The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide (2025)
10
10th for Sociology
The Guardian University Guide (2025)
10
10th for Sociology
The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide (2025)
Why Lancaster?
Get to the heart of the challenges facing different communities with this inspiring course taught jointly by our prestigious Sociology Department and Lancaster University Law School
Develop skills for a rewarding career in the criminal justice system and beyond, including the ability to think critically and carry out research
Broaden your knowledge and experience via our connections with NGOs, charities, and local criminal justice agencies such as Lancashire Police and HMP Lancaster Farms
Find work experience with our support – past students have worked with the Citizens Advice Bureau and Lancashire Constabulary's Special Constables
Receive an exceptional level of support from tutors who listen to your ideas and help you develop as a social scientist
Rapid change. Rising crime. Rage against society’s systems. Position yourself to help find solutions with a combined degree in sociology and criminology. Take a path towards action and impact. Explore today’s issues and discover how to create a better tomorrow.
From hate crime to climate change
This is your chance to unravel the big issues affecting our society. From social control to sex work, hate crime to climate change, you’ll look at the cultural, political and economic contexts of crime and criminal justice. And explore the social circumstances that influence people’s actions.
Based across both Lancaster University Law School and the Department of Sociology, you’ll benefit from the expertise of two departments that are highly regarded in a range of fields including youth justice, policing, prisons and punishment, and media. Their current projects are looking at high profile concerns including the impact of Brexit and experiences of young people leaving the care system.
Carry out your own research
Throughout your degree, we’ll help you explore a broad range of criminological and sociological theories and perspectives while developing your research skills. You’ll also pick optional modules which explore different issues such as racism and cybercrime.
You have the opportunity to shine a light on a topic that’s important to you with a dissertation. It’s up to you to decide what area to explore. Decolonisation in higher education and the influence of social media on body image are just a couple of examples of topics past students have investigated.
A wide range of module choices underpinned by diverse expertise from criminology professionals, delivered in a supportive and friendly environment. Hear from Criminology students on the experience you could have at Lancaster University.
Studying Sociology at Lancaster University
A diverse, welcoming community and a world of study choices. Hear our students explain why Sociology at Lancaster University is a great place to be.
Wherever you hope to end up, Lancaster has many opportunities to develop work experience and skills.
Careers
Careers
We’ll prepare you for a career within or beyond the criminal justice system. You’ll have the ability to think critically, communicate concisely, speak in public, work in teams, carry out your own research and analyse data. All of these are skills employers value and look for when hiring graduates.
Volunteering is a great way to boost your CV and gain experience. Alongside their studies, past students have volunteered with the Citizens Advice Bureau and Lancashire Constabulary's Special Constables, as well as in community engagement organisations, the media and creative industries and caring professions. Paid placement opportunities are also an option and we’ll help you make the right connections.
Your degree could open doors to a job in the private, public or voluntary sectors. Our graduates have gone on to roles with:
Criminal justice agencies such as the Police and the National Probation Service
The Home Office
The Department for Health
Social services
NHS Trusts
Charities
Youth offending services
Eager to continue learning? Some students continue their studies with our postgraduate courses in criminology, criminal justice, gender studies and social research.
IELTS 6.5 overall with at least 5.5 in each component. For other English language qualifications we accept, please see our English language requirements webpages.
Other Qualifications
International Baccalaureate 32 points overall with 16 points from the best 3 Higher Level subjects
BTEC Distinction, Distinction, Merit
We welcome applications from students with a range of alternative UK and international qualifications, including combinations of qualifications. Further guidance on admission to the University, including other qualifications that we accept, frequently asked questions and information on applying, can be found on our general admissions webpages.
Delivered in partnership with INTO Lancaster University, our one-year tailored foundation pathways are designed to improve your subject knowledge and English language skills to the level required by a range of Lancaster University degrees. Visit the INTO Lancaster University website for more details and a list of eligible degrees you can progress onto.
Contextual admissions
Contextual admissions could help you gain a place at university if you have faced additional challenges during your education which might have impacted your results. Visit our contextual admissions page to find out about how this works and whether you could be eligible.
