phd sociology university of edinburgh

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Sociology PhD

The university of edinburgh, different course options.

• Key information

Course Summary

Tuition fees, entry requirements, similar courses at different universities, key information data source : idp connect, qualification type.

PhD/DPhil - Doctor of Philosophy

Subject areas

Course type.

Research profile

Sociology at Edinburgh is one of the premier research units in the UK, as indicated by our excellent rating in the latest Research Assessment Exercise.

We have a long-standing commitment to original empirical and theoretical work on society, and to the production of cultural and scientific knowledge.

We work closely with other colleagues in the School and supervise many cross-disciplinary projects.

Who this programme is for

Applications are particularly welcome from students wishing to specialise in: refugee and migration studies; auto/biography and narrative studies; comparative sociology South Asian studies; Southern Africa; family and intimate relations; innovation in genomics; medical sociology; political sociology; nationalism studies; constitutional change and governance; social studies of finance and markets; social, cultural and feminist theory; gender, inequality and social stratification; work, consumption and organisations; Scottish society and politics; science and technology studies; sociology of emotions.

UK fees Course fees for UK students

To be confirmed

International fees Course fees for EU and international students

For this course (per year)

A UK 2:1 honours degree or its international equivalent, and a UK masters degree with an overall mark of 65% or its international equivalent.

MA/PGDip/PGCert Criminology and Criminal Justice

University of roehampton, social policy sociology phd, bangor university, criminology and sociology ma, criminology and law ma, law and criminology llm.

School of Social and Political Science

Sus+ the edinburgh university network of social scientists for sustainability.

Sus+ is the Edinburgh network of social scientists for sustainability. With around 100 members, Sus+ creates and facilitates contexts for social science scholars at all career stages – including PhD researchers – to identify shared research agendas and stimulate new scholarly collaborations.

Find out more about our Members.

Degree Programme Table: Sociology (PhD) (Full-time) (PRPHDSOCIO1F)

Year 1 academic year: 2020/21, starting in: september.

There are no compulsory courses in this year of this programme.

Sociology PhD The University of Edinburgh

• On campus - h
• Sep 1, 2023 Part-time - 6 years
• Sep 1, 2023 Full-time - 3 years

Key Course Facts

• Admission advice for international students

Course Description

Edinburgh is one of the leading international centres of excellence for postgraduate study in sociology. Our PhD degree is eligible for Economic and Social Research Council funding for UK and EU students, but our postgraduate research students come from all over the world and we have a vibrant and diverse postgraduate student community, which plays a full role in the life of the department.

Many of our students have non-sociology backgrounds and bring with them experience and expertise from other disciplines in the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. Whatever your background, you will thrive at Edinburgh.<MS&&>

Potential applicants are encouraged to contact the Postgraduate Admissions Advisor (Research) MW&&> [email protected] </MW&& to discuss their research proposals and the availability of appropriate research supervision, using the email address on the right-hand side of the page</MS&&>.

Entry Requirements / Admissions

Average student cost of living in the uk.

London costs approx 34% more than average, mainly due to rent being 67% higher than average of other cities. For students staying in student halls, costs of water, gas, electricity, wifi are generally included in the rental. Students in smaller cities where accommodation is in walking/biking distance transport costs tend to be significantly smaller.

University Rankings

Positions of the university of edinburgh in top uk and global rankings., about the university of edinburgh.

The University of Edinburgh is located in the Scottish city of the same name, and is one of the oldest universities in the entire United Kingdom, having opened in the year 1583. The university enjoys a strong reputation for its contributions to international research efforts, which is reflected in their inclusion in the Russell Group, Universitas 21, and Una Europa. Edinburgh offers its residents a historic yet modern city, with a lively nightlife scene, reliable public transport, and friendly locals.

List of 43694 Bachelor and Master Courses from The University of Edinburgh - Course Catalogue

Where is this programme taught

Similar courses

Concentration: 

• Women Gender & Sexuality Studies  

School of Social and Political Science

Banner subject area content.

Our people are the most important thing about our subject area. It takes a team of academics, professional services colleagues and PhD students working together to deliver our teaching, carry out our research and keep the department running. Together, they form a supportive community covering a range of professional expertise. You can search by name or role here , or browse below.

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Staff content, people content.

