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Study information

Programme Specification for the 2024/5 academic year

BA (Hons) Philosophy and Sociology with Employment Experience

1. Programme Details

Programme nameBA (Hons) Philosophy and Sociology with Employment Experience Programme codeUFA4HPSHPS93
Study mode(s)Full Time
Part Time
Academic year2024/5
Campus(es)Streatham (Exeter)
NQF Level of the Final Award6 (Honours)

2. Description of the Programme

The Philosophy and Sociology with Employment Experience programme at Exeter allows you to develop into graduates that are useful, productive and questioning members of society. You will become grounded in the main themes of Philosophy through a combination of modules which will encourage you to develop a deep understanding of some pervasive and problematic features of the world and of ourselves. You will also become grounded in the main themes of Sociology through a combination of modules which will enable you to develop a deep understanding of how societies, institutions and practices of all kinds came into being, how they are currently organised, and how they might change in the future.

This degree programme will enable you to become competent in the specific skills required in Sociology and in Philosophy, and in core academic and personal and key skills. You will be offered a wide range of choice within the programme of study, insofar as this choice is consistent with the coherence and intellectual rigour of the degree.

This programme is studied over four years. The first two years and the final year are university-based, and the third year is spent gaining employment experience at a suitable location in the UK.

This Employment Experience variant of the programme is a great way to incorporate graduate-level work placement or placements undertaken in the United Kingdom directly into your programme of study, to reflect critically upon these experiences, and for them to count towards the assessment of your degree. There is no better way to gain valuable employment experience that can be rewarded and recognised clearly by future employers. With preparation, support and approval from the Faculty, you can also demonstrate adaptability and resourcefulness by organising suitable placements in areas of employment related to your interests and potential future career.

3. Educational Aims of the Programme

  • To produce graduates from the programme that are useful, productive and questioning members of society.
  • To produce graduates who are grounded in the main themes of Philosophy through a combination of modules which develop a deep understanding of some pervasive and problematic features of the world and of ourselves.
  • To produce graduates who are grounded in the main themes of Sociology through a combination of modules which develop a deep understanding of how societies, institutions and practices of all kinds came into being, how they are currently organised, and how they might change in the future.
  • To develop students competence in the specific skills required in Sociology and in Philosophy, and in core academic and personal and key skills.
  • To offer a wide range of choice within the programme of study, insofar as this choice is consistent with the coherence and intellectual rigour of the degree.
  • To offer students the opportunity to develop their skills and capabilities (including linguistic skills, where appropriate) through employment experience within the UK.

4. Programme Structure

The BA (Hons) Philosophy with Employment Experience is a 4-year full-time programme of study at Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) level (6) (as confirmed against the FHEQ). This programme is divided into 4 stages. Each stage is normally equivalent to an academic year.

5. Programme Modules

The following tables describe the programme and constituent modules. Constituent modules may be updated, deleted or replaced as a consequence of the annual programme review of this programme.

The following tables describe the programme and constituent modules. Constituent modules may be updated, deleted or replaced as a consequence of the annual review of this programme. Details of the modules currently offered may be obtained from the Faculty website:

Philosophy modules https://www.exeter.ac.uk/study/studyinformation/modules/?prog=philosophy
Sociology modules https://www.exeter.ac.uk/study/studyinformation/modules/?prog=sociology

The Philosophy and Sociology degree programme is made up of compulsory (core) and optional modules, which are worth 15 or 30 credits each. Full-time undergraduate students need to complete modules worth a total of 120 credits each year.

Depending on your programme you can take up to 30 credits each year in another subject, for instance a language or business module, to develop career-related skills or just widen your intellectual horizons.

The third year is spent on a work placement within the UK.

Please note that modules offered are subject to change, depending on staff availability, timetabling, and demand.

Stage 1


105 credits of compulsory modules, 15 credits of optional modules

Sociology - You must take the 60 credits of core stage 1 modules

Philosophy - You must take 3 of the 5 core stage 1 PHL1xxx modules listed below

Compulsory Modules

CodeModule Credits Non-condonable?
SOC1000 Contemporary Society: Themes, Perspectives and Case Studies 30No
SOC1001 Social Analysis 30No
PHL1002A Knowledge and Reality 1 15No
PHL1002B Knowledge and Reality 2 15No
PHL1005A Evidence and Argument 1 15No
PHL1006 Introduction to Philosophical Analysis 15No
PHL1013 Philosophy of Morality 15No
HAS1905 Employment Experience HASS 0No

Optional Modules

Philosophy - Choose one 15 credit PHL1xxx option module

View option modules here - https://www.exeter.ac.uk/study/studyinformation/modules/?prog=philosophy

Stage 2


60 credits of compulsory modules, 60 credits of optional modules

In the second year you will advance your grasp of philosophical and sociological knowledge and methods through a set of compulsory modules. Optional modules enable you to develop specialist knowledge on a range of topics.

Philosophy - You must choose 30 credits of core modules (PHL2xxx) from the list below

Sociology - You must choose at least 30 credits of core modules (SOC2xxx / SPA2xxx) from the list below

Compulsory Modules

CodeModule Credits Non-condonable?
PHL2010A Philosophy of Mind 1 15No
PHL2043 Philosophical Research 15No
PHL2015 Body and Mind 15No
PHL2016 Metaphysics 15No
PHL2018 Philosophy of Language 15No
PHL2118 Moral agency in social context 15No
SOC2005 Theoretical Sociology 30No
SPA2000 Knowing the Social World 30No
HAS2905 Employment Experience HASS 0No

Optional Modules

Philosophy
Choose 30 credits PHL2xxx option modules
Philosophy modules https://www.exeter.ac.uk/study/studyinformation/modules/?prog=philosophy

Sociology
Choose up to 30 credits of SOC2xxx option modules.
Sociology modules https://www.exeter.ac.uk/study/studyinformation/modules/?prog=sociology  

Stage 3


120 credit compulsory placement module

Compulsory Modules

CodeModule Credits Non-condonable?
SSI3020 Employment Experience (UK and Abroad) 120Yes

Stage 4


30 credit compulsory Dissertation, 90 credits of optional modules

The centre-point of the final year is the dissertation. This provides you with the opportunity to explore an area of interest and to demonstrate what you have learned over the previous years of your degree. You will also take up to three other specialist modules to create a programme of work fully reflecting your interests.

Philosophy or Sociology Dissertation - Students must choose one of the two dissertation modules

Compulsory Modules

CodeModule Credits Non-condonable?
POL3040 Dissertation 30No
SOC3040 Dissertation 30No

Optional Modules

If you choose a Philosophy dissertation, you choose a further 30 credits of Philosophy PHL3xxx option modules, and 60 credits of Sociology option modules.

If you choose a Sociology dissertation, you choose a further 30 credits of Sociology SOC3xxx option modules, and 60 credits of Philosophy option modules.

Philosophy modules https://www.exeter.ac.uk/study/studyinformation/modules/?prog=philosophy

Sociology modules https://www.exeter.ac.uk/study/studyinformation/modules/?prog=sociology


6. Programme Outcomes Linked to Teaching, Learning and Assessment Methods

Intended Learning Outcomes
A: Specialised Subject Skills and Knowledge

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
On successfully completing this programme you will be able to:
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) will be...
...accommodated and facilitated by the following learning and teaching activities (in/out of class):...and evidenced by the following assessment methods:

1. Show familiarity with philosophical ideas about the nature of society and the social sciences
2. Reflect upon the conditions of human social life.
3. Show familiarity with the history of modern Philosophy
4. Demonstrate familiarity with basic concepts in epistemology, metaphysics, philosophies of mind and nature
5. Analyse concepts in ethics
6. Analyse and criticise substantial works by important historical and contemporary moral and political philosophers
7. Engage in logical and conceptual analysis and reasoning about abstract matters
8. Demonstrate understanding (at increasing depth, according to level) of issues (increasingly complex, according to level) arising from the subject matter of the elective modules taken.
9. Demonstrate an analytical understanding of Sociology, taking into account different sociological perspectives, modes of social analysis and their concomitant theoretical and conceptual frameworks.
10. Show awareness of the social, political, historical, and economic origins of Sociology.
11. Show knowledge of a variety of methods of social investigation, including ethnographic and survey methods, questionnaire and interview design.
12. Ability to conceptualise social, psychological and personal issues in a specifically sociological manner.
13. Demonstrate knowledge of the social organisation, economy and cosmology of a range of societies.
14. Show knowledge of some of the main challenges in obtaining and conveying information about a range of societies.
15. Demonstrate understanding (at increasing depth, according to level) of issues (increasingly complex, according to level) arising from the subject matter of the elective modules taken.

