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Is Sociology a respected ALevel?

I am thinking of taking A Level English Literature, Sociology and Law but am hoping to go to a good university (hopefully a Russell group one) and I have heard Sociology isn't a very respected subject to take.

If not, I am considering Philosophy or Politics instead. Would you say these are better options? I have no clue on what I want to do when I'm older so I am trying to pick well-rounded subjects.

Thank you :smile:
(edited 6 years ago)
Reply 1
Fake science- Sociology

A pseudoscience.

Take Philosophy instead.
Philosophy will probably been seen as more respected than sociology however this doesn't mean you shouldn't take it.

Courses that, for example, ask for two specific A Levels usually don't care what the third subject is as long as you get the grades in it (and it's not general studies or critical thinking). If you'd enjoy sociology more then by all means take it!

I did RS at AS Level and it had a big philosophy section in it. It was very interesting but was a lot of work so bear that in mind if you do decide to take it.

Hope I've helped and if you have anymore questions just ask!
Sociology won't stop you getting into a good Russell group uni. If you'd rather choose that over Philosophy or Politics, go for it. It's not really any less respected in the grand scheme of things, nor would it affect your application much :smile:
(edited 6 years ago)
I take Sociology alongside Psychology and English lit and I really, really love it. It's such an interesting subject and you get to learn so much about the world that you never knew! I think it's defiantly worth while. Law and Sociology also link very nicely. I dont think it'll hold back at all, because think- if you get an amazing grade in it then they won't care what subject it is! I really enjoy, and if your gut is telling you to take it- take it. I think you'll like it and as long as you get a good grade in it, universities won't care what subject it is x
Law and Sociology tie really well together but I would consider taking Philosophy because it is really interesting. :smile:
Reply 6
Original post by JessicaHull13
I am thinking of taking A Level English Literature, Sociology and Law but am hoping to go to a good university (hopefully a Russell group one) and I have heard Sociology isn't a very respected subject to take.

If not, I am considering Philosophy or Politics instead. Would you say these are better options? I have no clue on what I want to do when I'm older so I am trying to pick well-rounded subjects.

Thank you :smile:


I am late to the party, but I just thought I should add my two cents on this as a past AS Sociology student. :flute:

Sociology does not seem to be extremely respected (it is definitely not as respected as History, for example), but it is a very useful A-level.

Do not worry about that! :hugs: I did Government and Politics, Psychology, English Literature, and Sociology at AS and I got an offer from Exeter for one of their most competitive courses (Flexible Combined Honours; my choices were International Relations and Strategy and International Security with Japanese). Subject choice does not really matter unless you apply to Oxbridge or to a university which has a list of 'desirable/unacceptable' A-levels (e. g. some departments from Leeds have a list of subjects which they expect applicants to have no more than one of; and even according to that list, your A-level choices are fine).

My flatmate also got an offer from Exeter for Radiography with A-level Mathematics, Chemistry, and Sociology, so if Sociology was fine for a STEM degree, it has to be fine for a humanities or social sciences one! :lol:

On the argument that sociology is useful: both the person mentioned above and I found sociology to be extremely useful to us at degree level. Most of my degree (International Relations) so far has been just political sociology while said flatmate ended up studying Biomedical Science and getting a First on an essay which was half sociology and half biology and chemistry. I even used sociology in an interview!

Philosophy is indeed more respected on average, but taking Sociology is not a sure-fire way not to receive an offer. :laugh:

Simply take the subjects you are most interested in and in which you think you will do best. :h:

Good luck! :cube:
(edited 6 years ago)
Reply 7
Sociology is an amazing subject and don’t worry about not getting into a Russel group uni with it. I do sociology and I have had offers from five Russell group unis so it doesn’t matter what you do it’s just the grades
Hello

I have just graduated with a masters degree in sociology from a Russel Group University, and also work for a Russel Group University, delivering medical education. I did not take sociology at A-level or undergraduate so I cannot comment on the curriculum at those levels per say, but I feel I am able to put up a good defence for sociology in general.

Firstly, its very interesting. Sociology gives you skills that are of practical use. You will be better informed about human behaviour, you certainly will distrust government statistics, you will learn about inter-continental disputes that are often kept well away from the media. You will learn how to be objective towards people, and logical - but the best thing is it will nurture your curiosity of fellow humans, and your compassion.

Sociology also is not easy, it is also not a pseudo-science. The whole point of sociology is to find the best way to measure human behaviour, and other non-physical phenomena in the most objective way possible.
Because humans are reflexive and unpredictable, sociological frameworks have to be flexible to some degree, and sometimes there is no framework for analysis that can fit the inquiry exactly, because human behaviour by nature is not designed to be measured in such a way. For example, 5 people can witness the same incident, but understand its meaning in 5 different ways. That is why some people say its a fake science, our target is constantly changing, evolving and moving. Hard science does not have this problem as the laws of physics will always be the laws of physics. One paradigm may come along every now and again to shake things up a bit, but more or less scientists will subscribe to the same paradigm or risk invalidity.

Humans to do not stay the same, because of this they are a much harder phenomena to investigate.

So, no sociology is a respectable subject to take to those people who know what it is and what it entails. I am not bashing hard science, it is a field that requires high levels of intellect, dedication and skill - it is just that most people take GSCE sociology and think that its just writing down what you think about people and places. No its the measure of incident, cause, experiment, and scientific data collection and reflection.

