that arrangements are in place for the appropriate support and assessment of the student in line with the university's approved procedures. Alternatively, there are many courses available which can take you into different areas of work, such as: A PGCE or Postgraduate Certificate in Education is the key to a teaching career and most universities and colleges of higher education run courses. See the comments above about the need to ensure you are studying the right combination of subjects in your degree course for entry on to a PGCE course.

through a PhD. As with the MPhil funding is by some form of scholarship, bursary or studentship for which there will be fierce competition unless the student is self-funding. Postgraduate students according to their experience and achievements may register directly for a PhD or may first register for an MPhil with the option of transfer after the satisfactory completion of the first year of study, as described above. 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 Links In 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

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. It used to be the case that the Civil Service recruited its administrative officers from school-leavers but the general upgrading of qualification requirements has been such that increasingly it looks to graduates. The many branches of the civil service and of local government service are too numerous to list here but when the time comes you will find that career information appears alongside all the other prospective employers who are competing for the best graduates.

through a taught course leading to a postgraduate certificate (as in the case of the PGCE or GSCC mentioned above), a postgraduate diploma (PGDip) or a masters degree (MA, MSc, MBA or equivalent). These courses are widely advertised and are normally focused upon a particular aspect of sociology with a view to subsequent career activity. Many prospective employers recognise that a sociology degree combines the development of skills in reasoning and critical assessment with knowledge about society and its workings. Additionally the discipline of social work lends itself to a number of business uses including of course market research. The Civil Service and Local Government Service 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. 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?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. 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.

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. that the student will have the opportunity to demonstrate at least some of the National Occupational Standards; and 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. Some students become so involved with their sociology degree courses that they want to pursue the subject at a higher level. This can be approached in three ways: Many universities will be looking for people who have some knowledge about social care, what it is and how it works. Some paid or voluntary experience will be helpful for your application.

Some universities may have arrangements in place for students to undertake one of the placements abroad. In this case the university must ensure: