- 6th in the UK for world-leading and internationally recognised research1
- 92% for Overall Satisfaction in Sociology in the National Student Survey (2011)2
- 9th for Sociology in the UK in The Guardian University Guide 2012
- Top 10 in the UK for both Sociology and Philosophy in The Sunday Times University Guide 2012
- Internationally recognised for work in science and technology studies, philosophical anthropology and the sociology of culture
- UK research council (ESRC) funded national centre for the study of the impact of the genome on society
- Ranked top in the UK and very highly internationally for the philosophy of biology, and noted strength in philosophy of natural and social sciences
1 RAE 2008 based on the percentage of research categorised as 4* and 3*. Philosophy at Exeter is included in the unit of assessment for Sociology.
2 Percentage of students who agreed they were satisfied
With academic staff holding doctorates in Sociology, Philosophy, Anthropology, History, Biochemistry and Physics, we are one of the most diverse academic units in any UK university. This interdisciplinarity means we are able to provide research and teaching programmes that unite empirical, historical-epistemological, practical, theoretical and critical perspectives.
We excel in areas such as the study of culture, science and technology, and the changing boundaries and identities humankind faces in the 21st century. We can, for example, approach a complex and timely question such as the nature of agency, across disciplinary boundaries. Our work is both descriptively and normatively oriented and our research has been published by Cambridge, Oxford, MIT, Chicago, University of California, Harvard, Routledge, Sage and other leading publishers.
