This Master of Science focuses on one of the most significant issues in the contemporary world: social inequalities. Through a range of research-led courses, this MSc explores their roots, their cultural, religious and political manifestations. The MSc also enables students to develop theoretical abilities, methodological skills, and critical thinking about social inequalities and the ways in which they can be challenged. As such it offers a uniquely broad skill set.
Inequalities contribute to fundamentalisms and populist movements, and drive civil wars and conflicts. But inequalities also generate new forms of political activism, generating demands for gender and racial equality, LGBTQ+ rights, and prompts calls for governments to deal with increasing levels of socioeconomic inequality.
The programme draws on the expertise of award-winning staff whose research addresses inequalities through a wide range of themes and regions of the world. Within this vibrant intellectual environment, you will develop practical and intellectual capacities for understanding inequality, power and agency, relevant to a wider range of professional contexts.
Closing date for applications: Thursday 31st July at 4pm.
Over 88% of research submitted by the School’s social scientists to the Social Policy and Social Work Unit of Assessment (UoA) was judged to be World Leading or Internationally Excellent (REF 2022).
Sociology and Global Inequality highlights
Internationally Renowned Experts
Courses are based on the research expertise of award-winning staff whose research addresses inequalities through a broad range of approaches and different regions of the world.
Over 88% of research submitted by colleagues from Criminology, Social Policy, Sociology and Social Work to the Social Policy and Social Work Unit of Assessment was similarly judged to be World Leading or Internationally Excellent. An endorsement of the quality of our research and its impacts in areas such as the penal system, mental health and trauma; work once again achieved through work undertaken in partnership with the health, social care and criminal justice sectors.
Student Experience
Sociology came 18th overall in the UK for 2023, and is 5th in the Russell Group overall for student satisfaction in the Complete University Guide. Single Hons Sociology had a 100% student satisfaction score in NSS 2021.
Industry Links
As part of their dissertation, students have the possibility to partner with the Science Shop and develop a research project in collaboration with a community and voluntary sector organisation. http://www.qub.ac.uk/sites/ScienceShop/
Student Experience
- Transferable skills: opportunity to become familiar with and receive training in commonly used software, e.g., SPSS and NVivo. Students will also learn to conduct research, data analysis and write up research through a dissertation project.
- A wide range of optional modules giving students freedom of choice regarding the subject of study and themes.
- Students can avail of additional training courses and opportunities for networking offered by Queen’s Graduate School.
- Flexibility: the programme is usually delivered in evenings and full day/half day sessions, including weekends. The programme can be taken full-time or part-time (2-3 years options are available).
- Choice: students can exit with a Postgraduate Certificate or Postgraduate Diploma, on successful completion of 60 or 120 CATS respectively.
- Support: all students have a dedicated supervisor, who will accompany them towards the completion of their dissertation through one-to-one meetings and feedback on their work. Support is also provided by the programme director, the Social Science sub-Librarian, and any other academic having specific research expertise is available to assist students during their project. https://www.qub.ac.uk/graduate-school/
Further Study Opportunities
As a Master of Sciences, The MSc Sociology and Global Inequality provides advanced sociological training that is both valuable in its own right and may serve as a steppingstone to Doctoral research.
The School is located across a suite of three buildings in Belfast's Queen's Quarter. We provide student and staff common rooms, computer suites and designated study spaces. There is a dedicated student common room which students can use freely between 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday. The common room has seating, kitchen facilities and computer access with printing.
Access to a wide range of software packages; training in commonly used software for qualitative and quantitative analysis such as SPSS and NVivo.
Excellent facilities and services provided by the McClay library - with 2,200 reader spaces and housing 1.2 million volumes.
Through a supportive and dynamic intellectual environment, the academic team delivering the MSc Sociology and Global Inequality strives to empower students to develop research and project management skills, preparing them for a range of careers in a broad range of sectors:
Government, public administration and public policy, for instance, as policy advisers, analysts, and coordinators, or in the field of equality and diversity;
NGOs and international development, social enterprises, voluntary and community work, human rights advocacy, and campaign work;
In the private sector, for instance, in advertising and market research;
Professions requiring an understanding of complex social trends and research skills – journalism, think tanks, politics.
The MSc also offers outstanding opportunities to pursue a career in social research or undertake research at PhD level; as such it gives access to careers in education, higher education and academic research.
The programme also provides the necessary skills to access the Social Science PGCE course.
Student Experience
A Master of Science for a broad skill set: this is a science-based degree, which does not focus solely on measuring inequalities but, through a range of research themes, this MSc explores their roots and their cultural, religious and political manifestations. The MSc also enables students to develop theoretical abilities, methodological skills, and critical thinking about social inequalities and the ways in which they can be challenged.
The modules are research-led and reflect our diverse range of expertise: students approach inequalities through a wide range of topics such as emotions, work and organisations, social conflict and divisions, extremism, religion, social movements, radical politics, disability, gender, race, migration and citizenship. Through cross-national comparative perspectives, students explore the global dimensions of inequality as well as interconnections between the local and the global.
To be awarded a MSc degree, students need to obtain 180 credits, which includes a satisfactory dissertation within the social study of the MSc themes – inequalities, power, agency (60 CATS).
The PG Dip exit pathway gives students the opportunity to follow the programme (120 credits in modules) without completing a dissertation. The PG Cert (60 CATS in semester 1 modules) is envisaged as a possible exit pathway.
It is possible to undertake the programme as a full-time student over one year (see table below). For students taking the MSc as a part-time programme (on 2 or 3 years), it is expected they pass all taught modules during the first year (possible over two years) and undertake their dissertation on the last year of study.
In Semester 1, students take three compulsory modules and choose one methodology module. In Semester 2, Students choose three optional research-based modules and one methodology module. Throughout the year, students undertake a dissertation relating to the social study of inequalities.
Semester 1:
Power, Agency and Global Inequalities (10 CATS)
This module will cover how new forms of politics and political activism have emerged to challenge established political and social structures in the contemporary world. Using concepts and theories in political sociology and cultural sociology, students are encouraged to develop a ‘transnational’ and ‘global’ perspective for understanding and addressing intersectional inequalities in contemporary societies. Students will also explore how technological developments such as social media are possibly changing how cultural and political identities are formed beyond geographical boundaries of the nation-state. This module will discuss major events and contemporary developments in which social movements (both progressive and conservative) have played key roles in collective demands for social change, including the remembrance of the ‘Disappeared' in Latin America, right-wing populism in Europe and North America, Black Lives Matter, and war memories in East Asia.
Research Design (20 CATS)
The main objective is to introduce module participants to a range of issues around accessing, collecting, and analysing social scientific data. In addition, there is a concern to examine a variety of practical strategies for designing, developing and executing social scientific research projects. The module should enable students to assess a range of techniques suitable for the collection and analysis of qualitative and quantitative social scientific data. The module will enable students to develop the ability to examine the methodology and conduct of a range of empirical studies in the social sciences. The assignment focuses on the development of skills necessary for the planning and design of a small-scale research project such as the postgraduate dissertation students will have to undertake to complete their MSc. Sociology and Global Inequality.