Course structure
Lancaster University offers a range of programmes, some of which follow a structured study programme, and some which offer the chance for you to devise a more flexible programme to complement your main specialism.
Information contained on the website with respect to modules is correct at the time of publication, and the University will make every reasonable effort to offer modules as advertised. In some cases changes may be necessary and may result in some combinations being unavailable, for example as a result of student feedback, timetabling, Professional Statutory and Regulatory Bodies' (PSRB) requirements, staff changes and new research. Not all optional modules are available every year.
This module provides an introduction to criminology and criminal justice. You will benefit from a multi-disciplinary approach, which allows you to focus on the social, political, cultural and economic contexts of crime, deviance and criminal justice.
The module has a three-part structure and begins with criminological perspectives. This is your chance to delve into a range of key perspectives in criminology including biological, psychological, sociological and feminist. You’ll also consider the ways in which the media influences representations of crime.
In part two we will move on to contemporary criminological issues such as domestic violence, green criminology, serial killing, revenge porn, drugs, sex offending and hate crime. Part three then provides a critical overview of the key criminal justice agencies in the UK (such as prison, police and probation) – at this point we also explore approaches to punishment.
You will be taught by expert lecturers who will introduce you to cutting-edge research. Due to our unique approach to first year, you will study alongside students from across the University, which brings real diversity to the discussions within our small group teaching and workshops, enriching your learning experience.
What does it mean to ‘think sociologically’? When there are so many academic disciplines and non-academic areas of professional expertise, what is unique and important about starting with the social? This module begins with fundamental questions about the value of sociology in understanding the contemporary world and goes on to explore how the significance of our questions and everyday experiences are transformed when investigating all kinds of contemporary social problems, from inequality to globalisation, sociologically.
This full-year module is organised into different ‘blocks’ that connect themes in sociology – such as the relationship between self and society or between self and power – to both long-standing and newly emerging research. Whether or not you have studied sociology before, this module will introduce you to new areas of sociology, as well as demonstrating how key themes such as consumption, identity, social justice, or culture and media intersect with different sociological questions and sites of enquiry. Lecturers draw upon the ongoing research undertaken at Lancaster, giving you access to current insights that are inspiring change in policy and professional organisations.
The benefit of having multiple topics and themes addressed within one year-long module is that the assessments are carefully designed to slowly build up your research and study skills over your first year of study, whilst still giving you the flexibility to write major essays on the topics that are most interesting to you. The module provides you with a fantastic opportunity to explore new ideas and find new inspiration for understanding how we lead our lives today, and what possibilities there are for change tomorrow.
Core
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Criminological theory and philosophy is a key theme of this module. The module aims to introduce the main theoretical approaches in criminology from its origins to the present day. The module introduces and examines the main types of theory that have sought to explain crime, criminality and social control. The critical philosophical approach adopted in this module encourages students to see social order and crime as theoretical problems rather than social facts available for straightforward empirical investigation.
This module introduces the development of social theory from the Enlightenment in the eighteenth century to contemporary debates about the character of knowing. This module will introduce important models developed by classical social theorists (and especially Marx, Weber, Durkheim and Simmel) for analysing modern societies and considers how they have been adapted, updated, or displaced by recent social theories. It explores how these theories have been shaped by social and political change in eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth century Europe. Particular stress is placed on relating theories to contemporary social life. You will critically consider different current understandings of the role of social theory as privileged knowledge, tool of social control, ideology, and discourse. You will explore critically the theme of everyday life in modernity.
This module offers the opportunity to learn skills in reading, analysing, comparing, and critically evaluating major social theories of the rise of modern societies.
Optional
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This module will introduce students to sociological thinking on climate change. Debates about climate change are shifting, and beginning to make much stronger links between a vast and complex planetary perspective (a globe in crisis) and the private sphere (the home, low-carbon lifestyles, urban living, consumer demand, etc.). In this context, social theorists have been considering what sociological thinking can offer to contemporary debates on climate change issues. The module aims to introduce you to a range of new and emerging sociological analyses which examine: climate change and social change; new subjectivities, institutions and collectives under climate change; climate activism; dynamics of crisis and denial; the contested politics of climate change science; the global political economy of climate change; utopias and dystopias of climate change.