In explicit terms, 1 and 2 are developed through lectures, seminars and essay work in PHL1002A and PHL1002B,; 3 and 4 through similar methods and strategies in PHL1006A, PHL1005a, PHL201a, PHL2016, PHL2015, and PHL2018; 5 and 6 through similar methods in PHL1013 and PHL2118; and 7 through similar methods on PHL2010A, PHL2010B, and PHL2018.

However, depending on the student’s chosen portfolio of modules, they will be developed, with increasing intensity as s/he progresses through the Stages, on the elective modules as well. 8 is developed through the optional modules taken. The level of competence expected of students intensifies at each stage of the programme.

9. Is developed on all Sociology modules, and is a core aim of the whole programme. 10-12. are developed initially through lectures, seminars and essay work for SOC1048, SOC1049, ANT1004, ANT1005 SOC1019, SOC1020, SOC1003, SOC1008, and are developed on subsequent modules. 13-14 is developed through similar methods on ANT1004 and ANT1005, and further developed on subsequent modules. 15. Is developed through the optional modules taken. The level of competence expected of students intensifies at each stage of the programme.

The assessment of these skills is through a combination of the following:

Term-time essays 1-15

Oral presentations 1-15

Examinations (and, where applicable, Research Methods Project , Dissertation work). 1-15

The criteria of assessment pay full recognition to the importance of the various skills outlined.

Intended Learning Outcomes
B: Academic Discipline Core Skills and Knowledge

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
On successfully completing this programme you will be able to:
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) will be...
...accommodated and facilitated by the following learning and teaching activities (in/out of class):...and evidenced by the following assessment methods:

16. Draw thematic comparisons between material from different sources
17. Show awareness of contrasting approaches to research
18. Understand and demonstrate the different uses of qualitative and quantitative data, and evaluate their relative advantages and disadvantages
19. Show awareness of the basic philosophical questions arising from academic research.
20. Think and write broadly about large themes
21. Develop and deploy argument, grounded in theoretical frameworks and empirical evidence
22. Identify problems of reliability and bias in, and more generally evaluate, empirical evidence
23. Collate data from a range of sources
24. Produce accurate reference to sources in written work.
25. Answer questions concisely and persuasively in written work
26. Present work and answer questions orally
27. Deploy complex terminology in a comprehensible manner
28. Focus on and comprehend complex texts

These skills are developed throughout the degree programme, but the emphasis becomes more complex as students move from stage to stage. They are developed through lectures and seminars, written work, and oral work (both presentation and class discussion).

These skills are assessed through the following:

Term-time essays 16-28

Assessed presentations 16-28

Dissertation 16-28

Examinations 16-28

Intended Learning Outcomes
C: Personal/Transferable/Employment Skills and Knowledge

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
On successfully completing this programme you will be able to:
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) will be...
...accommodated and facilitated by the following learning and teaching activities (in/out of class):...and evidenced by the following assessment methods:

29. Undertake independent study and ability to work to deadlines
30. Use library and the world-wide web to find appropriate and relevant information
31. Digest, select and organise material for written work and oral presentations, and write to varying word lengths
32. Evaluate own work
33. Participate in oral discussions; present and evaluate complex arguments and ideas orally; digest, select and organise material for oral presentations
34. Formulate and express ideas at different levels of abstraction
35. Work with others as part of a team on challenging material
36. Interact effectively with peers and staff
37. Undertake group work, including the presentation and discussion of material in groups.
38. Plan the execution of demanding work over a very long time scale.

29 is an essential part of the successful completion of the programme.

30 is developed through the requirement that all written work be word-processed, and through the requirement on students to use the WWW to access texts and other teaching materials.

31 is developed through essay and presentation work throughout the programme.

32 is encouraged and developed throughout, and is aided by the student Self-Appraisal system which takes place in the inter-semester week of Spring Term.

33 is developed through seminars, which form part of all modules.