Theory and Debates in Social Research (20 CATS)
This module aims to deepen your understanding of key contemporary debates in social theory and research, providing advanced-level teaching for those building upon basic knowledge and undertaking postgraduate research. It is designed to demonstrate and explore how social theory is utilised, critiqued and developed through the pursuit of social research. There will be a particular focus upon the epistemological positions that underpin different viewpoints in these debates, and upon points of similarity and difference between these viewpoints. The overall aim is that you will gain a deeper understanding of some key social theories and concepts and will see the ongoing and iterative relationship between theory and the practice of research.
The Sources and Construction of Quantitative Data (10 CATS)
The aim of the module is to provide a comprehensive overview of the theory and practice of measurement and constructing quantitative data in the social sciences. Through lectures and practical exercises, students will develop relevant knowledge of key data sources in the social sciences, their respective uses and usefulness, and their relevance for the study of contemporary social issues. The module covers topics related to key concepts in the social science which have spurred lively debates in the discipline with regard to the analytical and methodological approaches which can be used to measure them.
The Sources and Construction of Qualitative Data (10 CATS)
This module explores the theoretical foundations of qualitative research, examining the relationship between theory and methods including different approaches to qualitative interviewing. The module also covers how to design and conduct qualitative interviews and focus groups.
Semester 2:
Policy-engaged research for Public Sociologists (20 CATS)
This module introduces students to the concept and practice of public sociology – a shared commitment amongst sociologists to engage with communities impacted by the theories and concepts they study (Burawoy, 2005). To undertake engaged research can mean direct involvement with those experiencing inequality through participatory or action research methods. Alternatively, public sociology may involve using theories and concepts around inequality and their origins in race, gender, age or other forms of discrimination to advocate for a fairer distribution of power and resources in society. In this module, students will work with a range of lecturers from sociology and social policy who continue this long track record of using their research evidence to inform public debate and public policy. Drawing heavily on the MSc’s focus on inequality, we will delve into disability, age discrimination (towards both young and old people) and examine how sociological ideas around gender and class can be brought to bear on the unequal distribution of power and resources in society.
Global Migration, Diaspora, and Citizenship (20 CATS)
This module will explore the tension between global migration and territorial citizenship regimes in different regions of the world, which is at the heart of global inequalities. With an increase of spatial mobility and perplex migration patterns the restriction of individual rights to remain only temporary in a country is on the rise in different jurisdictions. This has become a pronounced issue worldwide for refugees, but also in the context of EU citizens turned migrants, and post-colonial citizens – referred to in the so-called ‘Windrush scandal’, and whose settled lives in the UK, for example, were not proof enough be allowed to ‘remain’ legally in the country. The current pandemic health crisis has accelerated this situation for particularly vulnerable minorities, such as Roma in Europe, and Aboriginals in Australia. While learning about the global transformation of national societies, students will engage in-depth with decolonial, post-colonial and feminist approaches to contemporary debates in migration, ethnic and critical race studies.
Religion, Power and Peacebuilding (20 CATS)
The module familiarises students with the field of religious peacebuilding, which is one of the growth areas within conflict transformation studies in the social sciences. It analyses how, on a global level, power and inequalities have shaped the study and practice of religion and peacebuilding, examining relationships between religion, colonialism and coloniality. The module further engages with theoretical approaches about religion and peacebuilding and includes examples of religious peacebuilding in Northern Ireland, Liberia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. It explores relationships between religion, inequalities, and violence in these societies, and the role of power inequalities in peacebuilding. It also includes analysis of race, religion and the Trump Presidency with a view towards the possibilities of religious peacebuilding in the United States. The module provides further opportunities to engage with practitioners in faith-based NGOs in Northern Ireland about their personal engagement in religious peacebuilding.
Social divisions, Conflict and Change in Northern Ireland (10 CATS)
The objectives of this module are to introduce advanced students to key issues in contemporary research on conflict and change in divided societies, using Northern Ireland as a case study. It will examine critical sociological debates about identity, ethnicity, inequality, and conflict management, and interrogate their usefulness in a Northern Irish context. Emphasis will be placed on how Northern Ireland may conform to, or challenge, contemporary debates in theoretical and comparative sociology.
Work, Knowledge and Organisation in the 21st Century (10 CATS)
This module students will explore various aspects of work, organisations and how research and evidence interact with the imperatives of organisations. Goal 8 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals is entitled “Decent Work and Economic Growth” and stands against a backdrop of increased rationalisation of global production chains, often fuelling social disenchantment around individual purpose and meaning within contemporary capitalism. Simultaneously, casualisation across the labour market, fuelled to a significant degree by platform work, challenges traditional understanding of employment and the importance of work to the social contract. Through close examination of case studies and research findings from around the world, students will be encouraged to critically assess how the multidimensional cultural contexts in which people work and organisations do business shape experience and social cohesion.
Inequality and Emotions (10 CATS)
This course aims to examine research on the social logic of emotional responses to inequalities at a global level. Emotions are considered not as personal or 'inner' psychological phenomena, but as sociological processes. The course focuses on studies which illustrate, in varying ways, how emotions are elicited through, and in turn shape, social relations, as they provide evaluative responses to the operation of inequalities of power and status. The course will consider a range of classic and contemporary, structuralist and interactional perspectives informing studies of specific emotions, including shame, anger and love.
A Sociology of Extremism in the Global Age (20 CATS)
The philosopher Quassim Cassam has argued that whilst the twentieth century will indelibly be associated with extremism, the latter has not gone away and is on the rise once more as polarisation becomes a characteristic of many contemporary societies. Situated within core concepts and theories in political sociology, this module will examine the nature of extremism and why various iterations continue to thrive in the global age. The module will explore such themes as religious fundamentalism; national populism and the radical right; toxic masculinity and racism. Further, students will examine the relationship between extremist outlooks and such factors as socio-economic status, academic qualifications and gender. Finally, the module will introduce students to policy interventions designed to address the causes and manifestations of extremism.
Qualitative Data Analysis (10 CATS)
The course will provide students with an introduction to the knowledge necessary for qualitative data management and analysis, including the use of software package NVivo. The course will give students the experience of analysing qualitative data. This will include experience of highlighting main topics, themes and analysing secondary qualitative data through the thematic analysis (framework matrix), and the use of the software package NVivo. As such, the course provides students with an understanding of the benefits/limitations for a social researcher of using a qualitative data storage and analysis software package. It equips them with a base level introduction to the analytical and technical skills in qualitative research appropriate to the production of a master’s dissertation and/or use of CAQDAS software for social research purposes in the public, private or third sector.