This module introduces students to a range of contemporary crime ‘problems’ through a study of academic debates and perspectives. The historical, socio-economic and cultural contexts will be explored whereby students will be encouraged to critically analyse the process of criminalisation, criminal justice responses, and how these criminal or ‘deviant’ activities have come to be considered problematic. Specialist areas of criminological debate will be addressed, such as cultural criminology, the criminology of everyday life and the relationship between crime, pleasure and transgression.
What role do police forces play within the criminal justice system? What are some of the contemporary issues in policing? Where do the police fit into a broader framework of security, governance and regulation?
This module tackles fundamental questions such as these and helps you to think and write critically about key concepts connected to the nature, culture and structure of police forces in the UK.
The module is led by research-active staff and its content is informed by their latest research. You will explore a range of issues that shape UK policing, including:
police use of force
policing ethnic minorities
policing protest
victims and the police
women in policing
We have excellent links to Lancashire Police, which inform this module. A combination of lectures and seminars is used to enhance your critical thinking skills and your verbal and written communication. Assessment through a group presentation will give you experience of public speaking and team-working.
This option can be taken alongside half-unit modules in Criminology taught in the second year. You can take one of the Criminology option modules and be assessed in the usual way (one essay plus exam) for a half-unit, and can also undertake this half-unit extended essay on a topic related to that particular module. However, the topic does not have to relate directly to a taught module and you can talk to staff about carrying out a small piece of documentary or other research in relevant areas of Criminology.
This module aims to provide you with knowledge and understanding of:
The range, extent and nature of cybercrime in the 21st Century.
The role of the Internet and other ICT in criminal networking, planning and communication for both cyber (online) and 'traditional' (offline) crime.
The challenges inherent in responding to cybercrime and online aspects of traditional crime and criminality.
Criminal justice and other (e.g. personal and private security) responses to cybercrime and criminality.
The application of established criminological theories to cybercrime and online criminality.
This module explores the question of how information and communications technologies, in their multiple forms, figure in our everyday lives. The aim of the module is to develop an appreciation for the range of experiences affected by digital media, including the progressive expansion of life online, and the increasingly intimate relations between life online and off. We’ll explore global divisions of digital labour; hactivism. The module will consider the new possibilities that the changing social infrastructure of digital technologies afford, while also learning to look at the rhetorics and practices of the virtual with a questioning and critical eye. Throughout the course we’ll be attentive to issues of gender, race and other marks of sameness and difference as they operate among humans, and between humans and machines.
In this module students will explore the intricate and evolving world of financial misconduct, its impacts, and relevant laws and regulations. The module covers a spectrum of financial crimes, including fraud, corruption, money laundering, financing terrorism, and cartels from criminological and legal perspectives. Students will be introduced to global and domestic regulatory frameworks governing the financial system, gain valuable insights into the challenges and strategies in financial crime prevention, and analyse common financial crime modes of opertating through real-world case analyses. Ethical considerations in the technological and financial industry as well as the evidence-based approach towards laws and regulation will also be emphasized. Additionally, the module aims to enhance employability by providing knowledge and skills sought after in finance, law enforcement, compliance, and risk management.
Contemporary women’s and men’s lives are vastly different from previous generations, yet there are certain patterns of inequality, gender difference, and normative sexuality that continue to be reproduced. This course explores and interrogates the workings of gender and sexuality in contemporary society by considering a range of sociological and feminist explanations. The focus is on multiple formations of gender, sexuality, identity and embodiment. The course will analyse power relations among women (differentiated by class, ‘race’, ethnicity, sexuality and nationality) as well as between men and women. The course is taught in workshop format and involves lively debate and lectures and analysis of readings, films, images and news and popular media. In term 2 you complete and present a group project based on independent research.
The course is divided into 4 thematic sections.
Formations of Gender(s) and Sexualities , including emphasis on the social construction of bodies and identities and introducing key debates and the work of feminist and queer theorists.