34 is developed throughout the Philosophy side of the programme.

The skills in 35, 36 and 37 are developed to some extent in all modules, through interaction in seminars and in discussion with tutors about essay work, and in response to criticism both collective and individual.

38 is developed through the Dissertation at stage 3, which has a single end of year deadline.

The skills in 29, 30 and 31 are assessed in all modules.

31 is covered by the fact that students write essays, which are formatively and summatively assessed, of differing lengths and in the Dissertation.

32 Is assessed implicitly throughout and is aided by the student Self-Appraisal exercise conducted in the inter-semester week in Spring Term.

33 is a continuous part of formative assessment.

34 Forms a basic tenet of examination throughout the Philosophy side of the programme.

35, 36, and 37 are developed to some extent in all modules, through interaction in seminars and in discussion with tutors about essay work, and in response to criticism both collective and individual.

38 is covered by the Dissertation (in either subject).

7. Programme Regulations

Classification

Full details of assessment regulations for all taught programmes can be found in the TQA Manual, specifically in the Credit and Qualifications Framework, and the Assessment, Progression and Awarding: Taught Programmes Handbook. Additional information, including Generic Marking Criteria, can be found in the Learning and Teaching Support Handbook.

8. College Support for Students and Students' Learning

Personal and Academic tutoring: It is University policy that all Faculties should have in place a system of academic and personal tutors. The role of academic tutors is to support you on individual modules; the role of personal tutors is to provide you with advice and support for the duration of the programme and extends to providing you with details of how to obtain support and guidance on personal difficulties such as accommodation, financial difficulties and sickness. You can also make an appointment to see individual teaching staff.

Library, ELE and other resources provided to support this programme:

The Library offers you core services for learning and research. Whilst the various locations house a large collection of materials and services, many of our resources are available online for you to use at home, work or wherever you are located for your study. Each discipline has a subject librarian on hand to help you to find resources and we also work with tutors to digitize reading lists for inclusion in the Exeter Learning Environment (ELE).

Exeter Learning Environment (ELE) is used throughout the University to make course materials available online. You will be able to access module information, presentations, handouts, reading materials as well as interacting with other students and your tutors. Many tutors use ELE to run assessments and set coursework assignments. In addition to the materials provided by your tutors, there are various other resources available on ELE to help you in your studies, for example, you will be able to access your ePDP, the University’s online PDP system, which has been developed to help you keep an ongoing record of your academic, work and extra-curricular experiences, and help you develop action plans and personal statements.

Student/Staff Liaison Committee enables students & staff to jointly participate in the management and review of the teaching and learning provision.

9. University Support for Students and Students' Learning

Please refer to the University Academic Policy and Standards guidelines regarding support for students and students' learning.

10. Admissions Criteria

Undergraduate applicants must satisfy the Undergraduate Admissions Policy of the University of Exeter.

Postgraduate applicants must satisfy the Postgraduate Admissions Policy of the University of Exeter.

Specific requirements required to enrol on this programme are available at the respective Undergraduate or Postgraduate Study Site webpages.

11. Regulation of Assessment and Academic Standards

Each academic programme in the University is subject to an agreed College assessment and marking strategy, underpinned by institution-wide assessment procedures.

The security of assessment and academic standards is further supported through the appointment of External Examiners for each programme. External Examiners have access to draft papers, course work and examination scripts. They are required to attend the Board of Examiners and to provide an annual report. Annual External Examiner reports are monitored at both College and University level. Their responsibilities are described in the University's code of practice. See the University's TQA Manual for details.

(Quality Review Framework.

14. Awarding Institution

University of Exeter

15. Lead College / Teaching Institution

Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS)

16. Partner College / Institution

Partner College(s)

Not applicable to this programme

Partner Institution

Not applicable to this programme.

17. Programme Accredited / Validated by

Not applicable to this programme.

18. Final Award

BA (Hons) Philosophy and Sociology with Employment Experience

19. UCAS Code

Not applicable to this programme.

20. NQF Level of Final Award

6 (Honours)

21. Credit

CATS credits

480

ECTS credits

240

22. QAA Subject Benchmarking Group

Level 1
Level 1

23. Dates

Origin Date

09/10/2024

Date of last revision

09/10/2024