Overview
Top reasons to study with us
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Hone your research skills via a group project
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96% Satisfaction with Learning Resources Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey 2023
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Engage with leading, socially-engaged academics
Why Lancaster?
- Be inspired by our tutors’ expertise in key areas such as climate change and social inequalities
- Benefit from the quality and depth of our research which achieves national and global recognition
- Get involved in using sociology as a way of contributing to positive cultural and social change
- Prepare for your main dissertation with our innovative mini research group projects
- Gain valuable transferable skills in critical thinking to help you stand out in the job market
How do social inequalities develop? What is being done to resist and challenge them? What social factors influence climate change and how we respond? If these questions intrigue you, you’re the perfect fit for our MA Sociology.
Forward-thinking research
Our programme lets you focus on a wide range of contemporary issues in society, such as inequality, racism and capitalism. At the same time, you’ll focus on developing your critical skills.
You’ll be part of our ground-breaking research community where some of our academics dedicate their time to climate change, while others focus on finding alternatives to social and economic inequalities. Our committed and socially engaged experts create a vibrant environment where you’ll be able to thrive.
To make sure our programme is inclusive and culturally diverse, we’ve expanded our global focus and are decolonising our curriculum.
Practical project experience
As well as a dissertation, our MA includes a separate module which gives you the opportunity to work in groups on a mini research project. This is a good trial run to develop your social research skills in a safe environment while receiving constructive feedback.
Working together with others like this is a great way to experience different approaches and gives you another practical project to refer to in job interviews.
Careers
The MA is about equipping you with valuable, transferable skills rather than preparing you for a specific job. These are what will help you stand out from your peers.
But here is an idea of some of the careers our MA graduates go on to:
- Charity sector work or community engagement
- Social enterprise
- The caring professions
- The Civil Service
- Teaching
- Specialist recruitment
- Media and creative industries
- Human resources, and graduate trainee management
You can expect to have developed strong skills in critical and independent thinking. And this can make all the difference from being hired or not. In fact, feedback shows that employers like sociology postgraduates because of their ability to apply their knowledge and provide unique perspectives on diverse workplace challenges.
Many graduates also use our MA as the springboard for going on to a PhD or further research.
Entry requirements
Academic Requirements
2:2 Hons degree (UK or equivalent) in a relevant social science.
We may also consider non-standard applicants, please contact us for information.
If you have studied outside of the UK, we would advise you to check our list of international qualifications before submitting your application.
English Language Requirements
We may ask you to provide a recognised English language qualification, dependent upon your nationality and where you have studied previously.
We normally require an IELTS (Academic) Test with an overall score of at least 7.0, and a minimum of 6.0 in each element of the test. We also consider other English language qualifications.
If your score is below our requirements, you may be eligible for one of our pre-sessional English language programmes.
Contact: Admissions Team +44 (0) 1524 592032 or email pgadmissions@lancaster.ac.uk
Pre-master’s programmes
Delivered in partnership with INTO Lancaster University, our one-year tailored pre-master’s pathways are designed to improve your subject knowledge and English language skills to the level required by a range of Lancaster University master’s degrees. Visit the INTO Lancaster University website for more details and a list of eligible degrees you can progress onto.
Course structure
You will study a range of modules as part of your course, some examples of which are listed below.
Information contained on the website with respect to modules is correct at the time of publication, but changes may be necessary, for example as a result of student feedback, Professional Statutory and Regulatory Bodies' (PSRB) requirements, staff changes, and new research. Not all optional modules are available every year.
Core
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This module is an introduction to macro-sociological theory and those branches of contemporary sociology that attempt to deal with ‘the world’ as a whole. The aim is to critically interrogate the ways in which sociologists envision time, space, and ‘global relations’ between different parts of the world (modern/traditional, East/West, developed/developing, First World/Third World, North/South). Beginning with comparative and historical sociology, we consider how social theorists employ ‘big structures’ at a world scale, ‘grand narratives’ of epochal shifts, ‘large processes’ of global change, and ideas of the novelty of the contemporary period. The module focuses on understanding the relation between theory, methodology, and questions of power in research, including the critiques of sociology within postcolonial theory. Drawing on theories grounded in political and economic sociology as well as cultural and discursive approaches, we will critically reflect on Western Sociology's assumptions and exclusions, including the ways in which recent theories of globalisation, time-space compression and spatial mobility may reiterate Orientalist and colonial discourses.