Ms Ji-Eun Ahn

PhD Student

Amy Andrada

PhD student

• Gender Politics Research Group
• Identities & Inequalities
• Kinship, bodies and relatedness

Ms Thalia Thereza Assan

Sociology PhD Candidate

• Childhood & Youth
• Children, families and relationships
• Race and decolonial thought

Professor Angus Bancroft

Professor of Sociology

• Criminal justice
• Data & Digital
• Digital sociology
• Health & Well-being
• Science, technology and innovation

Christopher Barrie

Lecturer in Computational Sociology

Kath Bassett

PhD Title: Digitally-Entangled Touristic Placemaking: Socio-Spatial Platforms, Affective Labour, and Algorithmic Navigation by Cultural Practitioners of Edinburgh’s Harry Potter Tourism Scene

Dr Katucha Bento

Lecturer in Race and Decolonial Studies

• Migration and experiences of displacement

Dr Dhaneswar Bhoi

Recently conferred with the title of 'Honorary Fellow' by UoE and has successfully completed his Post-Doctorate in Sociology at the Centre for South Asian Studies, School of Social and Political Science, UoE, UK

• Global health policy
• Governance of welfare states
• Health inequalities, disability and older people
• South Asian studies
• Work & Economy

Dr Shawn Bodden

Research Fellow

• Energy, environment and sustainability
• Technology and material culture

Senior Lecturer in Sociology

• Nationalism and political action

Dr Théo Bourgeron

Chancellor's Fellow

• European Union Studies
• Finance and economic sociology
• Governance & Democracy
• Science, knowledge and policy
• Welfare, policy and Covid-19

Julie Brownlie

Frances Burgess

Research Administrator (Online Advertising & High-Frequency Trading Projects)

Christopher Cannell

PhD Student: Scottish People in London

• British politics research

Dylan Cassar

Lee Chalmers

Dr Shruti Chaudhry

• Gender, Feminism and Sexuality
• Mental health and wellbeing

Justin Chun-ting Ho

Dr Roxanne Connelly

Senior Lecturer of Sociology and Quantitative Methods

Dr Nathan Coombs

SPS Director of Undergraduate Programmes, Senior Lecturer in Economic Sociology, Co-Director of Centre for Science, Knowledge and Policy

Graham Crow

Emeritus Professor of Sociology and Methodology

Honorary Fellow

Dr Isabelle Darmon

Lecturer in Sociology and Sustainable Development

Elif Buse Doyuran

Isadora Dullaert

Eva Duncanson

PhD title: Women and Non-Binary Twitch Streamers and their Viewers

Ginevra Floridi

Lecturer (Sociology and Quantitative Methods)

Joséphine Foucher

• Politics and political violence

Vassilis Galanos

Teaching Fellow and Research Fellow

• Historical approaches to science, technology and medicine
• Social Studies of Information and Communication Technologies
• Studies of information and communication technology

PhD Candidate: "Art Worlds Online: Memes, Labour and Politics"

Vernon Gayle

Chair of Sociology and Social Statistics

Poppy Gerrard-Abbott

Johan Gordillo-Garcia

PhD (2019-2022)

Hugo Gorringe

Head of Sociology

Dr Radhika Govinda

Senior Lecturer in Sociology, Director of GENDER.ED and School Director for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

• International development

Karen Gregory

Dr Claire Haggett

Senior Lecturer

• Environment and energy

Jillian Hart

PhD title: Is methodological innovation superficially attractive but challenging in practice?

Andi Haxhiu

Professor Jonathan Hearn

Professor of Political and Historical Sociology

• Political Theory Research Group

Dr Rebecca Hewer

Professor Mary Holmes

Professor of Emotions and Society

Dr Lisa Howard

Visiting postdoctoral researcher

• Children and families

Lynn Jamieson

Sociology of Families and Relationships

Patricia Jeffery

Professor (Emerita)

Professor Roger Jeffery

Honorary Professorial Fellow

• Cultural Heritage

Dr Stephen Kemp

• Schools & departments

Digital Sociology MSc

Awards: MSc

Study modes: Full-time, Part-time

Funding opportunities

Programme description

Uk's top ranked sociology department.

Our sociology department is the UK’s top-ranked department for sociological research.

What will I learn?

This programme will provide you with a rigorous introduction to sociological research in the digital age.

The programme combines training in “traditional approaches” to sociology with new theory and methods for understanding the digital world. We will study, for example, foundational questions in inequality, demography, and labour research with an emphasis on how the digital transformation has shifted our understandings.

On this programme, you may take up the following specialised topics, including (but not limited to):

• work and labour
• relationships
• government and law

We will be launching in the 2024/25 academic year a dedicated cluster of courses in Social Data Science for the MSc in Digital Sociology.

Students taking these courses will be able to undergo specialised training in core analytical skills within the field of social data science (including natural language processing, and network analysis).

In combination with other core courses in Digital Sociology, this will equip students with the core analytical and programming skills required for evaluating and conducting data science for the social sciences.

How will I learn?

The degree combines lectures and seminar teaching on specific topics with individual research supervision by leading researchers in the emerging field of digital sociology.

Who is this programme for?

While this programme will be primarily suitable for those with a background in the social sciences, the MSc is intended for anyone who wants to undertake specialised training in sociological approaches for understanding the digital world.

Programme structure

The MSc in Digital Sociology is offered as a one-year full-time or two-year part-time programme.

You will take compulsory courses that give you a sociological perspective and prepare you for independent dissertation research.

Your four further option courses will provide a deeper empirical and theoretical grounding in questions within the sociology of emotions, finance, and technology. You will also have methods training in areas such as computational text analysis, network analysis, and multi-level modelling.

