Sociology

Overview

Develop your own research expertise by studying a sociological issue in an innovative interdisciplinary school.

Study with internationally renowned sociologists in a dynamic and supportive research environment. They are involved in funded research, research centres and groups looking at everything from digital economies and futures, food security and integration, to music festivals, migration, modern slavery and social inequalities. Our staff also have particular expertise across a range of cultural and social theory and champion diverse research methodologies.

Benefit from support and oversight from two PhD supervisors whose current active research interests and expertise are relevant to your chosen research area.

Be challenged and inspired by an international community of scholars addressing some of the most important topics that face us today. Join a diverse, innovative community, committed to rigorous conceptual and empirical research that is politically and socially relevant and problem-orientated.

Produce work that advances theory, knowledge and methods at the cutting edge of sociology and contributes to a better understanding and improvement of the social world.

Entry requirements

An upper second-class undergraduate honours degree (or equivalent) and normally a merit at MSc/MA level (or equivalent).

See international equivalent qualifications on the International Office website.

Admissions Statement

Read the programme admissions statement for important information on entry requirements, the application process and supporting documents required.

Go to admissions statement

English language requirements

If English is not your first language, you will need to reach the requirements outlined in our profile level B.

Further information about English language requirements and profile levels.

Fees and funding

Home: full-time: £5,106 per year
Home: part-time: £2,553 per year
Overseas: full-time: £21,900 per year

Fees are subject to an annual review. For programmes that last longer than one year, please budget for up to an 8% increase in fees each year.

More about tuition fees, living costs and financial support.

Alumni discount

University of Bristol students and graduates can benefit from a 25% reduction in tuition fees for postgraduate study. Check your eligibility for an alumni discount.

Funding and scholarships

Applicants may apply for an SWDTP studentship and/or a University of Bristol scholarship. Eligible applicants can also apply for a China Scholarship Council scholarship. The programme application deadline for scholarship applicants will be 1 December 2025. This deadline applies to applicants seeking a scholarship from the South-West Doctoral Training Partnership (SWDTP), University of Bristol or China Scholarship Council (CSC).

Further information on funding for prospective UK and international postgraduate students.

Career prospects

Bristol graduates are in high demand and have an excellent record of employment following graduation. Graduates of our postgraduate research programmes go on to pursue varied and interesting careers.

Past students have gone on to work for Refugee UK, Shelter, Barnardo's, Amnesty International, government departments and the European Parliament, among others.

Meet our supervisors

The following list shows potential supervisors for this programme. Visit their profiles for details of their research and expertise.

Research groups

Our research activity in the school is guided by focusing on key themes:

climate emergency
critical (in)securities
cultural work
decoloniality and race
ethnicity, migration and citizenship
European politics and societies
digital society
science and technology
food security
gender and sexuality
peace, conflict and violence
political and social inequalities
social, cultural and political theory
South and East Asia.

All researchers across the school identify with one or more of the themes. This enables collective identification over themes within the school and aims to generate further collaboration and interdisciplinarity in our research activities. In addition, the themes provide a basis for internal and external recognition of the main questions and topics that our research addresses.