As the final element in your Master's programme, the MA dissertation allows you to bring together and showcase the skills and knowledge you have acquired from other modules, and demonstrate your ability to carry out a substantial independent research project.
Provided a suitable supervisor is available, you can choose your own topic to investigate. Once you have chosen your topic, the Department will provide a supervisor that best matches your research interests. You will be assessed on your capacity to define your research topic, to articulate a coherent scheme for examining that topic, to gather the necessary information, and to analyse and present the information in a way which does justice to the topic you have chosen.
As preparation for your dissertation you will take part in several MA learning skills workshops.. These sessions are designed to help you develop your skills in reading, reviewing and writing, and in presenting your work in an environment which offers both support and constructive criticism.
This module provides first-hand experience of organising and undertaking a group research project on a subject of your own choosing. You will work through processes of research design and strategy, developing research questions, planning and carrying out fieldwork and analysis, and presenting and evaluating research. Working together in small groups, you will produce a research proposal, a journal article based on your project, and an oral presentation of your work. You are also encouraged to keep a research diary of the process. This will provide the basis for an individual reflective essay to be submitted after the module has finished. Although the module is essentially practical, it also provides an opportunity to learn about generic issues involved in doing social research and about the contemporary context of research policy and funding.
Optional
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In this module you consider the forms of power and control underpinning algorithmic cultures, and cultures of data and quantification.
What ethical and political questions can we ask about ‘smart’ digital infrastructures, that are typically overlooked by engineers and tech corporations? How can students in media, sociology, gender, or environment & culture intervene in technological developments and debates? How can we approach the social (including cultural, political and ecological) connections forged by ‘smart’ digital infrastructures?
Decades of technological progression have only made the relationship between the digital and non-digital more complex. You will consider difference, accidents, and unforeseen ramifications that challenge a simplistic, instrumentalist view of technology. Juggling these various lenses, you will study ‘smart’ infrastructures underpinning phenomena such as networked affect and smart cities. Rather than assuming we now live in a homogeneous global society of control, you will consider the unexpected: the messiness of datafication and algorithmic culture tied up with affective contagion, unpredictable ecosystems, and electronic waste straddling the planet in ways that remain unaccounted for.
This module will consider a range of social justice issues within education relating to (but not limited to) gender, class, 'race’ and ethnicity, age, sexuality, disability, language, geography, religion, and their intersections. This will involve developing an understanding of how advantage and disadvantage are structured through policy, practice and experiences; how students from different groups experience inclusion and exclusion; how educational institutions may generate, reinforce or reproduce social inequalities; and how educational inequalities may be challenged. Education will be considered as both an issue of social justice and as a practice for social justice.
This module will provide you with the opportunity to interrogate social justice issues within society and explore how these play out through the education system, developing and enhancing your knowledge and understanding of inequalities. It will engage you in analysis of complex processes of inclusion and exclusion and equip you with the tools to critically evaluate educational structures, policy and practices to both examine and challenge inequalities.
This module engages with a socio-cultural analysis of what has been called a ‘consumer society’, a society with increasing emphasis on marketisation, commercialisation and commodification. The module approaches a variety of topics that consumer society has intensified - such as promotional culture, advertising and branding - and students will have the opportunity to work with a range of conceptual resources to produce understandings of these issues and their impact on society. This module, therefore, offers you key resources with which to understand contemporary society and social change in a way which complements their other core and optional modules.
This module is designed to introduce you to contemporary methodological issues, key approaches, practical techniques, and case examples relating to the study of media.
