Bachelor of Science in Social Sciences

The development of digital and social media has led to profound changes in our cultural practices. Increasingly, our lives are lived through mediated communication, which makes it even more urgent to examine the relationship between culture, media and technology.  Digital Culture and Communications is designed to address these challenges and to enable graduates to live and work in the digital present and future. Students will undertake modules which enable them to develop media production and media writing and to develop the critical and analytical skills to examine the relationship between communication, technology and culture.

Many of the managerial decisions taken in modern business organisations and financial institutions require a good understanding of the global economic environment. Studying economics will develop habits of rigorous thought and practice in clear writing.  Besides, it includes the application of quantitative tools, learning to use statistics and to read critically.  Economics students acquire the skills to explain why economic phenomena occur and how economies can improve.  The study of economics is an excellent way to acquire problem-solving skills and develop a logical, ordered way of looking at world current affairs.

Geography is central to how we understand the world we inhabit.  Its study brings together the natural and human processes that have shaped our local, island and global environments.  Contemporary issues and events inform the study of geography.  Studying geography will equip you with the necessary skills and knowledge to tackle and plan for the future needs of society.  Through lectures, tutorials, lab work and field trips, you will be equipped to identify, analyse and explain complex human and natural phenomena in a succinct and clear manner.

The history programme at UL will enable you to develop critical and analytical skills through an appreciation of primary sources, historiography and key events and changes, as well as through the study of the social, cultural and historical contexts in which change was produced. You will learn about source analysis, the processes informing history writing from the fifteenth century to the contemporary world.  You can choose electives to suit your own interests, in Irish, European, American, Australian and Middle Eastern/Mediterranean history; you can focus on political, social, cultural, urban, gendered approaches to history.

Linguistics is the study of language, and how we use language to get things done in the world.  The focus in UL is on sociolinguistics, which is concerned with the role of language in society.  Studying Linguistics with TESOLs involves becoming a language expert.  This means not just improving your language and communication skills but also learning about languages in the world.

You will start in first year with more general, introductory modules and work your way towards more specialized modules in your final semesters such as language and technology; language policy and politics; Irish English; multilingualism; language and globalization; and (media) discourse analysis.  You will also be offered the option to study Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages in a specialized suite of three modules.

The study of Politics and International Relations is all about thinking critically and understanding change.  You might be attracted to studying this course if you are interested in understanding the way the world works.  You will learn how to research, how to study and develop your analytical and reasoning skills, and how to apply these skills to the real world.  You will learn about Ireland and Europe, their place in the world, what makes a good society and about what does not, and how we might tell the difference between the two.  You will do this by learning about the general workings of Politics and International Relations and then look at Irish Politics, European Politics, Political Theory, International Relations and Political Economy, and Public Administration.

Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behaviour.  Over the past century, Psychologists have examined the fascinating variety of human thought and activity and now a degree in Psychology opens up many opportunities to use this knowledge to address important social issues and improve the quality of people’s lives.  If you are the type of person who is interested in investigating the reasons behind why people feel, think and behave the way they do, and in making a difference to people’s lives, then you will find this course engaging and stimulating.

Note: Students opting to study Psychology on the BSc. Social Sciences will not be eligible to register with the Psychological Society of Ireland immediately following their degree.  If this is desired, graduates of the BSc. Social Sciences will be required to undertake a Master of Arts in Psychology. This is a fulltime one-year conversion course. Note also that one of the requirements of admission to this MA conversion course is that Psychology is taken as a major subject on LM019, not a minor.  Note also that places on psychology are limited after year 1.

Studying Public Administration and Leadership at UL will open up the world of politics, public administration and civil society in Ireland and internationally.  You will learn to recognise that politics is not just the responsibility of those we elect but that it is of concern to individual citizens and to the organisations that they belong to.  You will learn not only to understand the world of public leadership but how to critically analyse it.  Learning about public leadership at UL is not about amassing lots of information; it is about enabling and empowering you to know what to do with that information.  UL has a long tradition of teaching and research in the area of politics, public administration and civil society and actively engages with a variety of public and community based organisations.

Sociology describes and explains social structures and processes.  The Sociology programme at UL will enable you to develop critical and analytical skills to look more objectively at our societies.  It directs attention to how the constituent parts of society fit together and change, and the consequences of that social change.  By focusing on the external forces that affect our values, attitudes and behaviours, it helps us better understand ourselves and the motivations of others around us.  In addition to core modules, you can choose Sociology electives which match your own study and research interests such as Sociology of Inequality (focusing, for example, on Gender, Stratification & Social mobility, Political Economy, Urban Sociology, Youth, Migration and Hate Crimes); Sociology of Media (focusing, for example on media, media audiences and popular culture); Sociology of Health and Illness; the Sociology of The Body and Sociology of family.