Quantitative Data Analysis: intermediate (10 CATS)
This module provides an introduction to multivariate regression models applied to sociological research. Particular attention is placed on the appropriate use of such procedures, awareness of the statistical assumptions underlying regression approaches and the testing and refinement of such models. The module will also cover a range of complex data manipulations. The module is taught through a series of seminars and practical workshops. These two strands are interwoven within each teaching session. As new material is presented, students have the opportunity to apply new learning using teaching datasets and SPSS. An emphasis is placed on building a conceptual understanding and practical use of quantitative skills for the social sciences. As such, the module concepts, examples, and exercises are tailored to develop, apply and interpret sociological quantitative analysis. The class size is relatively small, giving students opportunities for one-to-one work with the teaching staff.
Semesters 1 and 2:
Dissertation (60 CATS)
Students completing their taught modules who wish to obtain the MSc qualification must submit a 15,000-word thesis. The task will involve the conduct of a small research project that is broadly related to social inequalities, and which includes a full and reasoned description and discussion of the research design, the relevant sociological literature and theory, methodology, data collection, data analysis, results and conclusions. The primary aim is to provide students with the experience of managing such a project through all its stages, from the initial identification of a research problem through data collection and data analysis to the final production of a typed report. Students will also develop the ability to marshal key social scientific ideas and concepts and to link issues arising out of social theory to issues that arise out of empirical research. The dissertation, in addition, gives students an opportunity to apply material from their taught modules to a substantive area or research issue connected to their own interests.
SSESW Cathal McManus is a Lecturer in the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, and a Fellow of the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice.
Cathal completed both his Undergraduate and Masters degrees at Ulster University before obtaining his PhD through the Institute of Irish Studies at Queen’s University. Before joining QUB, Cathal worked within the Community sector and as a Community Education Officer with Limavady College.
SSESW Catherine McNamee obtained her PhD at the University of Texas in Austin in Sociology with a specialisation in Demography and was a National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Postdoctoral Fellow in the Family Demography and Individual Development Training Program at the Population Research Institute in Pennsylvania State University. Current member of the Centre for Children’s Rights and the Qstep Centre (focused on teaching quantitative methodology).
SSESW Jonathan is a lecturer in Sociology in the School of Social Science, Education, and Social Work, and a Fellow of The Senator George J Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice, Queen’s University Belfast. His current research explores the intersections of emotions and power from a political sociology of emotions perspective, focusing on the ’emotional state’, embodied nationalism, and on party politics more generally. He primarily teaches courses on social theory and the political sociology of emotions at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. He is a former Coordinator (and current Advisory Board Member) of the European Sociology of Emotions Research Network (RN11) and a member of the Sociological Association of Ireland. He is also on the Editorial Management Board of the journal Emotions and Society, and an Associate Editor of the Frontiers in Sociology—Sociology of Emotion Section.
SSESW Rin Ushiyama is a Lecturer in Sociology at the School of Social Science, Education, and Social Work. He joined Queen’s in 2021. He studied at the University of Cambridge, where he completed his BA (Hons), MPhil, and a PhD in Sociology. Prior to coming to Queen’s, he was a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of Sociology, University of Cambridge (2017-21) and a Research Fellow in Sociology at Murray Edwards College, University of Cambridge (2018-21), where he researched historical denial by the Japanese far right. He is a cultural and political sociologist interested in the competitive processes surrounding collective memory, commemoration of mass violence, and public representations of the past. He has published peer-reviewed articles in fields including cultural sociology, memory studies, sociology of religion, and social theory, and teaches a range of topics across the undergraduate and master’s programmes.
Lecturer in Sociology (of Gender, Migration and Difference)
SSESW Ulrike M Vieten is a transnational and feminist sociologist focusing on the question how racialised group boundaries are constructed and shift since the early 20th century in Europe. She carried out comparative studies and published widely on belonging and identities of minority EU citizens as well as on experiences of asylum seekers and refugees in Northern Ireland. Further she unwrapped racist discourses of European cosmopolitanism and more recently, publishes on gender and far right populism. Interested in intersectionality and de-colonial theory, she takes inspiration from political activism of black and minority scholars across the globe. She is active with the Britain based sociological group ‘Social Scientists Against Hostile Environment’, and through her work with the ISA/ RC05. Ulrike M Vieten is a Fellow of the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice, QUB, too.
Programme Director for the Msc Sociology and Global Inequality
SSESW Véronique’s research areas are transformations of religion in modern societies, and cross-national comparisons of responses to religious diversity. She has conducted research on the transnational expansion of new religious movements and developed an analysis of religious exoticism, for which she received the Best Book Award of the International Society for the Sociology of Religion in 2017. Her latest empirical research focused on a Northern Irish conservative congregation and is inscribed in broader reflections regarding the relations between politics, religion and social class.
Véronique Altglas is particularly interested in ethical and epistemological issues in social sciences. Her last book, Religion and Conflict in Northern Ireland. What Does Religion Do? is the first critical and comprehensive review of the ways in which the social sciences have interpreted religion’s significance in Northern Ireland. Through and beyond this regional case, this book outlines a critical agenda for the social study of religion, and addresses the links between social inequalities, religious beliefs and political attitudes.
SSESW Gemma Carney is a senior lecturer in social policy who has an international reputation for her work in social and cultural gerontology. Her book Critical Questions for Ageing Societies, (Policy Press, 2020) was nominated for the Richard Kalish Award by the Gerontological Society of America. Gemma’s work has been funded by the ESRC, AHRC, Wellcome Trust and Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences. She is currently expanding this work through a strategic partnership with the University of Southern California. Her work has been published in major journals including Journal of Aging Studies, Journal of Social Policy, Critical Social Policy, Gender & Society and Ageing & Society. She is a member of the editorial board of Ageing & Society and British Society of Gerontology.
SSESW Dirk holds a Masters in Social Sciences from Humboldt University Berlin and a PhD in Education from Kassel University. Dirk has extensive expertise in youth research and youth policy. He has established, and since 2003 directed, ARK’s Young Life and Times (YLT) survey of 16-year olds. The attitude survey is used widely by the Government and voluntary sector organisations to monitor a range of policy indicators in relation to children and young people in Northern Ireland. Dirk has also published widely on participatory research methods and he is affiliated with the Centre of Children‘s Rights at SSESW.
SSESW Gladys Ganiel is Professor in the Sociology of Religion at Queen’s University Belfast and a member of the Royal Irish Academy. Her specialisms include religion on the island of Ireland, religion and conflict in Northern Ireland, evangelicalism, and the emerging church. Her books include Evangelicalism and Conflict in Northern Ireland, Transforming Post-Catholic Ireland, and The Deconstructed Church: Understanding Emerging Christianity, co-authored with Gerardo Marti (winner of the 2015 Distinguished Book Award of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion).
SSESW John Nagle is Professor of Sociology. His PhD is in Anthropology (Queen's University Belfast). He was appointed to positions at the Institute of Irish Studies at Queen's and at INCORE, a United Nations Research Centre for the Study of Conflict at the University of Ulster, as lecturer at the University of East London, and as Reader in Sociology at the University of Aberdeen. He has also been a Visiting Research Fellow at the Exeter Centre for Ethno-Political Studies at the University of Exeter, Fellow at University College London, and Visiting Professor of Sociology at the United Arab Emirates University. He is currently a Fellow and member of the advisory board for SEPAD (Sectarianism, Proxies & De-sectarianisation), a project hosted at the Richardson Institute, Lancaster University. At Queen's University Belfast, he is a Fellow of The Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice and the Institute of Irish Studies.