Many different methods are used in media, and that variety is reflected in this module. To explore research practice in this discipline, we look at textual and discourse analysis, visual analysis, ethnography and participatory approaches, but place a strong emphasis on engaging with issues of identity, differences, power and experience in the hyper-complex media and cultural environments that we live in.
To give you a taste of particular research methods and approaches, we draw on recent examples of media and cultural research done here at Lancaster, and encourage you to explore their theoretical and practical implications.
We aim to have a number of invited guest speakers on this module, and you will have the opportunity to discuss and critically evaluate different methodological approaches and learn how to draw on these approaches as a starting point for your own research. It is our aim that you acquire a good understanding of the key elements in planning and carrying out independent research projects.
The module is led by the Politics, Philosophy and Religion department with input from colleagues in Computing Science, Sociology and Criminology. We aim to foster interdisciplinary teaching and learning across social sciences and computing sciences. PPR491 Cybercrime is a core module on the MSc Cybersecurity degree and an optional module for PPR students MA students as well as those in Sociology and Law, so has been designed with you all in mind.
The module is block-taught across an intense two-week period, through lectures and seminar activities in Summer Term. There will be an hour for lunch each day, and several comfort breaks. Each lecture examines a specific issue relating to ‘cybercrime’. In week 23 you will present the final findings from your group task to the whole class.
In the group task you will learn how to use evidence-based methods to explore a cybercrime topic. We will show you how to do this on day 1. Sessions/topics are delivered by experts in their field, and there will be plenty of time for questions and debate.
This module introduces you to the practicalities and philosophies of doing interdisciplinary research in gender and women’s studies. You will learn to interpret, understand and explore the consequences of particular research methods. You will also be encouraged to critically consider the relationship between theories and methods in research. The module also provides scope for reflecting on the politics of knowledge, the ethics of research, and the relationship between disciplines and interdisciplinary fields such as gender and women’s studies. You will learn how some key conceptual frameworks within feminism (for example, sex and gender, body politics, sexual difference, queer theory) have been constructed over time through both research practices and theoretical arguments. This module will be useful as preparation for your own research later in the programme and particularly for your Master's dissertation.
In this module you will explore different aspects of digital audio and music cultures, in theory and in practice. The aim is to learn to think critically and creatively about the role that digital audio practices and technologies play in the current media landscape. The module contains both theoretical and practical components. You will engage in critical theoretical discussions on different aspects of digital audio culture. You will also have the opportunity to learn how to work with digital audio editing software and recording technologies. In the end, you will work together with group members to create a short podcast or audio documentary in which you reflect on a digital audio topic that you choose.
Current debates over issues such as plastic and food waste, fracking, loss of biodiversity or climate justice – and the protest movements and campaigns that have arisen in response – provide tangible evidence that the relationship between society and the environment is a difficult and often controversial one. This module examines the role that sociology and social theory can play in helping us to understand that relationship better and explores the range of approaches that have been developed in environmental sociology. Studying the environment sociologically opens up a host of interconnected social, cultural and political issues. Whose knowledge counts? How can we handle unquantifiable risk? What role should technology play? And what about democracy, freedom, diversity and justice? Using lectures and seminar discussion, the module will lead you through the resources of sociology and social theory to enable you to think through these questions in relation to some of the most urgent environmental issues facing societies today.
How are gender, sex and bodies understood in contemporary sociology and feminist theory? How do feminist theorists and social scientists address questions of difference, representation and performativity in their research? In this module, we engage with the work of particular theorists (enabling you to acquire skills in close reading and critical discussion), critically evaluate relevant empirical findings, and explore current issues of importance to sociology and feminism. Topics include medicalization and health, race and racism, sex and sexuality, bodily autonomy, and reproductive choice. The essays you write then give you scope to follow your own interests in more depth by using the reading lists provided and undertaking independent research.
This module introduces you to the critical analysis of key forms of innovation and production in global media. It focuses on the analysis of power in relation to media, and expands this focus to include considerations of new and emerging forms of social and technological innovation.