Intersectionalities 1, is a series of lectures/workshops about how gender and sexuality are performed within and through everyday spaces and materials of difference and inequality, for example technology, childbirth and medicine.
Intersectionalities 2, considers how gender and sexuality intersect with other identity categories, such as class and religious identity.
Citizenship, considering contemporary feminist and queer approaches to, for example, marriage, intimacy practices and the military.
You will have the opportunity to: 1) learn skills in reading, analysing, and critically evaluating theories of gender difference and inequality; 2) to practice formulating your own sociological questions about gender and sexuality; 3) develop your skills in group work and oral presentation.
How does society respond to environmental harms? What is the legal response to such issues? Which social and/or economic factors cause environmental risk? What influence or impact does media coverage have on ‘green’ issues?
This fascinating and highly relevant module considers the above questions and journeys through the following topics:
Anthropocentric environmental harms (human beings’ ethical relationship with the natural environment)
Environmental victimisation (those harmed by changes in their environment)
Socio-economic factors
Socio-legal responses
Media coverage of ‘green ‘issues
Protest, movements and environmental activism
Animal rights
Zemiology (social harms)
The academics who lead this module are researching the Illegal Wildlife Trade overseas. They will introduce you to this research and will encourage you to consider the overlap between environmental harm and other areas of criminology.
What are human rights? How are they implemented or contravened? What is the relationship between complex human rights issues and society today?
This module uses the context of the European human rights regime to investigate civil liberties and human rights protection. You will adopt a critical and comparative approach as you gain a comprehensive grounding in the law of human rights.
We will tackle some of the most complex and relevant issues such as the right to life, freedom from torture, freedom of expression, and capital punishment. Specific case studies allow you to engage with issues and questions regarding whistle-blowing and enforced disappearances.
Our teaching is research-led and combines seminars, tutorials and lectures. You will be encouraged to read as widely as possible on the subject and we will help you to develop your skills in critical analysis, discourse and debate.
The Measuring Crime module will help you to develop highly valuable skills in data-handling and analysis. It is a module about crime data, particularly data from sources that influence criminal justice policy and practice. The data we use also informs government and the general public about the nature (and the extent) of crime.
Focusing on the Crime Survey for England and Wales, Police Recorded Crime, and criminal justice statistics from the courts, our lectures explore issues around data generation, reliability, validity and the ways it can be presented.
In the accompanying computer-based workshops, you will learn how to analyse and present data using Excel and SPSS. In these workshops we also consider data that has been used in previously published research, this data is based on the official criminal histories of offenders. Our learning approach gives you an extremely well-rounded understanding of some of the most influential information about crime.
Everyday life is often described as bombarding us with images, and contemporary culture is therefore frequently understood as a visual culture.
What do such statements actually mean?
How far is our culture a visual culture?
What role do media play in a visual culture?
How is vision linked to practices – including representation, the gaze and embodiment – of power and inequality?
In what ways might these practices be challenged or resisted? Does vision only involve seeing, or is visual culture multi-sensory?
This module will introduce theories and practices that have addressed these questions. Examples of topics studied include:
The relationship between vision and knowledge
The gaze and power (eg the gaze as gendered and raced)
Media, representation and identity
Technologies of vision
Material practices of vision
Vision as multi-sensory.
On this module you will have the opportunity to gain a critical understanding of recent and ongoing themes in Media and Cultural Studies and Sociology on the topic of vision and visuality, media and culture, develop different reading and writing skills and participate in lively discussions and analytical exercises.
Many commentators claim that organised crime is one of the greatest problems facing contemporary societies. Law enforcement officials around the world have reported a significant increase in the range and scope of international criminal activity since the early 1990s. Worldwide shifts in social, political and economic arrangements- often described as ‘globalisation’ - have opened up opportunities for organised crime groups. The extent of groups involved in transnational organised crime (TOC) and the profits made means TOC has become a priority area for governments around the world.
