We are committed to recruiting outstanding students from diverse social, cultural and economic backgrounds, nationally and internationally, and to providing an outstanding education in a friendly and inclusive and international environment, preparing students for a diverse range of careers in the global economy.
Professor Judith Squires
Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences and Law
The Faculty comprises five Schools:
The School of Geographical Sciences spans both the Faculty of Social Sciences and Law and the Faculty of Science.
| Staff: |
| We have a dedicated team of Faculty Officers and support staff, who are responsible to delivering the University’s education and research strategy. We welcome student representatives on all relevant school and faculty committees. |
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Students: |
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This is one of the largest faculties in the University, and has a distinctive profile, with 25% of the registered students within the University, including 19% of the undergraduates, 43% of the University’s international students, 52% of the University’s taught postgraduates and 26% of its research postgraduates. We welcome talented students from all backgrounds. A total of 2,547 undergraduate students were registered in the Faculty in 2010/11. Of the 2010/11 new intake, 542 were home students (71%) and 220 were overseas (29 %). The Faculty registered 1,629 postgraduate taught students in 2010/11, of which 809 (49.5%) were home students and 819 overseas (50.5%). In 2010 the Faculty also registered 265 new postgraduate research students, of which 168 were home (63%) and 97 overseas (37%). ). |
| Programmes: |
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We offer c.40 single/joint honours undergraduate degree programmes and c.70 taught postgraduate programmes – with a high percentage linked to professional and research informed practice. These include taught Masters, M-level CPD courses, PhD and taught doctoral programmes and three or four year undergraduate BSc and LLB programmes. |
Teaching Performance: |
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We aim to provide high-quality teaching in a vibrant and inclusive learning environment. The National Student Survey revealed that in 2010-11 86% of undergraduate students were satisfied or very satisfied with their programmes. By discipline, overall satisfaction rates in 2010-11 were as follows: Economics 86%, Finance 94%, Accountancy, 94%, Law 85%, Politics 84%, Sociology 85%, Social Policy, 88%, Social Work 74%. The Graduate School of Education was awarded ‘Outstanding Provider Status’ following an Ofsted Secondary Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Inspection in February 2011. |
| Doctoral Training: |
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From October 2011 the ESRC-accredited South West Doctoral Training Centre will support over 17000 social science students, including more than 5000 Masters and 1600 doctoral students. Led by the University of Bristol, the SWDTC draws together the established research excellence of more than 770 academic and research staff at the Universities of Bristol, Exeter and Bath. The DTC receives 41 ESRC-funded studentships annually and provides new interdisciplinary pathways in: Environment, Energy and Resilience, Global Political Economy, Security, Conflict and Justice, Health and Wellbeing and Advanced Quantitative Methods. It also offers ESRC studentships in the following disciplinary areas: Economics, Education, Politics and International Studies, Human Geography, Psychology, Social Policy, Social Work, Socio-Legal Studies, Sociology. |
Research Performance: |
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Bristol University is an international leader in social sciences and legal research. Social science subject areas performed very strongly in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise. Exceptional performers included Geography (equal first with Cambridge in the Times Higher ranking), Sports-related Studies (3rd in the Times Higher), Accounting and Finance (4th in the Times Higher), Education (5th in the Times Higher), Economics (6th in the Times Higher) and Social Work and Social Policy (14th in the Times Higher). 56% of all research submitted by the Faculty of Social Sciences and Law was assessed as being of 4* (world-leading) or 3*, ‘internationally excellent’ quality and 87.5% was considered to be of international standard. 90% of eligible members of Faculty staff were submitted for the Exercise. We are a top Faculty performing very well against recognised research benchmarks. The Evidence UK Higher Education Research Yearbook, produced annually (Thomson Reuters), gives useful benchmark information on the Faculty's research performance in comparison with the eighteen other Russell Group institutions. The 2010 Yearbook shows that nationally Social Sciences at Bristol ranks: fifth in terms of research council funded studentships, sixth in terms of charity income, eighth in terms of research council income, eighth in terms of graduating PhD students, tenth for our research active staff. |
Research Institutes: |
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The Faculty supports a number of interdisciplinary, cross-School research centres, which are housed with the Bristol Institute for Public Affairs (BIPA). BIPA has a portfolio of flagship and high impact research working across and between the disciplines that answers important societal questions. Within these diverse interdisciplinary research centres, academics are also acting as key advisors to national and international institutions to address the grand challenges of today’s rapidly changing world. The Faculty is also playing a leading role in university-wide interdisciplinary initiatives such as the newly established Cabot Institute, which brings together world-class expertise, in truly multidisciplinary research programmes to tackle the challenges of uncertain environmental change |
| Precinct: |
| The Faculty is committed to providing excellent physical and infrastructure resources for both students and staff, on the main University precinct. It has three main libraries, the Arts and Social Sciences Library, the Wills Library and the Education Library, all with PC access. In addition to the books available in these libraries, there is an extensive collection of online journals which can be accessed via the main Library website. Dedicated computing facilities for students are provided in the Priory Road complex, which also houses the Faculty’s flagship café, which is fully wireless-enabled and which hosts events of interest to students throughout the academic year. All Schools have excellent wireless coverage and we are currently finalising plans to make all our external spaces wireless enabled. |
Careers Support: |
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The Faculty is committed to ensuring that students are offered high-quality employability and skills development. We aim to work with employers and the Careers Service to enable students to make and implement informed choices about their future and realise their aspirations. Destinations of our recent graduates and taught postgraduates are as follows:
The University of Bristol Careers Service also a dedicated careers adviser with responsibility for postgraduate students, and workshops are organised specifically for research students throughout the year. |
Publishing House: |
| The Faculty also hosts the Policy Press, well-known as a leading international publisher of high quality books and journals across a wide range of subjects including: social policy and social welfare, childhood studies and family policy, ageing, social work and social care, public policy, criminology and criminal justice, health, housing and urban policy. Established in 1996, the aim of The Policy Press is to publish research-based work of the highest quality; produce intellectually demanding, research-informed teaching products; produce work that is socially relevant. Policy Press has over 500 titles in its list and publishes around 70 new titles each year as well as some of the key journals in the field. |