Centred on the relationships between power and innovation, this module asks students to explore the interplay between power structures (global and local inequalities) and modes of (dis)engagement in global media. Topics may include the political economy of innovation in global media and technology sectors, temporalities and ideologies of innovation, globalisation and inequalities, politics and cultures of design, consumer cultures of creativity and participatory modes of innovation, decolonial approaches to innovation, as well as the ecological stakes of innovation.
Students will read and discuss recent and formative writings in global media studies, and develop an understanding of key concepts and how they help us to make sense of media cultures, industries, and practices. This module helps to support students to become media leaders through honing critical thinking skills.
The module will provide an introduction to key issues and theories in social justice and education. We will start by considering what social justice means in different educational contexts, and exploring some key theories about social justice. Key differences between different theories of social justice will be explored, and their implications for education examined. We will also explore how different theoretical lenses can provide new ways of viewing aspects of educational systems, and use these lenses to examine multiple perspectives. The ways in which social justice issues currently arise within different education settings will be explored, and we will consider how education can challenge and/or reinforce inequalities. We will also begin to think about issues associated with researching social justice and how theory can help focus analysis of substantive issues. We reflect on whether social justice is simply a topic of research or whether it requires particular approaches and commitments on the part of the researcher.
This module will provide students with opportunities to engage with and evaluate different theories and perspectives. They will also begin to consider issues involved in researching education and social justice.
This module aims to develop students’ understanding of the ways in which social phenomena are conceptualised, defined and measured. The module will be a mix of lectures, seminars, and computer-based labs where students will get to play with real data. You will access data, explore data sets, generate and modify variables, frequency counts, cross tabulation, produce tables, bar charts and scattergrams, and test relationships between variables.
This module is designed to familiarise you with various ways of thinking about and analysing contemporary relations between science, technology and society. It draws upon a rich vein of theory and practice within science and technology studies (STS), an area of research that is particularly strong at Lancaster University.
You will be encouraged to ask sociologically-informed questions about the sciences and technologies that have become part of our everyday lives – including, for example, mobile phones, social media, cloud computing, genetic modification, human fertilisation techniques, air conditioning and technologies for electricity generation.
The module gives you the opportunity to understand how the different interpretive research methodologies used in STS – such as ethnography and participant observation, surveys, and analysis of social media – enable a researcher to ask important critical questions about science, technology, the environment and society.
Through case studies chosen by students on the module you will consider how we might engage as analysts – using which methods and practices? In what kinds of role? With what kind of limitations? And with what kinds of responsibility and accountability?
‘Reality is movement’ Henri Bergson observes in Creative Evolution (1911). This module explores how the im|mobilities of people, goods, money, information, resources, policies shape the individual and collective, human and more-than-human, local, global, planetary and interplanetary realities we experience.
Mobility capital, mobility justice, mobility transformations are some of the key concepts we will explore. The module provides opportunities for you to experiment with mobile methods and how they shape the study of physical, imaginative and communicative mobilities of, for example, migration, tourism, work, and love. Decarbonising transport, the need for a digital ethics to govern the im|mobilities of data, and the multiple refugee crises across the world are examples of the global challenges that we will address. We will also consider issues of creative inspiration for activism and ‘affirmative critique’.
Theories of practice are widely discussed in contemporary social theory and introduce new possibilities for overcoming classic distinctions (individual: social, agency: structure, mind: body) in dualistic thinking in sociology. Developed and applied in many disciplines, practice theories provides critical insights into current global issues including environmental sustainability and health. Normally taught in a week-long intensive format, this module is delivered by the Practice Theory group at Lancaster and is open to visiting, international MA and PhD students. It normally blends lectures and short provocative talks with in-class exercises and student reading and writing groups to introduce you to a new take on important sociological topics such as power, time, materiality, social reproduction and variation, and method. The aim of the course is to give you opportunities to undertake theoretical and conceptual training in theories of social practice and develop an understanding of the ramifications of adopting a practice theory approach that might be applied to future investigations across a range of substantive areas from management to education, sustainability and energy to health.
