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Department of Sociology

In our rapidly changing global environment, there has never been a more important time to look at the world through a social lens and engage in theoretically driven research and teaching that makes a difference.
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Welcome to the Department of Sociology at Durham

Our Department members, postgraduate researchers, and students collectively develop ‘sociological imagination’ and apply it to contemporary processes and issues. These include social inequality and its implications for social mobility, education and health; violence, abuse, and the role of help-seeking and state responses.
Find out more about us
1st for Criminology Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024
20th in the UK QS World University Subject Rankings 2024
4th in the UK for research impact in REF 2021
Athena Swan Silver Award in Gender Equality

  

Study with us

  • Undergraduate study

    Find out more about our undergraduate degrees in Sociology, Criminology and Joint Honours in Sociology and Anthropology.

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  • Postgraduate study

    Explore our postgraduate study options in Sociology, Criminology, Social Research Methods and Social Work.

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Undergraduate study

Find out more about our undergraduate degrees in Sociology, Criminology and Joint Honours in Sociology and Anthropology.

Students reading and discussing a book with their tutor

Postgraduate study

Explore our postgraduate study options in Sociology, Criminology, Social Research Methods and Social Work.

Someone having a coffee break

Our research

We work in collaborative and participative ways with communities, both within and external to the university, locally, nationally and internationally to effect social justice and social change.

Underpinning our work is a concern to understand the similarities and differences arising from people’s intersecting identities, especially of gender, sexuality, ‘race’, social class, faith and age.
Research areas
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Find out more about our Department

What's new?

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Master of Social Work Celebrates 20 Years

The Department of Sociology’s Master of Social Work (MSW) is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

Durham news
a lady with a blue top and white hair talking to a woman with short blind hair

New study finds policing of county lines 'criminalises' minority youth

A new research report has raised concerns that policing efforts targeting 'county lines' drug operations in the UK rely on discriminatory assumptions about minority groups and contribute to the criminalisation of minoritised communities.
Research news
Picture of sirens in a police car

ESRC invests £1.6 million in ambitious and novel project

ESRC project success for colleagues in the Department of Sociology
Research news
Cell

Mitigating the impact of air pollution on dementia and brain health: Setting the policy agenda

Professor Brian Castellani from our Department of Sociology is the Director of InSPIRE, a research consortium focused on the links between air pollution and brain health. Here, together with InSPIRE colleagues Dr Suzanne Bartington (Birmingham University) and Professor Stefan Reis (UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology), Brian discusses why air quality strategies should include benefits on brain health.
Research news
Image showing people crossing a busy city street

Encouraging writers to present an accurate view of self-harm

We’ve created new resources designed to help writers present an accurate view of people at risk of self-harm.
Research news
A couple holding hands in a comforting way
More news

Loneliness in old age and the role of social workers

Loneliness has been identified as a major challenge for social work because of its significant impact on health and social care services, particularly for older people. It is linked to conditions like heart disease, stroke and Alzheimer’s disease.

Three older women chatting to each other.

New report recommends specialist support for mothers in prison

A new report reveals the challenges mothers face trying to maintain a relationship with their children whilst in prison, and recommends additional support.
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Disability Inclusion, Rights, and Justice

Read about how colleagues incorporate Disability Inclusion, Rights, and Justice into their research and teaching, in the Department of Sociology.
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Student updates

Find out what our students get up to at Durham University.

Highlights

Studying for an MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice

Jagraj Singh gives us an insight into studying for an MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice in the Department of Sociology
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A day in the life of a criminology student

Olivia Gough gives us an insight into a day in the life as a Criminology student
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Get in touch

To find out more about our undergraduate and postgraduate options, please contact us using one of the buttons below.

Department of Sociology

Durham University
32 Old Elvet
Durham
DH1 3HN

+44 (0)191 33 41400

Questions about studying here?

Check out our list of FAQs or submit an enquiry form.

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