This module focuses on racism and racial formations in the world today in both historical and contemporary perspectives. We will consider how ideas of race are historically constructed and look at how racism takes on different forms. Topics may include: the slave trade, colonialism and imperialism; ‘everyday racism’; structural racism; the social construction of ‘whiteness’; anti-racists politics and movements. The aim of the course is for you to gain an overview of various sociological approaches to explaining ‘race’, but also to gain an understanding of how such theories make a difference in the world today.
Social research is at the heart of social science perspectives on criminology. Research provides an important means of producing evidence within criminology and in the planning and evaluation of policies and provision within the criminal justice system. The module introduces the theoretical foundations and processes of different forms of social research used within criminology focusing in particular on criminological fieldwork.
Want to "go viral"? In this module, you will make stuff: tweets, blogs, videos, GIFs, wikis, music mash-ups, photo essays, machinima, memes. We will hang out in social media worlds like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pirate Bay, 4chan, Second Life, World of Warcraft, Know Your Meme, and Tumblr. You will learn to tie all of these media and platforms together into a viral video and social media campaign. You will become digitally literate while at the same time exploring the most cutting-edge new media theory. When you complete this module you will know how to make most types of simple digital media, you will develop a portfolio of content that may assist you in entrepreneurial work in the new media industries, and most importantly you will understand how new media are challenging existing forms of culture, politics, law, and business.
Our Youth Justice module is an opportunity to consider the tension between perceptions of children as ‘troubled’ and ‘troublesome’. We will also explore the criminal justice response to children who are in conflict with the law.
The competing themes of welfare and justice are closely examined, along with the recent history of youth justice policy. Following these thematic explorations, we take a more in-depth look into specific topics, including:
female offenders
youth imprisonment
comparative youth justice
children in care
This module is led by a research-active lecturer with an interest in children in the care and criminal justice systems; the lecture on children in care draws specifically on their cutting-edge research. The combination of lectures and small group teaching helps you to develop your understanding, deepen your criminological knowledge, and develop your critical evaluation skills.
Core
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Informed by the latest research, this module critically examines the complex interactions between the media and crime.
Included in this fascinating area of study are:
theories of deviancy, moral panics and newsworthiness
representations of youth and female offenders
sex and hate crimes
revenge pornography and cybercrime
critical explorations of the use of media in the context of crime and criminal justice
We take a multi-disciplinary approach to the module so you will study key media concepts and then discuss how these relate to crime, deviancy and criminal justice issues.
The module assessment is both novel and creative. You will produce a media portfolio - completing a literature review on a topic of your choice - before engaging in a critical analysis using sources such as newspapers, documentaries or social media content. This approach helps to ensure that you develop a practical understanding of media analysis and of the representation of crime in the media.
Our academic staff research extensively in the areas of crime and media. They will use their research to guide lecture content and, where appropriate, will provide you with data from their projects to analyse and discuss.
Optional
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Culture and creativity are key assets that cities use to attract a ‘creative class’ and succeed in a global context of urbanisation. But do the kinds of cultures and creativities promoted give citizens (and non-citizens) the right to the city? Can cultures and creativity be ‘used’ for economic competitiveness and foster a social production of city space? This module examines how social, artistic and media practices shape cities and people, and urban development in the Global North and South. It combines theoretical readings and discussion based seminars with case studies that examine examples of creative urbanism in cities such as Gaza, Hamburg, Sao Paulo.
All sociologists are supposed to know their classics but most only know them from second or third hand summaries. In this module we offer the opportunity to have an intimate encounter with one of the classics, texts that are often referred to in the social sciences. The text will change on an annual basis. Past examples include Zygmunt Bauman’s prize-winning book Modernity and the Holocaust (1989) and Jean Baudrillard’s America (1988). The chosen text will be used as a point of departure for exploring some central debates and themes in sociology and media and cultural studies.
This full-unit option offers you the opportunity of developing and using research skills by undertaking a piece of documentary or field research in an area of criminology.
You will prepare a dissertation based on empirical research on a topic within the field of criminology. You should agree your topic with your supervisor, who will need to have expertise in the agreed area so that they can provide guidance for your research.
This module focuses on the crimes that power makes possible. Criminological theory and research has traditionally prioritized the crimes of the powerless over and against the crimes of those that make laws, wield influence and capital or authorize State violence. As such, this module will introduce you to theory, research, and case-studies on corporate and white-collar crimes, as well as state crimes like genocide and torture, in order to provide an analysis of the commission and punishment of such crimes.
Is there a criminal justice preoccupation with risk and prediction? If so, how helpful has this been to date?
This engaging module will tackle these fundamental questions and deepen your understanding of why some criminals appear to choose a life of crime: ‘criminal careers’ being the criminological term.
You will be taught by research-active academics who are experts in the field and you will explore some of the key contributions of research in this area, including work published by our teaching staff. For instance, staff research will inform your lectures on the criminalisation of children in care and the issue of ‘onset’ in criminal careers. Departmental research will also feed into your study of perceptions of ‘risk’ and ‘risky’ populations. A co-authored book (Soothill, Fitzpatrick & Francis, 2009 – ‘Understanding Criminal Careers’) is also used to support this module.
Topics covered include onset, persistence and desistance. You will also critically analyse some of the unintended consequences of research into this area – as well as considering the future implications on criminology of those consequential findings.
This option can be taken alongside third year taught half-unit modules in Criminology. You can therefore take one of the third year Criminology option modules and be assessed in the usual way (one essay plus exam) for a half-unit, and can also undertake this half-unit extended essay on a topic related to that particular module.
The topic does not have to relate directly to a taught module and, if you wish, you can talk to staff about a small piece of documentary or other research in relevant areas of Criminology.
For this extended essay you will be individually tutored and therefore the availability of the option is subject to the department's ability to provide a suitable supervisor for you chosen subject.
This module introduces students to a range of topics and perspectives related to decolonisation, with a focus on those demographics whose needs have been historically neglected, marginalised and overlooked within the fields of Criminology & Criminal Justice. This is a key point made by an evolving and expanding body of decolonial scholarship, criminology itself has accused of neglecting to represent the voices and therefore needs of a wide majority of populations. Criminology has been concerned with criminality, criminal behaviour, offenders, and offending behaviour. This prioritizes a focus on the individual, in terms of punishment, reform, and rehabilitation. Per decolonization, students will be introduced to more expanded perspectives, looking at concerns with criminalization and deviance invention and ultimately how institutional rules and practices impact the ability of individuals to participate and contribute, in law abiding ways.
What counts as a disaster?
Is it still reasonable to speak of ‘natural’ or human-made’ disasters?
Do disasters have a beginning, middle and end?
Is it possible to make disaster-proof systems?
This module uses case studies of disasters (technical and social) to explore these questions and what sociology can teach us about them.
An engaging and highly relevant module, Drugs, Crime and Society examines the nature and extent of drug taking in the UK and beyond.
We will:
explore the difficulties of researching hidden populations, like drug users
engage with theories of drug use from a sociological, psychological and cultural perspective
consider global and national drug markets
investigate the links between drugs and crime
evaluate policing responses to drugs
You will be taught by research-active lecturers who will introduce you to the latest research in this field and contemporary debate. For example, you might study current research and publications concerning cannabis cultivation, world markets, and drug distribution among friends (also known as ‘social supply’).
This module investigates gender inequalities within society through a focus on historical and contemporary debates in feminist theory and activism. The module has an `intersectional` focus that means we will consider gender inequalities as bound up with other forms of discrimination and marginalisation, particularly racial and ethnic inequalities, disability and social class.
The module will challenge you to think about `what feminism means today` through a consideration of key aspects of feminist thought and activism from the late 1960s onwards. We will consider the continued relevance of the idea of ‘The Personal is Political’ and ‘consciousness raising’. We will overview feminist approaches to social research and explore feminist interventions in practices of gender inequality, for example inequalities in paid and unpaid work, childcare and women’s health. You will complete an intergenerational interview research project on ‘women, work and social change’ through which you will analyse and reflect upon your experience of the research process.
We will also take the feminist manifesto as a central document which expresses lived experiences of gender inequalities and collective desire for social change. Through some practices of inequalities, such as art, beauty contests, capitalism and patriarchy, we will explore the contemporary resonance of ideas such as black feminisms, art activism, the occupy movement and backlash.
By the end of the module you will have been given the opportunity to become familiar with some of the key debates within feminism today. We aim for you to be able to make connections between feminist theory and forms of feminist practice. The module engages you in debate, original research and feminist activism through analysis of varied media including academic texts, advertising, art, film, news media and social media.
This module will focus on hate crime, but will draw on notions from a range of international sources and jurisdictions.
Issues covered will focus on the question of what is ‘hate crime’, before ensuring that you gain an understanding of the harms of ‘hate crime’. There will be a discussion of the perpetrators of ‘hate crime’ as well as the policing of such. The international perspective to this module will be gained from a discussion of ‘hate crime’ as a human rights problem, with a particular focus on freedom of speech. Substantive issues will also be explored, notably, the notion of criminalising collective memory, with a focus on outlawing Holocaust denial and other crimes against humanity.
This module provides an opportunity to bring together knowledge and skills you have developed into an 8,000 word dissertation that you complete in your final year. You will have the opportunity to undertake an independent piece of research (under supervision) and to apply your general understanding of the research process to real world examples that are of particular interest to you. There is the option of conducting your dissertation as part of a placement with an appropriate organisation or group.
You will plan, present and design a dissertation proposal in tutorial groups, with a detailed, step-by-step web-based guide available for extra support. This will help you develop an idea for a research project, work out what is possible, which methods to use, and begin to plan it. You will have opportunities to get feedback from other students and your supervisor during regular meetings. After carrying out your own data collection and analysis, you will then write it up as a dissertation.
Belonging to a nation is widely seen to be as natural as belonging to a family or a home. This module will explore how such assumptions about national belonging come about by introducing students to a range of theoretical approaches and debates.
You will explore how notions of belonging are socially constructed, how the nation is defined, who belongs and who doesn’t. The module addresses these notions by examining what everyday practices, discourses and representations reveal about the ways people think about, and inhabit, the nation. The module also pays particular attention to nation formation in relation to debates about multiculturalism, diversity and migration and asks: What are the impacts of migration and multiculturalism on definitions of the nation? How is multiculturalism defined and perceived?
Although focus will be on the example of Britain, the issues raised will be of interest to all students concerned with the effects of nationalisms and ideas of belonging and entitlement, which many countries of the contemporary world are presently debating in the context of the 'Age of migration' (Castles and Miller 1998).
How should we understand the role of punishment under democracy? How do the historical, cultural and ideological relationships that underpin and, to a certain extent, determine punishment inform our conceptions of Justice, Fairness, and Equality?
This module examines both the historical and philosophical dimensions of modern democratic punishment. We will probe the punitive landscape charted by theorists like Michel Foucault, Norbert Elias, and Emile Durkheim. This module will also consider the “new punitiveness” and the “old” in search of an explanation for the rise of the incapacitative approach to punishment, its permanence and its implications for the legitimacy of the democratic project.
This module will provide a critical survey of the literature on the far right and its main theories and debates, as well as discussing how major sociological theories and concepts can apply to the topic such as; an overview of movement types and sub-types; an overview of the main concepts (far-right, fascism, populism, racism, white supremacy); and a historical and comparative analysis of the far right in different contexts in Europe, North America and the Global South.
Specific topics and issues which the module will cover include: far right electoral parties and policy; the concept of the lone actor digital/online far right activism and radicalisation; the relationship between the far right and the mainstream; populism and the white working class left behind media representation and platforming; far-right street protest; far right subcultures and ecosystems; the role of historical racism and fascism on our understanding of the far right; the relationship between systemic racism and right-wing extremism; terrorism and racist violence; and counter-extremism, counter-terrorism and criminal justice approaches to dealing with the far right. The module will also examine anti-racist, anti-fascist, decolonial and intersectional approaches to understanding and opposing the far right, and how they differ from and challenge conventional state security and prevention approaches.