This module explores key theoretical, methodological, and ethical issues in researching migration, migrants’ experience, and the effect of migration on origin and receiving societies. Through the use of case studies, you will have the opportunity to examine, in-depth, several topics in contemporary migration research, and related methodological and ethical considerations. Topics covered may include: are we living in an 'age of migration'?; how do we define 'migrant' and why does it matter?; borders; citizenship; migration as a reproductive justice issue; ethical considerations when researching migration; the use of qualitative and quantitative methods in researching migration; and more.
This is a module about social theory with emphasis on the nature of its object, “the social” and the methodological issues related to this investigation. The module aims to critically examine the ways in which different social theoretical perspectives approach their objects, and to consider the consequences of these differences. The focus will be on the newer social theories. We will be dealing with one theory and one theorist each week. Among the theorists are: Pierre Bourdieu, Zygmunt Bauman, Eve Chiapello, Bruno Latour, Gilles Deleuze, Slavoj Žižek, Jacques Rancière and Giorgio Agamben.
Fees and funding
We set our fees on an annual basis and the 2025/26 entry fees have not yet been set.
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There may be extra costs related to your course for items such as books, stationery, printing, photocopying, binding and general subsistence on trips and visits. Following graduation, you may need to pay a subscription to a professional body for some chosen careers.
Specific additional costs for studying at Lancaster are listed below.
College fees
Lancaster is proud to be one of only a handful of UK universities to have a collegiate system. Every student belongs to a college, and all students pay a small College Membership Fee which supports the running of college events and activities. Students on some distance-learning courses are not liable to pay a college fee.
For students starting in 2024, the fee is £40 for undergraduates and research students and £15 for students on one-year courses. Fees for students starting in 2025 have not yet been set.
Computer equipment and internet access
To support your studies, you will also require access to a computer, along with reliable internet access. You will be able to access a range of software and services from a Windows, Mac, Chromebook or Linux device. For certain degree programmes, you may need a specific device, or we may provide you with a laptop and appropriate software - details of which will be available on relevant programme pages. A dedicated IT support helpdesk is available in the event of any problems.
The University provides limited financial support to assist students who do not have the required IT equipment or broadband support in place.
For most taught postgraduate applications there is a non-refundable application fee of £40. We cannot consider applications until this fee has been paid, as advised on our online secure payment system. There is no application fee for postgraduate research applications.
For some of our courses you will need to pay a deposit to accept your offer and secure your place. We will let you know in your offer letter if a deposit is required and you will be given a deadline date when this is due to be paid.
The fee that you pay will depend on whether you are considered to be a home or international student. Read more about how we assign your fee status.
If you are studying on a programme of more than one year’s duration, tuition fees are reviewed annually and are not fixed for the duration of your studies. Read more about fees in subsequent years.
Scholarships and bursaries
Details of our scholarships and bursaries for 2025-entry study are not yet available, but you can use our opportunities for 2024-entry applicants as guidance.
Check our current list of scholarships and bursaries.
Important Information
The information on this site relates primarily to 2025/2026 entry to the University and every effort has been taken to ensure the information is correct at the time of publication.
The University will use all reasonable effort to deliver the courses as described, but the University reserves the right to make changes to advertised courses. In exceptional circumstances that are beyond the University’s reasonable control (Force Majeure Events), we may need to amend the programmes and provision advertised. In this event, the University will take reasonable steps to minimise the disruption to your studies. If a course is withdrawn or if there are any fundamental changes to your course, we will give you reasonable notice and you will be entitled to request that you are considered for an alternative course or withdraw your application. You are advised to revisit our website for up-to-date course information before you submit your application.
More information on limits to the University’s liability can be found in our legal information.
Our Students’ Charter
We believe in the importance of a strong and productive partnership between our students and staff. In order to ensure your time at Lancaster is a positive experience we have worked with the Students’ Union to articulate this relationship and the standards to which the University and its students aspire. View our Charter and other policies.