study of the building blocks and forces of nature with training in computing and data-science skills. It includes a year of gaining hands-on, paid experience in the industry.

Computing skills are vital across many physics-related careers. This course offers a unique combination of units and projects blending programming, machine learning, data science and high-performance computing with fundamental concepts in physics. It aims to produce a new kind of scientist – one with a firm foundation in physics, a sound appreciation of scientific computing and an understanding of what can be achieved by combining them.

The industrial year can be a life-changing and rewarding experience providing valuable insights into the commercial pressures and real-world applications of physics and computing.

You will join a friendly department with a very active, award-winning student society. We encourage you to develop a broad range of skills, including the experimental, theoretical and computational skills needed for a career in research and industry. Our physics graduates have an excellent record of employment, a testament to the value that employers place on these skills. If you have a fascination for physics and an appetite for scientific computing, you will enjoy this programme.

Our MSci course is suited to you if you want to take your understanding of the subject to the next level. The experience gained in this course will maximise your career options, especially in science, and provides pathways into postgraduate study here or elsewhere.

The first two years are common to all of our degree courses. You will study fundamental concepts in inorganic, organic and physical chemistry and applications in areas such as analytical, environmental, materials and theoretical chemistry. You will develop your ability to design experiments and interpret results and will gain key skills through our chemistry-specific communications and mathematics units.

Your final year includes a 20-week research project in which you willwork with an academic member of staff and their research team on a current problem in chemistry.

Do you love both chemistry and computing? Why choose between them? Modern chemistry relies on the latest computer technologies to address global challenges facing the environment and human society.

MSci Chemistry with Scientific Computing combines study of the structure and synthesis of matter with development of computational and data analysis skills. It creates a new kind of scientist – one with a firm foundation in chemistry, a sound appreciation of scientific computing and an understanding of what can be achieved by combining them.

The course offers a unique combination of units and projects, incorporating coding, machine learning and high-performance computing, as well as fundamental concepts in inorganic, organic and physical chemistry, and applications in analytical, environmental, materials and theoretical chemistry.

Our MSci course is suited to you if you want to gain a solid foundation for a career in coding, scientific computing, the chemical industry or research. You will learn to design experiments, interpret results and apply computing skills to problems in chemistry. You will also take units in communications and mathematics and work on group projects, researching and addressing problems faced in different sectors.

The course builds toward an independent research project. You will collaborate with our leading academics and their research teams, who are experts in computing and in chemistry, to address a current problem in chemistry. For example you may consider global warming, antibiotic resistance or fundamental understanding of chemical reactions.

You will learn about the fundamental building blocks and forces of nature and how quantum physics and relativity help us understand the world around us.

Year one gives you a comprehensive grounding in physics and mathematics, and year two focuses on the principles of physics. Flexibility and choice are key features of a Bristol Physics degree. You are usually able to transfer between courses in the first two years, and a range of options in the final year means you can specialise in your chosen field or take a more general approach.

Your third year includes a major project or dissertation. Project options include the Physics Education scheme, centred on teaching in a school, and the Industrial Group Project, based on a real problem set by industrial partners. Recent partners have included Sellafield, Bristol Zoo, Siemens and The Fat Duck restaurant.

You will join a friendly department with a very active, award-winning student society. We provide physics-specific employability sessions and encourage you to develop a broad range of transferable skills, including problem-solving and the ability to communicate complicated concepts. Our graduates have an excellent record of employment, a testament to the value that employers place on these skills.

This programme provides an introduction to a range of debates within the so-called 'cultural turn' in sociological studies. Increasingly, sociologists are looking to the concept of culture as a source of explanation - and questioning - in their studies of contemporary social formations.

The MSc in Social and Cultural Theory addresses both theoretical and substantive elements of this cultural turn. The works of key thinkers within social and cultural theory are explored, while the role of cultural explanations within theories of race and ethnicity, gender relations and the sociology of religion (among others) is also given both theoretical and empirical consideration.

These issues are situated within the framework of analyses and critiques of wider debates and discourses in social and cultural theory. They cover questions such as postmodernism, postfeminism and postcolonialism.

The first two years of this course provide a background in mathematical analysis, modelling and scientific computation and their application to engineering. These core topics underpin the advanced material that follows.

As well as gaining first-hand exposure to pioneering research, in your third year, you will have a wide choice of options from across engineering and mathematics to fit your interests.

A major focus of the course is real-world problem solving, spanning many different application areas from robotics and social media to medicine and environmental modelling. Problems come directly from our industrial collaborators or address real challenges in current research. By working on these case studies and using theory and techniques from other units, you will be able to develop your mathematical modelling, collaboration and communication skills.