This module will introduce you to a range of sexual crimes and forms of sexual offending as defined by UK and international law.
The module will cover a number of key areas:
types of sexual crimes governed by UK and international law – what constitutes a particular sexual crime, how it is sometimes committed, and the extent of such crimes;
ways in which sex crimes and offending behaviour is explained – considering who the perpetrators are and why they commit crimes of a sexual nature, as well as the wider social context which may help explain why some sexual crimes are defined by law and how new crimes emerge as the social context changes;
critically examine how the crimes are dealt with by the criminal justice system such as the laws and policies which surround these crimes, their implementation and how well they operate in practice in terms of treatments, support and punishments given to sexual offenders and their victims.
This module addresses contemporary debates in sociology and cinema by focusing on a single film each week. Its overall aim is to employ cinema for the purpose of social diagnosis.
The module engages with cinema as a social fact, before linking together cinema (producing images of the social) and sociality (socialisation of the image) for analysis.
This module analyses the relationship between society and terror, taking point of departure in the discussion of 9/11 and the political responses it has provoked. The module focuses on how different forms of terror are related to the changing nature of society and how terror can be theorized from a sociological point of view. It also explores how the study of terror can contribute to the discipline of sociology. An example of concepts covered are: terror, the war against terrorism, dispositif, nihilism, flow, consumerism, post-politics, politics of security.
This is a course about social welfare in Britain, its past, present and futures. At a time when the machinery of the welfare state is being reformed in very profound ways, and the future of key elements of the welfare state (such as elder care and the NHS) hang in the balance, the questions of what welfare is, what it is for, who it is for, and how it should be funded and delivered have never been more urgent.
This course will examine the social and political debates which shaped the birth of the British welfare state and trace its subsequent development over more than sixty years. We will explore how the British welfare state was imagined by its original architects as a cradle to grave safety-net for citizens - a welfare commons of shared risks which would ameliorate the excesses of economic and social hardship in the post-war period. We will consider how the welfare state was funded and whether it created a new kind of social contract between citizens and government, and also consider the ways in which the welfare state was a moral and disciplinary project, grounded in distinctions between deserving and underserving people.
Fees and funding
Our annual tuition fee is set for a 12-month session, starting in the October of your year of study.
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 2025, the fee is £40 for undergraduates and research students and £15 for students on one-year courses.
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.
Study abroad courses
In addition to travel and accommodation costs, while you are studying abroad, you will need to have a passport and, depending on the country, there may be other costs such as travel documents (e.g. VISA or work permit) and any tests and vaccines that are required at the time of travel. Some countries may require proof of funds.
Placement and industry year courses
In addition to possible commuting costs during your placement, you may need to buy clothing that is suitable for your workplace and you may have accommodation costs. Depending on the employer and your job, you may have other costs such as copies of personal documents required by your employer for example.
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.
Home fees are subject to annual review, and may be liable to rise each year in line with UK government policy. International fees (including EU) are reviewed annually and are not fixed for the duration of your studies. Read more about fees in subsequent years.
We will charge tuition fees to Home undergraduate students on full-year study abroad/work placements in line with the maximum amounts permitted by the Department for Education. The current maximum levels are:
Students studying abroad for a year: 15% of the standard tuition fee
Students taking a work placement for a year: 20% of the standard tuition fee
International students on full-year study abroad/work placements will be charged the same percentages as the standard International fee.
Please note that the maximum levels chargeable in future years may be subject to changes in Government policy.
Scholarships and bursaries
You will be automatically considered for our main scholarships and bursaries when you apply, so there's nothing extra that you need to do.
You may be eligible for the following funding opportunities, depending on your fee status:
Unfortunately no scholarships and bursaries match your selection, but there are more listed on scholarships and bursaries page.
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We also have other, more specialised scholarships and bursaries - such as those for students from specific countries.
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.
Undergraduate open days 2024
Our summer and autumn open days will give you Lancaster University in a day. Visit campus and put yourself in the picture.
Our historic city is student-friendly and home to a diverse and welcoming community. Beyond the city you'll find a stunning coastline and the picturesque Lake District.