And by God, please do not take philosophy as a subject because you don't know what else to do. Admissions can see a mile off if you have taken subject because you didn't know what else to do, its also poorly taught below undergrad level mostly.I love philosophy but didn't take it because Philosophy students are a dime a dozen.

Same with psychology. I wouldn't waste time with it unless you want to be a psychologist - it is a very specialised subject, the workforce would prefer to see sociology under your subjects than psychology because sociology is more versatile - you can apply to pretty much anything with it.
chemistry is pretty interesting.
I did both Philosophy and Sociology and I am at a Russell Group uni, so Sociology is not a problem as long as you take any subjects you need to get into uni as well. I enjoyed Philosophy more and did not enjoy Sociology personally, but you may be different so choose what you would enjoy the most! Don't worry about how well respected a subject is is.
Original post by JessicaHull13
I am thinking of taking A Level English Literature, Sociology and Law but am hoping to go to a good university (hopefully a Russell group one) and I have heard Sociology isn't a very respected subject to take.

If not, I am considering Philosophy or Politics instead. Would you say these are better options? I have no clue on what I want to do when I'm older so I am trying to pick well-rounded subjects.

Thank you :smile:


I was going to do sociology but my tutor and sisters and brothers said to do things that'd keep my job prospects open even if i knew what i wanted to do...respected a-levels i think are: english, maths, sciences, languages, history and geography. but i think its better to do things you want to do and you know you'll be good at.
Sociology is not a soft science. It is respected by universities - including Russell group uni’s and is a really valuable A level to have. The only people who make these assumptions are clearly unaware of the relevance sociology has and usually do not take the subject!
Haha, ironic that you clearly don’t know what the sociology course entails nor what sociology is. It clearly argues, analyses, discusses and evaluates what a pseudoscience actually is and debates which part of sociology could be seen as scientific through falsification (Popper).
(edited 4 years ago)
I enjoyed sociology and it was my favourite A-level for both two years, even though throughout the whole of my last year in sociology I had no teachers because my school is pretty much useless. I learnt year 2 content all by myself and I still enjoyed it. You should only take it if it interests you or you're looking for a career in the business department like I am (I plan to do marketing and management/or advertising). You really have to be passionate about it and objective. You cannot be subjective in sociology because you're listening to all sorts of different perspectives such as the ridiculous ideas of the radical feminists and the very controversial views of the new right. A lot of people I see taking it in other schools tend to be subjective when it comes to sociology due to the push of liberalism. This makes it a really political subject and it's worth it if you can debate different perspectives, just don't be subjective
Original post by Lydia0116
Hello

I have just graduated with a masters degree in sociology from a Russel Group University, and also work for a Russel Group University, delivering medical education. I did not take sociology at A-level or undergraduate so I cannot comment on the curriculum at those levels per say, but I feel I am able to put up a good defence for sociology in general.

Firstly, its very interesting. Sociology gives you skills that are of practical use. You will be better informed about human behaviour, you certainly will distrust government statistics, you will learn about inter-continental disputes that are often kept well away from the media. You will learn how to be objective towards people, and logical - but the best thing is it will nurture your curiosity of fellow humans, and your compassion.

Sociology also is not easy, it is also not a pseudo-science. The whole point of sociology is to find the best way to measure human behaviour, and other non-physical phenomena in the most objective way possible.
Because humans are reflexive and unpredictable, sociological frameworks have to be flexible to some degree, and sometimes there is no framework for analysis that can fit the inquiry exactly, because human behaviour by nature is not designed to be measured in such a way. For example, 5 people can witness the same incident, but understand its meaning in 5 different ways. That is why some people say its a fake science, our target is constantly changing, evolving and moving. Hard science does not have this problem as the laws of physics will always be the laws of physics. One paradigm may come along every now and again to shake things up a bit, but more or less scientists will subscribe to the same paradigm or risk invalidity.

Humans to do not stay the same, because of this they are a much harder phenomena to investigate.

So, no sociology is a respectable subject to take to those people who know what it is and what it entails. I am not bashing hard science, it is a field that requires high levels of intellect, dedication and skill - it is just that most people take GSCE sociology and think that its just writing down what you think about people and places. No its the measure of incident, cause, experiment, and scientific data collection and reflection.

And by God, please do not take philosophy as a subject because you don't know what else to do. Admissions can see a mile off if you have taken subject because you didn't know what else to do, its also poorly taught below undergrad level mostly.I love philosophy but didn't take it because Philosophy students are a dime a dozen.

Same with psychology. I wouldn't waste time with it unless you want to be a psychologist - it is a very specialised subject, the workforce would prefer to see sociology under your subjects than psychology because sociology is more versatile - you can apply to pretty much anything with it.


I’m thinking about doing it in uni can you explain more like Whats it like is it hard anything really I currently do it in a level
Reply 16
Original post by JessicaHull13
I am thinking of taking A Level English Literature, Sociology and Law but am hoping to go to a good university (hopefully a Russell group one) and I have heard Sociology isn't a very respected subject to take.

If not, I am considering Philosophy or Politics instead. Would you say these are better options? I have no clue on what I want to do when I'm older so I am trying to pick well-rounded subjects.

Thank you :smile:

I went to a college open day and the college teachers said that universities don't like the law A level because the course does not correspond to uni law.
Reply 17
Do sociology as it would make you understand how people behave and socialize.

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