AS/A Level Sociology

Start Date

Mon Sep 09 2024

Day / Time

Weekdays

Duration

1 year

Campus

Baltic Campus

AS/A Level Sociology

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Studying A Level Sociology is your opportunity to delve into the complex and compelling world around us using expert and innovative teachers and techniques.

Where others teach to the text book and the exam, we immerse you in subject to the point where it becomes an innate habit to analyse everything you see and hear from a sociological viewpoint.

Having excellent links with local organisations allows our students to experience knowledge from all perspectives; universities, law courts, and the probation service all help in offering an experience unique to us and one which inspires students to go on and study the subject at university.

A Level Sociology leads to a vast array of career opportunities from teaching through to social work, and equips you with the skills and knowledge to grasp your future goals with both hands.

You will study 2 modules in your AS year:

Family & Households
Education & Research Methods

You will study 2 further modules in your A2 year:

Beliefs in Society
Crime & Deviance

Within these modules you will explore concepts and questions that relate to society today such as:

Does private education really make a difference?
What do we mean by intelligence?
Do teachers and schools make a difference to how successful individuals we become?
Who does what at home?
Why do boys wear blue and girls wear pink?
Why do one in three of all marriages end in Divorce?
Should young offenders be locked away in prisons?
Why are young, black and working class individuals over represented in the crime figures?
Is religion the drug of the masses?
Why is there such a fuss over women priests?
Is there a new age religion?

The raw material of sociology is the experience of ordinary people in ordinary, daily life.

But it is these very daily lives which can provide us with a whole host of clues in order to provide comprehensive and credible answers to these questions.

Assessment

Year 1 - AS Level:

You will sit two written exams a at the end of the year, both lasting 1.5 hours.

Education with Methods in Context
Research Methods and Topics in Sociology

Year 2 - A Level:

You will sit three written exams, each lasting two hours.

Education with Theory and Methods
Topics in Sociology
Crime and Deviance with Theory and Methods

Your knowledge will also be assessed by frequent topic tests including mock assessments to help you prepare for the exams and practical assessments.

Next Steps

You'll gain skills of critical thinking, knowledge and understanding of research methods and how to apply sociological theory to society’s organisations.

You will also understand researching, judging and evaluating complex information and in turn learn how to understand, scrutinise and re-assess common perceptions of the social world.

Sociology will also enhance written and communicative skills through set assessments, debates and discussion. These skills are useful in many university degrees, particularly the humanities such as English or history and social sciences.

Possible career destinations are broad as the skills you learn can be applied to many different areas.

Suggested options include teaching, public services, social services, youth services, advice services, social researching or charity fundraising.

Required Entry Qualifications

You will need to achieve 6 grade 6 GCSEs to study A Levels at Gateshead College.

If you do not meet this profile please still come to an enrolment event to discuss all your options with a member of the A Level Team.

An interview is also required.

Finance and funding

This course is free to those aged under 19 years old.

Most people aged 19 years and over can qualify for free course fees and there are grants and bursaries you can apply for to help cover the costs of coming to college, depending on your circumstances.

For one to one advice, contact our friendly team who will assess your individual circumstances and give you the right information. You can contact them on 0191 490 2246, [email protected] or via Live Chat or pop along to one of our Enrolment Events.