Curious about studying Sociology with Data Science - BSc (Hons)at University of Essex? We've gathered all the key details—entry requirements, modules, fees, and more. Hear from real students by checking out reviews, or take the next step by booking an open day to explore it for yourself.
Bachelor of Science (with Honours) - BSc (Hons)
University of Essex
Full Time
Oct 2026
3 Year
How can data science methods help answer social science questions? How can we combine a deep understanding of the social world, with the latest tools and data sources to analyse it? Discover how to ask the right questions, and develop the skills to answer them. By complementing a sociological understanding of the world with programming and analytical skills, you become a social scientist that can both understand and shape the big data revolution. At Essex we investigate what connects people with each other, as well as what divides them. We consider every aspect of our daily lives, from how we relate to politicians, celebrities and friends, to how we define ourselves, our families, and others. You experience a lively, informal environment with the opportunity to explore a wide variety of topics including: - The role of software in everyday life - Programming with Python and Java - Key ethical and social issues in digital societies - Data visualisation - Theories of social stratification - Race, class and gender - Sociological research methods - Natural language engineering With research methods rapidly changing in response to the large-scale generation of data within society, sociology needs to ensure it is engaged with new digital methods to both benefit from them, and to shape them. Sociologists with programming skills are highly valued in any organisation that must gather and draw inferences from data. By combining a sociological understanding with practical programming skills you learn how to understand and be that change in society. Our BSc Sociology with Data Science is taught by our Department of Sociology in partnership with our School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering to provide an interdisciplinary course. We offer expertise in many areas that complement the study of society and technology, including criminology, social history, visual sociology, anthropology, economic sociology, US and European studies and cultural rights.
How can sociology help you understand the world in which you live? What are some of the major features and trends in present-day societies? Using sociological tools, you analyse key features of different societies, such as stratification, poverty, racism, consumption, multinational corporations, religion, and the gender division of labour in low-income countries. This module has been designed to enable students to integrate their subject knowledge with an understanding of sustainable development, acquiring the skills and competencies essential for addressing the urgent sustainability challenges of the 21st century.
What research methods do sociologists use? And what are the methodologies underpinning them? Wish to learn how to critically evaluate social research? And receive training in collecting quantitative and qualitative data? We study the principles of social science investigation and how to carry out original research.
The aim of this module is to provide an introduction to the fundamental concepts of computer programming. After completing this module, students will be expected to be able to demonstrate an understanding of the basic principles and concepts that underlie the procedural programming model, explain and make use of high-level programming language features that support control, data and procedural abstraction. Also, they will be able to analyse and explain the behaviour of simple programs that incorporate standard control structures, parameterised functions, arrays, structures and I/O.
Want to become a Java programmer? Topics covered in this module include control structures, classes, objects, inheritance, polymorphism, interfaces, file I/O, event handling, graphical components, and more. You will develop your programming skills in supervised lab sessions where help will be at hand should you require it.
This module is designed to help students develop core academic skills including understanding of study and coursework requirements in sociology and criminology; effective study habits; inquiring and reflective habit of mind; critical thinking, problem solving, competence in learning technologies and effective written communication. The work undertaken for this enabling module will equip the students to thrive during and beyond their first year of study at the University of Essex. Students will be guided to identify and analyse features of effective academic discourse, will engage in supported independent information research; encouraged through course tasks in reflective review, learn how to read critically and write with clarity and precision. They will develop an awareness of how their key academic skills can be transferred to professional contexts, thus enhancing future employability capabilities.
Want to study sociological classics? Wish to read and interpret original texts by Marx, Durkheim and Weber? Then study a selection of the contemporary writers who followed? We look at classic and modern thinkers, carrying their ideas into new contexts and inverting approaches to social understanding.
With research methods rapidly changing in response to the large-scale generation of data within society, Social Science needs to ensure it is engaged with new digital methods to both benefit from them, and to shape them. In this module students will learn to combine their growing knowledge about society, social processes and research design, with powerful tools to both draw on and analyse the vast amounts and forms of new social data in a way that is With research methods rapidly changing in response to the large-scale generation of data within society, Social Science needs to ensure it is engaged with new digital methods to both benefit from them, and to shape them. In this module students will learn to combine their growing knowledge about society, social processes and research design, with powerful tools to both draw on and analyse the vast amounts and forms of new social data in a way that is critical, ethical and valuable.
How does stratification lead to inequality in education? Is there social mobility between generations? Do early life experiences influence your later choices and decisions? Examine sociological empirical research on class, gender, and racial inequalities across the life course. Engage with the evidence to formulate your own research questions and hypotheses.
This module provides 2nd year students with the tools to put into practice what they have learned in their first year methods module(s) using computer software to analyse data, both qualitative and quantitative. With these foundational skills, students can then specialise in the spring term by choosing either qualitative (SC203) or quantitative-based (SC208) methods modules.
This module provides a broad overview of health systems in the UK and abroad, and a discussion of public health and how medical sociology informs public health. Topics covered will include, but will not be limited to: - the design and history of the UK medical system - the role of professional organizations in medicine and how doctors are socialized into their roles - how patients experience illness, health policy and health equity, medical technology and digital health - medical advocacy and activism - mental health policy and treatment - mental illness, crime and the prison system - disability - reproductive health - alcohol and drug use - the anti-vaccination movement - STIs, HIV and AIDs - global pandemics
This is a co-curricular module carrying zero credits but is compulsory. Upon the completion of the module, each Sociology student will have developed an understanding of their skills, interests, and goals and how these can be implemented to address the societal challenges of the future.
Understand how different statistical and experimental methods can be used to answer questions about political phenomena. You evaluate the assumptions of standard statistical tests and the linear regression model, consider alternatives to those, and learn about causal inference.
Many undergraduates in the Department of Sociology at Essex carry out a research project in the final year of their degree. The third-year project offers you the opportunity to focus on a topic of your choice that relates broadly to your degree course. You will find that this can be an extremely worthwhile learning experience. Carrying out a project improves your employability skills, and can be a springboard to postgraduate study. Note: you must take this module in order to qualify for an AQM (Q-Step) degree.
As humans we are adept in understanding the meaning of texts and conversations. We can also perform tasks such as summarize a set of documents to focus on key information, answer questions based on a text, and when bilingual, translate a text from one language into fluent text in another language. Natural Language Engineering (NLE) aims to create computer programs that perform language tasks with similar proficiency. This course provides a strong foundation to understand the fundamental problems in NLE and also equips students with the practical skills to build small-scale NLE systems. Students are introduced to three core ideas of NLE: a) gaining an understanding the core elements of language--- the structure and grammar of words, sentences and full documents, and how NLE problems are related to defining and learning such structures, b) identify the computational complexity that naturally exists in language tasks and the unique problems that humans easily solve but are incredibly hard for computers to do, and c) gain expertise in developing intelligent computing techniques which can overcome these challenges.
This module provides an introduction to machine learning techniques, ranging from supervised learning, unsupervised learning, and deep learning. Also included are the evaluation metrics and procedures of various learning methods. The module focuses on classification and regression learning tasks and their applications to real-world problems.
This is a co-curricular module carrying zero credits but is compulsory. Upon the completion of the module, each Sociology student will have developed an understanding of their skills, interests, and goals and how these can be implemented to address the societal challenges of the future.
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