The dissertation, a piece of self-designed research with supervisory support, allows you to put your personal stamp on your studies.

Find out more about compulsory and optional courses.

We link to the latest information available. Please note that this may be for a previous academic year and should be considered indicative.

Find out more about compulsory and optional courses

Learning outcomes.

As well as providing students with relevant skills, studying for this degree will give you:

• a foundation in social and cultural theory, as relevant to the study of digital society
• a foundation in digital research methods relevant for the sociological study of contemporary society
• the opportunity to learn how to gather and analyse digital data using programmatic tools in R and/or Python
• the opportunity to engage with ethical issues that are raised by digital sociological work

Career opportunities

You will complete a supervised dissertation project on a topic that you choose based on your interests and career plans.

This degree is well-positioned for a wide range of careers in the public, private, and third sectors. It is particularly relevant for those who have aspirations for a career in:

• digital research
• internet research
• digital social policy
• digital media design and development

The programme is also key for those who wish to engage with digital technology and data in their own personal lives, or on a wider scale as an activist, artist, manager, or practitioner.

You will gain highly transferable skills in research, communication, and project management applicable to roles in many fields.

After graduating, you may go on to undertake roles in areas including:

• social media analysis
• technology consulting
• law and government

Further study

The programme also offers a route to a PhD programme in social research.

Entry requirements

These entry requirements are for the 2024/25 academic year and requirements for future academic years may differ. Entry requirements for the 2025/26 academic year will be published on 1 Oct 2024.

A UK 2:1 honours degree or its international equivalent, in a relevant discipline.

We welcome applications from students with a strong background in the social sciences as well as those coming from a background in statistics, data science, and computer science. Applicants who do not have this relevant background will receive consideration on the merits of their personal statement and other relevant experience.

Students from China

This degree is Band C.

• Postgraduate entry requirements for students from China

International qualifications

Check whether your international qualifications meet our general entry requirements:

• Entry requirements by country
• English language requirements

Regardless of your nationality or country of residence, you must demonstrate a level of English language competency at a level that will enable you to succeed in your studies.

English language tests

We accept the following English language qualifications at the grades specified:

• IELTS Academic: total 7.0 with at least 6.0 in each component. We do not accept IELTS One Skill Retake to meet our English language requirements.
• TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition): total 100 with at least 20 in each component. We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
• C1 Advanced ( CAE ) / C2 Proficiency ( CPE ): total 185 with at least 169 in each component.
• Trinity ISE : ISE III with passes in all four components.
• PTE Academic: total 70 with at least 59 in each component.

Your English language qualification must be no more than three and a half years old from the start date of the programme you are applying to study, unless you are using IELTS , TOEFL, Trinity ISE or PTE , in which case it must be no more than two years old.

Degrees taught and assessed in English

We also accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree that has been taught and assessed in English in a majority English speaking country, as defined by UK Visas and Immigration:

• UKVI list of majority English speaking countries

We also accept a degree that has been taught and assessed in English from a university on our list of approved universities in non-majority English speaking countries (non-MESC).

• Approved universities in non-MESC

If you are not a national of a majority English speaking country, then your degree must be no more than five years old* at the beginning of your programme of study. (*Revised 05 March 2024 to extend degree validity to five years.)

Find out more about our language requirements:

Fees and costs

Tuition fees, scholarships and funding, uk government postgraduate loans.

If you live in the UK, you may be able to apply for a postgraduate loan from one of the UK’s governments. The type and amount of financial support you are eligible for will depend on:

• your programme
• the duration of your studies
• your residency status

Programmes studied on a part-time intermittent basis are not eligible.

• UK government and other external funding

Other funding opportunities

Search for scholarships and funding opportunities:

• Search for funding

Further information

• Postgraduate Admissions Team
• Phone: +44 (0)131 650 4086
• Contact: [email protected]
• Programme Director, Dr Chris Barrie
• Contact: [email protected]
• Graduate School of Social & Political Science
• Chrystal Macmillan Building
• 15A George Square
• Central Campus
• School: Social & Political Science
• College: Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

Select your programme and preferred start date to begin your application.

MSc Digital Sociology - 1 Year (Full-time)

Msc digital sociology - 2 years (part-time), application deadlines.

Due to high demand, the school operates a number of selection deadlines. We will make a small number of offers to the most outstanding candidates on an ongoing basis, but hold the majority of applications until the next published selection deadline when we will offer a proportion of the places available to applicants selected through a competitive process.

Please be aware that applications must be submitted and complete, i.e. all required documents uploaded, by the relevant application deadline in order to be considered in that round. Your application will still be considered if you have not yet met the English language requirement for the programme.

Deadlines for applicants applying to study in 2024/25:

(Revised 18 October 2023 to update the 'places awarded by' date for round 1)

• How to apply

References are not usually required for applications to this programme.

Find out more about the general application process for postgraduate programmes: