Large companies take in graduate management trainees according to their current requirements. Therefore the intake for any particular company may vary from year to year but careers fairs are held at which most wish to be represented. Despite the enormous growth in business studies degrees other courses are evaluated according to their attributes.

Many sociology graduates go into teaching. This embraces school teaching, further education and the option to remain in higher education. Prospective school teachers and teachers in further education go on after graduation to take a postgraduate certificate in education and there are specialist courses for each sector, i.e. primary, secondary, tertiary and also teaching for special needs. For more information on further study and to find a course that interests you, see Masters degrees and search postgraduate courses in sociology. What do sociology graduates do?

You can access the DOH's full list of universities which have been approved to offer social work degree courses and the type of courses they are approved to offer. Studying sociology involves continuous interplay between matters of concern in society and concepts and theories of society. The requirement to reason and critically analyse the workings of society makes sociology an effective medium of intellectual development in the course of an undergraduate degree or other programme of study. Employers recognise this. If you plan to study for a PGCE, you will need to ensure that the subjects you study as part of your degree will allow you entry to a PGCE course, as there are some restrictions. Talk to the Admissions Tutor of the course for more advice.

Alternatively, there are many courses available which can take you into different areas of work, such as: Students who achieve the best results during their undergraduate course may get the chance to go on to postgraduate research for higher degree with the aim of making a career in higher education either as a lecturer combining teaching with research or as a specialist researcher. However, resources for this are scarce and therefore competition is fierce. As an alternative the increasing demand for postgraduate qualifications has been met by an increase in the number of masters programmes that are available. through a masters degree by research (MPhil or the equivalent). Funding is by means of some form of scholarship, bursary or studentship for which there will be fierce competition unless the student is self-funding. A research project, conceived of by the postgraduate student with guidance, is supervised by one or more members of staff. The project must involve a finite piece of research carried out by the student and written up as a dissertation or thesis for the MPhil research degree. that the student will have the opportunity to demonstrate at least some of the National Occupational Standards; andThe growth of large organisations has created an increasing number of jobs associated with forward planning and calculating the effects of alternative policies. Sociologists are often employed in groups of specialists working in both public and private sector organisations to analyse present trends and make projections for the future. The inclusion of statistics training as part of most sociology degree courses make them a suitable preparation for such a career. Additionally this is a suitable basis from which to pursue further qualification such as for instance a Diploma in Town Planning. Social Work and the 'Caring Professions' Social work helps people to live more successfully within their local communities by helping them find solutions to their problems. To succeed, social workers must work not only with clients but their families and friends as well as working closely with other organisations including the police, NHS, and schools. The majority of courses are three-year full-time courses, although there are some part-time courses. Postgraduate courses may be delivered full-time over two years.

that arrangements are in place for the appropriate support and assessment of the student in line with the university's approved procedures. Most qualified social workers are employed by local authority social services departments but there are alternatives. Entry to the probation service, and work in family care, ethnic minority relations, juvenile justice, shelters for the homeless, residential care, equal opportunities, etc., varies enormously but clearly a professional social work qualification is a considerable asset. This category embraces a range of activities extending from welfare services to aid agencies operating in the less developed societies. A career with these will appeal to people who want to attempt to change the world from the bottom up. Such agencies have limited resources and so generally speaking are not able to pay well but they may offer the most rewarding career in other ways. Research Studying sociology provides you with a range of skills that employers look for, including communication, interpersonal, problem-solving and analytical skills. You learn to:

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It is the responsibility of the university to ensure that the practice learning opportunities meet the learning needs of the student and enable them to demonstrate the national occupational standards. Students should read their handbooks carefully to find out information about practice learning arrangements on their programme and discuss with their tutor in the first instance if they have any concerns about the placement. If you already have a degree you may be able to apply for a postgraduate course. You will see that postgraduate courses can be viewed separately.

From 2003, professional qualifying training for social workers in England changed to a degree in social work approved by the General Social Care Council ( GSCC). The diploma in social work and all other predecessor social work qualifications will continue to be recognised as valid social work qualifications. The traditional occupation for sociology graduates has been social work or some other form of public sector welfare work such as the probation service. However in practice sociology graduates go into a much wider range of jobs. In industry, for instance, human resource management (or personnel as it used to be called) is one application close to welfare but additionally aspects of marketing draw upon sociological skills. Virtually all sociology courses include methods of social research and these can have an enlightening effect upon market research. As with the MPhil it may involve empirical research or alternatively be library based. It will be supervised by one but normally more members of academic staff. During the first there will normally be a course of research training and this is often accomplished by the completion of a PGDip in Social Research. A PhD will be expected to take between two and four years to complete, although some take longer. Job Search - Useful LinksIn response to criticism about their relationship with the public, police forces have been seeking to increase the proportion of graduates within their ranks. The Metropolitan Police for instance has for some time now operated a graduate entry scheme which seeks to include numbers of women and members of ethnic minority groups. Other police forces in conjunction with universities operate in service degree programmes of which social science teaching is a substantial component. Each of these is an indication that a sociology degree constitutes a recognised qualification for a police career. Voluntary Agencies All students must undergo assessed preparation to ensure their safety to undertake practice learning prior to their first placement. This will vary across universities but must include the opportunity to shadow an experienced social worker and the opportunity to develop a greater understanding of the experience of service users. Department of Health requirements for Social Work degree training. The PhD project may be of the student´s own devising or it may be specified as part of a larger research programme with funding provided and the student taking part in a research team. Either way it will consist of a major piece of research to be written up as a thesis in a way that is at least partly original and makes a contribution to knowledge. Social workers do a very responsible job and will need to be trained, skilled and appropriately qualified before going into practice. The route to this is through an honours or postgraduate degree in social work which has been approved by the GSCC and which combines theoretical learning with 200 days of assessed practice in a range of settings.