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The Sociology course at Cambridge has been designed in a way that offers you a great deal of flexibility and choice.

Sociology at Cambridge is taught within the interdisciplinary Human, Social and Political Sciences (HSPS) Tripos. Over the course of the three-year HSPS degree, students can either specialise in one core subject (such as Sociology, Politics, or Social Anthropology) or keep their options open with a two-subject track. Joint-tracks available to Sociology students include Politics and Sociology, Sociology and Criminology or Sociology and Social Anthropology.

You don't have to decide which track you want to take before you apply. Once on the course, there are "options days" where you can learn about the different tracks, and you can discuss your options with your supervisor, personal tutor and Director of Studies, as well as students in the second and third years.

Single-track Sociology

First Year (Part I)

In their first year, students gain a broad foundation in social science disciplines, taking four introductory papers in different subjects:

  • Introduction to Sociology
  • 2 or 3 courses chosen from Politics, International Relations, or Social Anthropology
  • Up to 1 course chosen from Psychology, Biological Anthropology or Archaeology

Second Year (Part II A)

In their second year, students start to specialise by taking a single or joint-track. Single-track Sociology students take four papers including one chosen from a broad range of options across social science departments:

  • Social Theory
  • Global Social Problems
  • Concepts and Arguments or Statistics and Research Methods
  • 1 course chosen from Sociology, Politics, Social Anthropology, Psychology, Archaeology, Biological Anthropology, History, History and Philosophy of Science or Criminology. 

Third Year (Part II B)

In their third year, students choose all four papers from a broad range of options, and can also swap one paper for a dissertation:

  • 3 or 4 courses chosen from a wide range of Sociology topics such as: Advanced social theory; Media, culture and society; War and Revolution; Global capitalism; Gender; Racism, race and ethnicity; Empire, colonialism and imperialism; Health, medicine and society
  • Up to 1 course chosen from Politics, Social or Biological Anthropology, Psychology or Archaeology
  • or dissertation on a topic of particular interest to the student

Joint-track Sociology

Students who want to take a joint-track and combine Sociology with Politics, Social Anthropology or Criminology will have a different set of choices in the second and third years (Part II). Typically this will be two papers from Sociology and two papers from the other chosen discipline each year.


How will I be taught?

Cambridge students receive tuition in the form of lectures, seminars and supervisions.

Find out more on the Undergraduate Study website.


Back to Undergraduate Study