Arts - Sociology
Our BA degree programme at University College Cork is the gateway to the immense and exciting possibilities of education. We offer a wide variety of subjects across diverse fields – this allows you the flexibility and opportunity to choose your career pathway or postgraduate route.
| Award Name | Degree - Honours Bachelor (Level 8 NFQ) |
|---|---|
| NFQ Classification | Major |
| Awarding Body | National University of Ireland |
| NFQ Level | Level 8 NFQ |
| Award Name | NFQ Classification | Awarding Body | NFQ Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Degree - Honours Bachelor (Level 8 NFQ) | Major | National University of Ireland | Level 8 NFQ |
Duration
3 years, full-time.
Specific Subjects or course requirements
Leaving Certificate Entry Requirements
At least six subjects must be presented. Minimum grade H5 in two subjects and minimum grade O6/H7 in four other subjects. English and Irish are requirements for all programmes unless the applicant is exempt from Irish. Applicants will need to meet the following minimum entry requirements:
English O6/H7
Irish O6/H7
Other Language O6/H7
Leaving Certificate Vocational Progamme LCVP
Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme LCVP
Distinction 66 points
Merit 46 points
Pass 28 points
QQI FET Applicants General Information
Careers / Further progression
Skills and Careers Information
Sociology is the study of people and how we interact with one another. Having a good understanding of human relationships can be a bonus in a range of careers across all sectors. Sociology graduates leave university with a broad range of transferable skills, including being able to work to deadlines, make good arguments and think creatively.
Our Sociology graduates have made careers in fields such as:
media, journalism, and communications
arts and cultural industries
human resources
management
advertising and marketing
the civil service, government and public administration
the Garda Síochána and corrections services
health, education and social services
planning, environment and sustainability
international development and human rights agencies.
civil society organisations and social enterprises
Many of our sociologists from UCC have gone on to become lecturers and professors at universities in Ireland, the UK, the US, Canada and Australia.
Further information
September 2026
CK101 Arts: Approximate Available Places 50
Find out about the mature entry requirements at https://www.ucc.ie/en/study/undergrad/entryreqs/matureapplicants/
CK101 Arts: Approximate Available Places Overall 500
Entry 2026
Early online application (discounted): Fee €35 Closing Date: 20 January 2026 at 5pm
Normal online application: Fee €50 Closing Date: 1 February 2026 at 5pm
Late online application - restrictions apply (see page 3 2026 CAO Handbook): Fee: €65 Closing Date: 1 May 2026 at 5pm
Change of Mind - restrictions apply (see page 3 2026 CAO Handbook): Fee: Nil Closing Date: 1 July 2026 at 5pm
Be sure to complete any action well in advance of closing dates. You should avoid making an application close to a closing date. No extensions to closing dates will be allowed and all application fees are non-refundable.
LATE APPLICATIONS
Late Applications are those which are received after 5pm on 1 February 2026. The closing date for late applications is 5pm on 1 May 2026, subject to the restrictions listed on page 3 of the 2026 CAO Handbook. The online facility for late applications opens on the 5 March 2026 at 12:00 noon - a fee of €65 applies.
Restrictions
As a CAO applicant you may experience one or more of the following restrictions based on your course choices, your category of application, or restrictions imposed by the HEIs that you wish to apply to. Please read the section on 'Restrictions' on page 3 of the 2026 CAO Handbook carefully. This section includes information on:
General Restrictions
1. Making a late application
2. Making changes to your course choices
Restricted Courses
3. Applying for a restricted course
Mature Applicants
4. Mature applicants
Supplementary Admissions Routes
5. Applying for DARE and/or HEAR
This programme gives you the space to explore your options. Ultimately you will not only excel in specific subject knowledge you will develop those intellectual, social and management skills essential for today’s working environment.
Our Arts CK101 programme is a full-time three-year honours programme, based at the College of Arts, Celtic Studies & Social Sciences (CACSSS). If you wish to spend a year abroad at one of our partner institutions in Europe and beyond, you can apply to our four-year Arts (International) CK108 programme which is open to language and non-language students.
Subject options on registration: Students choose four subjects from the list below in Year 1, with not more than one subject from any group.
Students continue with 2 of these subjects in Years 2 & 3:
Group 1: Asian Studies, Computer Science***, History, Portuguese
Group 2(a)*: History of Art
Group 2(b)*: European Studies, Folklore, Gaeilge/Irish, Greek and Roman Civilisation, Studies in Psychology****
Group 3: Archaeology, Chinese Studies, German, Latin***, Mathematical Studies, Politics
Group 4: French, Sociology, Studies in Music
Group 5: Béaloideas, Economics, English, Greek***, Religions and Global Diversity
Group 6(a)**: Geography, Italian
Group 6(b)**: Celtic Civilisation, Philosophy, Spanish
*Groups 2(a) and 2(b): Students can combine History of Art with any subject from Group 2(a) in Year 1 only.Students can only study one subject from Groups 2(a) and 2(b) in Years 2 & 3.
**Groups 6(a) and 6(b): From Year 2, students may combine Italian with Spanish, but students may not combine Italian with Celtic Civilisation or Philosophy; or Geography with Celtic Civilisation, Philosophy or Spanish.
***These subjects are available in First Arts and thereafter only as a 10-credit subject in the Single Subject Programme
****This subject is available in Year 1 only
Sociology is the study of society as a whole. It shows us how we may think our way through and out of problems, both individually and collectively.
Sociology is concerned with identity and multiculturalism; sexuality and intimacy; media and popular culture; environment and sustainability; law and justice; crime and deviance; conflict and violence; anthropology, civilisation and religion; art, culture and literature; health and well-being; politics and community; economy and society.
It is concerned with the modern world, how it has come into being and what challenges and crises it faces, at local, national and global levels. It ask questions about the decline of the power of the church; what it means to be "Irish" in an era of immigration and globalisation; political crises in Europe and across the globe; global climate change and the future of Western civilisation.
Sociology helps us understand these problems, in an Irish and an international context.
You will learn research methods and useful skills such as interviewing, surveys and questionnaires, onsite observation and ethnography, discourse analysis and archival research.
Year 1 Modules:
SC1005 General Introduction to Sociology (5 credits)
SC1006 Key Issues in Sociology (10 credits)
Year 2 Modules:
Core:
Social Theory (classical)
Introduction to Social Research
Electives:
Crime & Deviance;
Sociology of Class, Health & Illness;
Irish Society;
Race, Ethnicity, Migration and Nationalism;
The Family;
Research Project
Years 3*/4 Modules:
Core:
Social Theory (contemporary)
Electives:
Politics;
Environment;
Medical Sociology;
Sociology of Violence;
Planning & Sustainable Development;
Globalisation, Race & Ethnicity;
Gender, Sexuality and Inequality;
Housing & Habitat;
Memory and Trauma, Sociology of Law.
* BA International students spend third year studying in an approved foreign university in a country of the student's major language or subject. They will return to complete their final year in UCC in year 4.
Theresa O’Keefe
theresa.okeefe@ucc.ie
+ 353 (0)21 490 2894
http://www.ucc.ie/en/sociology/