SSESW Katy Hayward is Professor of Political Sociology at Queen’s University Belfast, a Fellow of the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice, a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and an Eisenhower Fellow. She is co-Director of the Centre for International Borders Research in Queen’s. She has written and presented to media, policy, civic and academic audiences worldwide as an academic expert on the subjects of the Irish border, the 1998 Good Friday/Belfast Agreement, Brexit, and the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland.
SSESW Lisa Smyth is Professor of Sociology, working on social norms and emotions in relation to gender equality, family life, and social change. She is author of The Demands of Motherhood: Agents Roles and Recognition (2012), and Abortion and Nation: The Politics of Reproduction in Contemporary Ireland (2016/2005). She is currently working on Ireland’s liberalisation and is Co-Chief Editor of the Irish Journal of Sociology.
Contact Teaching Hours
Personal Study
24 (hours maximum)
Small Group Teaching/Personal Tutorial
6 (hours maximum)
Teaching Times
Usually delivered in evenings and full day/half day sessions, including weekends.
Learning and Teaching
Through a supportive and dynamic intellectual environment, the academic team delivering the MSc Sociology and Global Inequality strives to enable students to achieve their full academic potential. Their primary objective is to empower students to develop the intellectual, and practical skills that will enable them to make positive contribution to economic and civic life.
The MSc Sociology and Global Inequality achieves these objectives by providing research-led modules, based on the cutting-edge expertise of award-winning staff, whose research addresses inequalities through a broad range of approaches, themes and in different regions of the world. The modules are delivered via a mixture of traditional lecture, seminar, workshops and computer lab class. Some lectures may involve online teaching. Students completing a dissertation meet one-to-one with their supervisor throughout the course of their studies to provide guidance on their project. Students are expected to undertake independent study.
Through the programme, students learn to examine and analyse the sources and multiple dimensions of inequality affecting contemporary societies on a global scale, including intersections across class, gender, race, citizenship, religion, sexuality, disability and age discrimination. They understand how social policies may alleviate or exacerbate inequality through cross-national comparative perspectives. They investigate the ways in which transnational communities, social movements and protest groups across the world challenge injustice, within and beyond borders. The programme also introduces students to public sociology, leading them to explore how sociological research can be applied effectively through social policy and social activism to address social inequalities.
Participants are equipped with the intellectual and methodological skills to engage in social inquiry at an advanced level, employing a range of theoretical approaches and research methods, and developing the capacity to deal with complex research questions. Both assignments and class discussions encourage the ability to consider, and formulate complex argumentations. Different approaches and debates are presented in classes centring on both theory and practice. Discussions of case studies and ‘live’ research projects address the challenges of research and individual research experiences. Students enhance their skills through the writing of research proposals, the evaluation of methodological strategies and data analysis. Methodological training, research-based modules and the dissertation encourage students to acquire and enhance their skills in the design, planning, execution and analysis of both quantitative and qualitative research. Practical and applied aspects are covered throughout methodology modules in particular. As such, the MSc Sociology and Global Inequality provides advanced sociological training that is both valuable in its own right and as a set of transferable skills.
Conference
With the convenor, students will organise a small conference in late June, in order to present initial research findings to other students on the course and the sociology team of academics.
E-Learning technologies
Information associated with lectures and assignments is often communicated via a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) called Queen’s Online. A range of e-learning experiences are also embedded in the degree programme through the use of, for example, interactive support materials, podcasts and web-based learning activities. There are also opportunities to develop skills in the use of industry software associated with actuarial practice.
Induction
A formalised induction for all MSc students. This includes a welcoming session the week before the programme begins to allow students to familiarise themselves with the campus, the teaching team, and the degree programme.
Lectures and seminars
The MSc consists of formal presentations from lecturers (lectures) and small group discussions involving students’ participation and presentations (seminars). Both provide students with the opportunity to engage with academic staff who have expert knowledge of the topic. They also provide opportunities for inter-learner discussions to facilitate collaborative learning.
PG Director
Who acts as a first point of contact for students with academic or personal issues that they may require guidance and/or support with.
Personal Research project
Students have the opportunity to conduct a research project on the topic of their choice and broadly related to social inequalities. It provides students with the experience of managing such a project through all its stages, from the initial identification of a research problem through data collection and data analysis to the final production of a typed report.
Practicals
Methodology courses might include practical sessions to introduce students to the use of software packages for data management and analysis.
Self-directed study
This is an essential part of life as a Queen’s student when important private reading, engagement with e-learning resources, reflection on feedback to date and assignment research and preparation work is carried out.
Student Support Systems
Students receive appropriate training and learner support in the use of computing facilities as appropriate.
Students have an identified contact (i.e. supervisor and programme director). They receive constructive feedback on academic performance and authoritative guidance on their academic progression. Students have access to well-being services at QUB and are able to register with student disability services for assessment and support, as required.
Supervision
A supervisor is allocated to each student shortly after the start of the academic year. They will support the student in designing, conducting and completing their research dissertation until completion.
Assessment
Assessments associated with this course are outlined below:
An overall mark of 50 per cent is required to pass each module.
A purposedly diverse range of assignments assists students in developing their communication skills: oral or audio-visual presentations, research proposals, blogs, policy reviews, media analyse, self-reflective learning journal, etc.:
Power, Agency and Global Inequalities: a 15-minute recorded audio-visual presentation on a global sociology case study.
Theory and Debates in Social Research : An essay based on the critical comparison and evaluation of two theoretical approaches to a key concept from social theory (3,500 words).
Research Design: a research proposal (4,000 words)
The Sources and Construction of Qualitative Data: An essay on methodology (1,500 words) and a self-reflective learning journal (1,000 words).
The Sources and Construction of Quantitative Data: a completed template (1,000 words) and a brief commentary (1,500 words).
Religion, Power and Peacebuilding: Observation report based on fieldwork (1,000 words) and an essay on a case study (3,500-4,000 words).
Social divisions, Conflict and Change in Northern Ireland: an analytical exercise (media analysis) focusing on a representation of NI in contemporary audio/visual culture (2,500 words).
Work, Knowledge and Organisation in the 21st Century: a critical review; an organisational case-study; or of a combined critical review and case-study (2,500 words).
Inequality and Emotions: A 2,500-word research proposal on emotion as it relates to inequality.
Qualitative Data Analysis: a 2,500-word data analysis essay based on anonymised Interviews.
Quantitative Data Analysis: intermediate: a short research report of 2,500 words involving quantitative data analysis.
Policy-engaged research for Public Sociologists: a plan (500 words) and a Critical Policy Review (2,000 words) as group work, and an accompanying Social Media Strategy (1,000 words).
A Sociology of extremism in the Global Age: a 10-minute oral presentation, developed into an 800-word blog post and a 2,200-word essay.
Global Migration, Diaspora, and Citizenship: Ten blog entries of 400 words each (4,000 words).
A research dissertation (15,000 words).
NOTES:
- Students will receive advance notification and guidance on assessment methods and requirements for each module.
- Academic assessments will be marked and moderated by academic staff within SSESW and a 20% sample (including all fails) will be sent to the External Examiner for quality assurance.
- Analysis of student outcomes will be used as a source of data for quality assurance.
- Students will receive an automated message upon uploading their assignment to Canvas and will be notified when marks are released. Students will also receive written or oral feedback on each assessment to promote continuous professional development throughout the course.
- Standardised module evaluation will capture feedback from and satisfaction of students regarding lectures, seminars and the overall quality of individual modules. Furthermore, an overall formal review of the MSc will be undertaken at the end of each academic year, and will involve feedback from students, lecturers, supervisors and the External Examiner.
- Students will follow the standard PGT study regulations and general regulations of the University. https://www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/AcademicStudentAffairs/AcademicAffairs/GeneralRegulations/StudyRegulations/StudyRegulationsforPostgraduateTaughtProgrammes/
Facilities
The School is situated across a suite of three buildings in Belfast's Queen's Quarter. We provide student and staff common rooms, computer suites and designated study spaces. There is a dedicated student common room which students can use freely between 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday. The common room has seating, kitchen facilities and computer access with printing.
Access to a wide range of software packages; training in commonly used software for qualitative and quantitative analysis such as SPSS and NVivo.
Excellent facilities and services provided by the McClay library - with 2,200 reader spaces and housing 1.2 million volumes.
The information below is intended as an example only, featuring module details for the current year of study (2024/25). Modules are reviewed on an annual basis and may be subject to future changes – revised details will be published through Programme Specifications ahead of each academic year.
This module will cover how new forms of politics and political activism have
emerged to challenge established political and social structures in the
contemporary world. Using concepts and theories in political sociology and
cultural sociology, students are encouraged to develop a ‘transnational’ and
‘global’ perspective for understanding and addressing intersectional
44
inequalities in contemporary societies. Students will also explore how
technological developments such as social media are possibly changing how
cultural and political identities are formed beyond geographical boundaries of
the nation-state. This module will discuss major events and contemporary
developments in which social movements (both progressive and conservative)
have played key roles in collective demands for social change, including the
remembrance of the ‘Disappeared' in Latin America, right-wing populism in
Europe and North America, Black Lives Matter, and war memories in East Asia
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students will be able to:
• Demonstrate an understanding of the intersectional forms of
inequality that exist in and between societies.
• Display a knowledge of key sociological theories relating to global
inequalities including but not limited to class, race, ethnicity, religion,
citizenship, gender and sexuality.
• Understand how sociological debates have evolved from
‘methodological nationalist’ concerns to research transnational social
transformations and global social problems.
• Articulate what social and political actions have emerged to address
global inequalities with reference to contemporary empirical case
studies
• Understand how and if sociological research can be applied effectively
through social policy and social activism to address social inequalities
Skills
Skills developed through this module include:
• Interpreting and appraising theoretical debates in sociology at
an advanced level.
• Analysing secondary data relating to inequalities.
• Writing skills catered for different forms of academic writing.
• Developing an ability to make logical and evidence-based
arguments
This module aims to deepen students’ understanding of key contemporary debates in social theory and research, providing advanced-level teaching for those building upon basic knowledge and undertaking postgraduate research. It is designed to demonstrate and explore how social theory is utilised, critiqued and developed through the pursuit of social research. There will be a particular focus upon the epistemological positions that underpin different viewpoints in these debates, and upon points of similarity and difference between these viewpoints. The overall aim is that students will gain a deeper understanding of some key social theories and concepts, and will see the ongoing and iterative relationship between theory and the practice of research.
Learning Outcomes
Students will gain a deeper understanding of debates that have played a key role in contemporary social theory, research and practice, developing an awareness of the different perspectives in these debates and the ways in which arguments are constructed, defended and critiqued. The way in which these debates have been developed in social research will be highlighted through attention to empirical studies and by encouraging reflection by students upon their own studies and research. Students will develop a capacity to make connections between different debates and to compare the different epistemological positions that underpin these.
Skills
Skills developed include: analysing, evaluating and interpreting debates; developing and defending reasoned opinions; developing and demonstrating independent thinking; critically reflecting upon one’s own studies and research.
This module offers an introduction to quantitative and qualitative research methods and is designed for students with some basic knowledge but who seek further grounding. It is designed as preparation for undertaking postgraduate research and dissertation work. It also acts as preparation for the advanced quantitative and qualitative courses (SOC9060 and SOC9061).
Learning Outcomes
Students will acquire knowledge of how to develop research problems and of the principles of research design. They will have developed a critical awareness of alternative approaches to research. They will be able to comprehend and negotiate the ethical issues involved in research, including the uses of research and the social and political contexts of research. Students will develop a capacity to apply qualitative and quantitative methods to research problems and will understand the relationship between epistemological positions, theory and research design.
Skills
Skills acquired include: Ability to formulate testable hypotheses, research problems and questions. Knowledge of research resources including qualitative data sources, documentary data, statistical sources, textual and visual archives. Knowledge of how research data is collected.
In this module students will explore various aspects of work, organisations and how research and evidence interact with the imperatives of organisations. Goal 8 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals is entitled “Decent Work and Economic Growth” and acknowledges under clause 8 the need to “protect labour rights and promote safe and secure working for all workers including … those in precarious employment”. This objective stands against a backdrop of increased casualisation across the labour market, fuelled to a significant degree by platform work. In the context of a Master’s which aims to increase students’ employability and research skills, this module will raise students’ awareness of the different contexts in which those skills will be deployed. Similarly, while UN-SDG8 also refers to achieving ‘productive work’ for everyone in employment, the rise of automation and artificial intelligence represent important global context for how future jobs, including analytical roles, will be configured.
The module will bring students into contact with empirical evidence, demonstrate at how evidence is shaped by the context in which it is produced and applied, and challenge students to reflect on how their training as researchers influences their role (current or future) within organisations. Students may focus their attention on organisations they work for or volunteer with, or on publically available information regarding organisations whose work interests them.
This module is designed to be self-directed, with classes spread across the second semester and with students having the flexibility to reflect on and apply experiences gained through professional or voluntary work.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students will:
• demonstrate improved understanding of contemporary organisations and issues facing them, such as:
o how to balance their core purpose with the welfare of their workforce;
o how organisations are responding to modern challenges such as growing inequality, ageing populations and climate change.
• Be familiar with organisational theory perspectives from across the social sciences, including sociology and economics;
• Understand the role of research in organisational operations and policy;
• Appreciate how particular research methods can be used to answer research questions where organisational context is a key component, e.g.
o Reviewing written policy and comparing critically to policy in practice;
o Adjusting for response bias where employer organisations or service providers function as gatekeepers to research participation.
Skills
Students enrolled on the module will gain practice at, and feedback on:
• Diverse writing tasks, including case study analysis, critical review of literature (e.g. systematic review) and policy;
• Experiential learning, including, where applicable, critical reflection on the relationship between the student’s professional and/or voluntary experience and their training in social science research methods;
• Self-directed learning;
• Use of varied research methods in an organisational context or to understand the work of an organisation.
The module familiarises students with the field of religious peacebuilding, which is one of the growth areas within conflict transformation studies in the social sciences. The module establishes the nature of religious peacebuilding as it currently conceived and which has moved it intellectually significantly beyond inter-faith dialogue between the world religions. Religious peacebuilding is now integrally tied to the idea of reconciliation, conflict transformation and social justice and is thus a meeting ground for theology, ethics and social science. The course places particular emphasis on three dimensions within religious peacebuilding, the role of religion in truth recovery, transitional justice, and inter-faith dialogue. These processes are subject to critical review and the module assesses the boundaries of unforgivingness after conflict, the burden of memory and the boundaries of forgetting, the problems with ‘truth’ and truth recovery, the limits of shame apologies and reparations, the constraints on inter-faith dialogue and the engagement of religious practitioners in social transformation and social justice after conflict. The module will focus on religious peacebuilding internationally, covering such cases as Northern Ireland, Colombia, Sri Lanka, Israel-Palestine and the Middle East, and South Africa. The module will provide opportunities to engage with practitioners in faith-based NGOs in Northern Ireland about their personal engagement in religious peacebuilding. The module will lay the necessary conceptual, methodological and substantive foundations for students, if they wish, to carry out their own independent researches in religious peacebuilding within the dissertation associated with the MA in Conflict Transformation and Social Justice, and in other contexts, including possible future PhD research. The module is seminar based and will use a variety of different pedagogic strategies, ranging from lectures, student seminar presentations, student-led discussions, videos, and discussions with faith-based practitioners from Northern Ireland.
Learning Outcomes
Learning Outcomes
The learning outcomes of this module are:
•To give attention to the growth in religious peacebuilding as a means for achieving reconciliation, conflict transformation and social justice after conflict
•To understand the meaning of reconciliation, conflict transformation and social justice after conflict, both in the sense of reconciliation between former enemies and with the past more generally
•To address the range of processes in religious peacebuilding and its expansion beyond questions of inter-faith dialogue
•To critically assess the potential for reconciliation, conflict transformation and social justice by addressing religious peacebuilding in critical perspective by:
Exploring the boundaries of unforgivingness after conflict
Exploring the burden of memory and the boundaries of forgetting
Exploring the problem with ‘truth’ and truth recovery
Exploring the limits of shame apologies and reparations
Exploring the limits of inter-faith dialogue
Skills
Skills are focused on knowledge and understanding, intellectual skills, and study skills, as follows
Knowledge and understanding
At the end of the course students should be aware of the issues involved in successful religious peacebuilding. In particular:
• the sociological features of religious peacebuilding
• the limits of religious peacebuilding
• the role of religion in managing legacy issues arising from conflict
• the role of religion in assisting reconciliation
Intellectual skills
The course aims to extend and develop the students’ sociological perspective and its application to understanding key public issues in the contemporary world. It will demonstrate how a rigorous social scientific approach can illuminate a fascinating and timely topic; raise very general issues about the nature of social scientific explanation and the status of evidence in the social sciences; and show the value of comparative analysis.
Study skills
Improvement in students’ ability to:
• obtain and evaluate relevant information
• to write concise and clear analytical essays
• communicate orally via the presentation of structured and reasoned arguments in small group settings
• to work under the constraint of time pressures
• to reflect critically on the quality of your own work
• to direct their own learning
This module explores the theoretical foundations of qualitative research, examining the relationship between theory and methods including different approaches to qualitative interviewing. The module also covers how to design and conduct qualitative interviews and focus groups.
Learning Outcomes
Learning Outcomes
• Critically analyse the relationship between theoretical approaches and the conduct of qualitative social research
• Demonstrate how questions of epistemology and ontology impact on qualitative research
• Critically analyse the relationship between theory and methods in qualitative interviewing
• Demonstrate how to design and conduct qualitative interviews and focus groups
• Demonstrate reflexivity, including how to reflect critically on the researcher’s role in knowledge production
Skills
Ability to demonstrate link between theory and methods through practical application.
Ability to critically evaluate research using qualitative methods
Ability to practically recognise epistemological and ontological factors in relation to specific examples
Ability to recognise how qualitative research differs from quantitative research
Ability to articulate the strengths and weaknesses of qualitative research
Ability to critically evaluate journal articles based on qualitative research
The module will focus on multivariate regression models. Particular attention will be placed on the appropriate use of such procedures, awareness of the statistical assumptions underlying regression approaches and the testing and refinement of such models. The module will also cover a range of complex data manipulations. The module is taught through a series of seminars and practical workshops. These two strands are interwoven within each teaching session. New material is presented in short bursts followed by an opportunity to apply the new learning to the teaching datasets. The class size is relatively small, giving students opportunities for one-to-one work with the teaching staff.
Learning Outcomes
• Be familiar with the organisation and management of large complex quantitative datasets.
• Be capable of undertaking multivariate regression analyses using SPSS syntax.
• Be aware of the assumptions that underpin the application of regression models, how to test for violation of these assumptions and how to correct, where appropriate, for any violations detected.
• Be capable of constructing a multivariate regression model and interpreting the SPSS output.
Skills
• Handling, managing and manipulating large and complex quantitative datasets.
• Competency in SPSS programming syntax.
• Multivariate statistical analysis and interpretation.
• Preparation of quantitative analysis reports.
Social Divisions, Conflict and Change in Northern Ireland: New Sociological Research
Overview
This module demonstrates the unique insights to be offered by sociological research on Northern Ireland’s transition from conflict through detailed case studies of ongoing research projects. These will cover topics such as: demographic change, attitudinal change, socio-economic change and inequalities, dealing with the legacy of conflict, and ‘culture wars’. The purpose of the module is to introduce students to the benefits of a sociological approach to the subject and to the challenges of conducting sociological research in a society in transition.
Learning Outcomes
• Students will gain knowledge and understanding of sociological approaches to contemporary society in Northern Ireland, particularly in relation to its transition out of conflict
• Students will be able to critique and assess the value of various methods in sociological research
• Students will be familiar with the core social trends and changes in contemporary society in Northern Ireland, particularly those relating to the process of transition from conflict
• Knowledgeable of sociological debates around conflict and change in Northern Ireland in particular and divided societies in general.
• Able to relate different sociological concepts to the empirical research on Northern Ireland.
• Able to effectively gather, retrieve and synthesise different types of information to evaluate the module’s themes.
Skills
Academic skills:
• An ability to critically read and evaluate sociological literature and non-academic/media material on contemporary Northern Ireland
• An ability to collect and interpret evidence about contemporary society in Northern Ireland
• An ability to demonstrate evidence of independent thinking and to compose reasoned opinions based on development of thought and knowledge
• An ability to relate sociological concepts to the empirical study of Northern Ireland.
Practical skills:
• An ability to write in a clear, structured and critical manner using a range of source material
• An ability to present information in spoken form and to contribute to discussions
• An ability to retrieve and synthesise primary and secondary, quantitative and qualitative, sources of (print and electronic) information
• An ability to use information technology to gather, organise and evaluate material
This module will explore the tension between global migration and territorial
citizenship regimes in different regions of the world, which is at the heart of
global inequalities. Here, the concept of diaspora is prominent, too, in linking
different cultural and political spaces across time and generations and creating
new trans-national forms of belonging. Citizenship – though in transformation
49
and being contested – remains the strongest rights container offering legitimacy
to remain in a country. With an increase of spatial mobility and perplex
migration patterns the restriction of individual rights to remain only temporary in
a country is on the rise in different jurisdictions. This has become a pronounced
issue worldwide for refugees, but also in the context of EU citizens turned
migrants, and post-colonial citizens – referred to in the so called ‘Windrush
scandal’, whose settled lives in the UK, for example, were disrupted as there
were doubts about their legal status. The current pandemic health crisis has
accelerated this situation for particularly vulnerable minorities, such as Roma in
Europe, and Aboriginals in Australia.
While learning about the global transformation of national societies students will
engage in-depth with decolonial, post-colonial and feminist approaches to
contemporary debates in migration, ethnic and critical race studies.
Learning Outcomes
After completing this module, students can:
• Critically assess contemporary debates on citizenship and
migration in different regions of the world.
• Understand in what ways global migration movement is linked to
and triggers diasporic and transnational communities.
• Reflect on differing national migration (management) policies.
• Identify emerging trends
Skills
Students enrolled on this module will gain new professional and
academic skills, e.g.
• Being able to conduct independent research in the area of
global migration and social inequality (analytical skills and
research methods).
• Self-directed learning experiences qualifying for leading roles
when working with international NGOs, for example.
• Contextualize the field of migration studies with respect to
different geo-political spaces (e. g. becoming familiar with the
scope and scale of journals in the field).
• Have developed skills in contemporary forms of public
engagement, such as writing a blog. (e. g. conceptual thinking,
literature review and style of presentation).
The aim of the course is to provide a comprehensive overview of the theory and practice of measurement and constructing quantitative data in the social sciences. Through lectures and practical exercises, students will develop relevant knowledge of key data sources in the social sciences, their respective uses and usefulness, and their relevance for the study of contemporary social issues. The range of subjects across the social sciences that are measured with quantitative data is very broad and the content of the module will need to be selective. The module will in particular cover topics related to concepts in the social science (e.g. poverty, the welfare state) which have spurred lively debates in the discipline with regard to the analytical and methodological approaches which can be used to measure them.
Learning Outcomes
•Understand key concepts of quantitative analysis and measurement (conceptualization, operationalization, indicators, sampling, reliability, validity, index construction)
• Be able to locate, transform and interpret different data sources that can be used to measure and address substantive issues in the social sciences.
Become a confident user of secondary data and be able to critically assess its relevance, quality and validity in relation to research design and aims
•Critically evaluate published social science research using quantitative data and statistical methods
• Be able to identify the strengths and weaknesses of this style of research
Skills
• Identifying relevant statistical sources
• Extracting and manipulating secondary data
• Evaluating surveys and other secondary data
• Problem analysis and problem solving
This course aims to examine research on the social logic of emotional life. Emotions are considered not as personal or ‘inner’ psychological phenomena, but as sociological processes. The course focuses on studies which illustrate, in varying ways, how emotions are elicited through, and in turn shape, social relations, as they provide evaluative responses to the operation of power and status. The course will consider a range of classic and contemporary, structuralist and interactional perspectives informing studies of specific emotions, including shame, anger and love.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this course students will be equipped to
• understand of the significance of emotions in contemporary social life;
• evaluate competing perspectives on the logic of social emotions
• critically analyse specific emotional orientations and responses.
Skills
• reviewing academic literature;
• devising research problems;
• analysing, evaluating and interpreting research materials;
• developing and defending reasoned arguments;
• developing and demonstrating independent thinking
The philosopher Quassim Cassam has argued that whilst the twentieth century will indelibly be associated with extremism, the latter has not gone away and is on the rise once more as polarisation becomes a characteristic of many contemporary societies. Situated within core concepts and theories in political sociology, this module will examine the nature of extremism and why various iterations continue to thrive in the global age. While having often local(ised) significance, extremism is also a global phenomenon, developing transnationally and adapting to various settings. The module will explore such themes as religious fundamentalism; national populism and the radical right; toxic masculinity and racism. Further, through cross-national comparisons, students will examine the relationship between extremist outlooks and such factors as socio-economic status, academic qualifications and gender.
Finally, the module will introduce students to policy interventions designed to address the causes and manifestations of extremism.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module, students will:
- Understand extremism’s relations to class, religion, gender and nationalism
- Examine how inequalities generate local and transnational phenomena such as conflicts, populism and extremism. Analyse the effectiveness of interventions designed to address extremism – and their implications for ‘Sustainable cities and communities’ and ‘Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions’ (United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 11 and 16)
Skills
Skills developed through this module include:
- Application of sociological theory to understand contemporary social and political issues
- Collating and analysing data for the analysis of extremism
- Verbal and visual presentation of academic analysis
- Development of academic writing to be presented in different forms
- Ability to use different forms of evidence to support academic analysis
The course will provide students with an introduction to the knowledge necessary for the informed use of the qualitative data analysis software package NVivo 11. The course provides students with a base level introduction to the analytical and technical skills in qualitative data analysis appropriate to the production of a Master’s dissertation and/or use of CAQDAS software for social research purposes.
Learning Outcomes
• To introduce key skills in qualitative data management and analysis.
• To provide students with an understanding of the benefits/limitations for a social researcher of using a qualitative data storage and analysis software package.
• To introduce and develop the basic skills necessary for the computer aided analysis of qualitative data using the software package NVivo 11.
Skills
• Development of analytical and evaluative skills
• Qualitative data analysis skills by using thematic analysis and computer software package NVIVO 11.
By focusing on the inter-relationship between inequality, policy and social movements,
this module introduces students to the concept and practice of public sociology - a
shared commitment amongst sociologists to engage with communities impacted by the
theories and concepts they study (Burawoy, 2005). To undertake engaged research can mean direct involvement with those experiencing inequality through participatory or
action research methods (Schubotz, 2019). Alternatively, public sociology may involve
using theories and concepts around inequality and their origins in race, gender, age or
other forms of discrimination to advocate for a fairer distribution of power and
resources in society (DiAngelo, 2018). In Northern Ireland, Public Sociology has an
important role to play in challenging entrenched views about social and political
identity. For example, Hayward’s work on the NI protocol since 2016; twenty years of
the NI Life and Times Survey research on LGBTQI+ identity and social attitudes and work
by Social Policy scholar Monica McWilliams (UU) and other members of the Northern
Ireland Women’s Coalition in the 1990s.
In this module, students will hear from a range of lecturers who continue this long track
record of policy-engaged research which informs public debate and shapes public
policy. Drawing heavily on the MSc’s focus on inequality, students will delve into critical
issues around inequality including intersections across gender, disability and age
discrimination (Carney and Nash, forthcoming). We will examine how sociological ideas
around gender and class can be brought to bear on the unequal distribution of power
and resources in society. Lectures will cover global inequalities via engaged rights-based approaches to researching children and young people through the UN
Convention on Children’s Rights (Byrne and Schubotz) and comparative analysis of
gender and welfare in UK, Europe, and East Asia, teaching students about the capacity
of policy to meet the welfare needs of women in diverse circumstances (Sung).
The course will be convened by Dr. Gemma Carney and the following members of the
Social Policy team will each deliver an area of inequality/policy: Sirin Sung; Dirk
Schubotz; Bronagh Byrne.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students will:
- Have a clear understanding of the content, meaning and purpose
of public sociology and policy-engaged research;
- Be able to demonstrate an understanding of how discrimination
experienced at the individual level translates into societal level
inequality;
- Understand how social policies may alleviate the worst effects of
inequality but also how bad policy-making can exacerbate
inequality;
- Understand the link between identity and inequality through lived
experience;
- Be able to apply an intersectional lens to understand how race,
gender, age and other forms of inequality compound
disadvantage;
- Be able to articulate how at least one group (e.g. people with
disabilities) experiences inequality as a result of identity-based
discrimination;
- Be able to critically review and analyse policies aimed at those
experiencing discrimination on the basis of identity (e.g.
younger/older people, women/LGBTQI+);
- Be able to understand and explain how policy-engaged research
can help those experiencing inequality to challenge discriminatory
practices or norms.
Skills
Students enrolled in this module will learn how to:
- Critically analyse policies and write a report suitable for a non-academic audience;
- Write fluently on their own positionality vis à vis the identity
group they are focusing on;
- Communicate with representative groups working with those
experiencing disadvantage;
- Employ a variety of digital and face-to-face research methods to
undertake a policy review of a specific area of inequality.
Normally a strong 2.2 Honours degree (with minimum of 55%) or above or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University in any subject discipline.
Applicants with an acceptable 2.2 Honours degree below 55% or equivalent, may also be considered if they have at least two years of professional experience in an education, training or relevant context.
Closing date for applications: Thursday 31st July 2025 at 4pm
Late applications may be considered.
Applicants are advised to apply as early as possible. In the event that any programme receives a high number of applications, the University reserves the right to close the application portal prior to the deadline stated on course finder. Notifications to this effect will appear on the Direct Application Portal against the programme application page.
International Students
Our country/region pages include information on entry requirements, tuition fees, scholarships, student profiles, upcoming events and contacts for your country/region. Use the dropdown list below for specific information for your country/region.
English Language Requirements
Evidence of an IELTS* score of 6.5, with not less than 5.5 in any component, or an equivalent qualification acceptable to the University is required.
*Taken within the last 2 years.
International students wishing to apply to Queen's University Belfast (and for whom English is not their first language), must be able to demonstrate their proficiency in English in order to benefit fully from their course of study or research. Non-EEA nationals must also satisfy UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) immigration requirements for English language for visa purposes.
If you need to improve your English language skills before you enter this degree programme, INTO Queen's University Belfast offers a range of English language courses. These intensive and flexible courses are designed to improve your English ability for admission to this degree.
Academic English: an intensive English language and study skills course for successful university study at degree level
Pre-sessional English: a short intensive academic English course for students starting a degree programme at Queen's University Belfast and who need to improve their English.
Graduates of this programme will be able to pursue careers across a diverse range of organisational settings such as in civil service, public policy including think tanks, journalism, care and support services, voluntary and community sectors, human rights advocacy, social enterprises and business. This programme is also an excellent stepping-stone for a Social Science PGCE, and for doctoral research. http://www.prospects.ac.uk
Employment after the Course
Through a supportive and dynamic intellectual environment, the academic team delivering the MSc Sociology and Global Inequality strives to empower students to research and communicate ideas preparing them for a range of careers in a broad range of sectors:
Government, public administration and public policy, for instance, as policy advisers, analysts, and coordinators, or in the field of equality and diversity;
NGOs and international development, social enterprises, voluntary and community work, human rights advocacy, and campaign work;
In the private sector, for instance, in advertising and market research;
Professions requiring an understanding of complex social trends and research skills – journalism, think tanks, politics.
The MSc also offers outstanding opportunities to pursue a career in social research or undertake research at PhD level; as such it gives access to careers in education, higher education and academic research.
Students can partner with the Science Shop and develop a research project in collaboration with a community and voluntary sector organisation, which opens the door to this specific sector.
Graduate Plus/Future Ready Award for extra-curricular skills
In addition to your degree programme, at Queen's you can have the opportunity to gain wider life, academic and employability skills. For example, placements, voluntary work, clubs, societies, sports and lots more. So not only do you graduate with a degree recognised from a world leading university, you'll have practical national and international experience plus a wider exposure to life overall. We call this Graduate Plus/Future Ready Award. It's what makes studying at Queen's University Belfast special.
1EU citizens in the EU Settlement Scheme, with settled status, will be charged the NI or GB tuition fee based on where they are ordinarily resident. Students who are ROI nationals resident in GB will be charged the GB fee.
2 EU students who are ROI nationals resident in ROI are eligible for NI tuition fees.
3 EU Other students (excludes Republic of Ireland nationals living in GB, NI or ROI) are charged tuition fees in line with international fees.
All tuition fees quoted relate to a single year of study unless stated otherwise. Tuition fees will be subject to an annual inflationary increase, unless explicitly stated otherwise.
There are no specific additional course costs associated with this programme.
All Students
Depending on the programme of study, there may be extra costs which are not covered by tuition fees, which students will need to consider when planning their studies.
Students can borrow books and access online learning resources from any Queen's library. If students wish to purchase recommended texts, rather than borrow them from the University Library, prices per text can range from £30 to £100. Students should also budget between £30 to £75 per year for photocopying, memory sticks and printing charges.
Students undertaking a period of work placement or study abroad, as either a compulsory or optional part of their programme, should be aware that they will have to fund additional travel and living costs.
If a programme includes a major project or dissertation, there may be costs associated with transport, accommodation and/or materials. The amount will depend on the project chosen. There may also be additional costs for printing and binding.
Students may wish to consider purchasing an electronic device; costs will vary depending on the specification of the model chosen.
There are also additional charges for graduation ceremonies, examination resits and library fines.
How do I fund my study?
The Department for the Economy will provide a tuition fee loan of up to £6,500 per NI / EU student for postgraduate study. Tuition fee loan information.
A postgraduate loans system in the UK offers government-backed student loans of up to £11,836 for taught and research Masters courses in all subject areas (excluding Initial Teacher Education/PGCE, where undergraduate student finance is available). Criteria, eligibility, repayment and application information are available on the UK government website.