City Open Days

Register for an open day, look around our campuses and speak with our staff and students to answer any questions you may have.

About
Sociology is a fascinating subject that touches on every aspect of modern life, helping us understand society and our roles within it.
We are one of the oldest and most well-established Sociology Departments in London, with a long-tradition of engagement with public policy around important social issues.
Our students receive a first-class education that is consistently informed by cutting-edge research and delivered by internationally recognised leaders in their fields.
Our range of courses teach students about the local and global forces which define our lives. They involve a mixture of hands-on and theoretical learning which help students develop the sociological imagination, knowledge and research skills to engage with the key challenges and debates that are shaping policy formation and professional practice in a rapidly changing world.
City’s location in the heart of one of the world’s great cities provides a stimulating real-world environment in which to explore issues including criminology and criminal justice, class, gender, ethnicity, migration, and the sociology of race and racism.
We have particular expertise in quantitative sociology (including survey methods and data analysis), enabling students to develop highly sought-after data literacy and quantitative skills.
At the end of their studies, our students graduate with a highly marketable degree from an institution with an outstanding track record for student employability.
Study
The department offers a range of courses at undergraduate, postgraduate taught and research degree level.
See which course is right for you:
Undergraduate
- BSc (Hons) Sociology*
- BSc (Hons) Criminology*
- BSc (Hons) Criminology and Sociology*
- BSc (Hons) Sociology with Psychology*.
- BSc (Hons) Media, Communications and Sociology
* All students enrolling on these undergraduate courses will have the option to apply to join a prestigious Quantitative Methods (QM) pathway at the end of their first year of study. See ‘City Q-Step Centre’ tab for more information.
Postgraduate
Research degrees
Studentships
The South East Network for Social Sciences (SeNSS) consortium of 10 leading UK universities offers fully funded doctoral studentships, post-doctoral fellowships and placements.
Find out more and apply for SeNSS Studentships.
Related subjects
Research
Research centres
The Department is home to world-class quality research which has a direct and positive impact on policymakers, business and the professions.
In the recent Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021, which measures the quality and impact of research in universities across the UK, 88% of our research was rated as being of world-leading (4*) and internationally excellent (3*) quality.
This places us 6th in the UK for Sociology research and 1st in London.
We have an internationally recognised tradition of theoretically informed, empirical research that engages critically with defining societal transformations and policy challenges.
Our research centres work to improve knowledge and understanding, and influence policy and practice. Learn more about their activities below.
- Centre for City Criminology
- Centre for Crime and Justice Research (co-directed with City Law School)
- European Social Survey (ESS)
- Gender and Sexualities Research Centre
- Jeremy Tunstall Global Media Research Centre
- The Centre for Research on Work and Society
- Violence and Society Centre
A number of international peer-reviewed journals are based in the department:
Staff

Featured academics
Academic staff
- Dr Gary Armstrong, Senior Lecturer in Criminology
- Dr Stephanie Alice Baker, Senior Lecturer in Sociology
- Dr Matt Barnes, Senior Lecturer in Sociology
- Dr Gemma Birkett, Senior Lecturer in Criminology
- Dr Elinor Carmi, Lecturer in Data Politics and Social Justice
- Professor Jean K Chalaby, Professor of International Communication
- Professor Rachel Cohen, Professor of Sociology, Work and Employ
- Dr Vanessa Gash, Reader
- Dr Felipe Gonzalez Santos, Postdoctoral Research Fellow
- Dr Karen Graham, Lecturer in Criminology
- Professor Katrin Hohl, Professor of Criminology & Criminal Justice
- Dr Jonathan Ilan, Senior Lecturer in Criminology
- Professor Petros Iosifidis, Professor of Media & Communication Policy
- Dr Riikka Kotanen, Senior Lecturer in Sociology
- Professor Jo Littler, Professor of Social Analysis and Cultural Politics
- Professor Eugene McLaughlin, Professor of Criminology
- Professor Dan Mercea, Professor of Digital and Social Change
- Dr Carrie Myers, Reader
- Merili Pullerits, Research Assistant
- Sara Rodriguez, Research Assistant (Q-Step Centre)
- Dr James Rosbrook-Thompson, Senior Lectureship in Criminology
- Dr Michael Saker, Senior Lecturer in Digital Sociology and Societal Change
- Dr Liza Schuster, Reader in Sociology
- Dr Sally Stares, Senior Lecturer in Sociology
- Professor Simon Susen, Professor of Sociology
- Professor Emmeline Taylor, Professor of Criminology
- Dr Gerbrand Tholen, Senior Lecturer in Sociology
Honorary research staff
- Professor John Coveney, Honorary Research Fellow
- Dr Geof Rayner, Honorary Research Fellow
- Dr Martha Van Der Bly, Honorary Visiting Fellow
Visiting lecturers
- Dr Sandya Bhattacharya
- Sue Brown, Visiting Lecturer
- Athina Caraba,Visiting Lecturer
- Piero Corcillo, Visiting Lecturer
- Jon Eilenberg, Visiting Lecturer
- Dr Delaram Ghanimifard, Visiting Lecturer
- Ioanna Gouseti, Visiting Lecturer
- Dr Chris Holly, Visiting Lecturer
- Professor John Howkins, Visiting Professor
- Deborah Humphry, Visiting Lecturer
- Patrick Igulot, Visiting Lecturer
- Dr Patty Kostkova, Visiting Lecturer
- Dr Kerry Lee, Visiting Lecturer
- Eric Lybeck, Visiting Lecturer
- Carina Mansey, Visiting Lecturer
- Naomi Oosterman, Visiting Lecturer
- Professor Papathanassopoulos Stylianos, Visiting Professor
- Holly Powell-Jones, Visiting Lecturer
- Professor Ali Rattansi, Honorary Visiting professor
- Dr Kate Stewart, Visiting Lecturer
- Dr Oddveig Storstad , Visiting Scholar
- Paul Watt, Visiting Lecturer
- Dr Annette-Carina van der Zaag, Visiting Lecturer
- Dr Matina Zestanaki, Visiting Lecturer
- Stamatia Zestanaki, Visiting Lecturer
- Clare Bowen, Visiting Lecturer
- Hannah Curran-Troop, Visiting Lecturer
- Dr Yvonne Ehrstein, Visiting Lecturer
- Penny Nakou, Visiting Lecturer
- Dr Pardis Asadi Zeidabadi, Visiting Lecturer
City Q-Step Centre
The City Q-Step Centre is based in the Department of Sociology and Criminology.
Q-Step is a national programme aimed at achieving step-changes in undergraduate quantitative social science training in the UK.
Q-step is motivated by the UK’s shortage of social science graduates with quantitative skills. City is one of seventeen Q-step Centres located in different universities across the UK.
The objective of these centres is to support the development and delivery of specialist undergraduate quantitative programmes, through the development of new courses, work experience opportunities and pathways to postgraduate study.
We are working with the following undergraduate programmes:
- BSc (Hons) Sociology*
- BSc (Hons) Criminology*
- BSc (Hons) Criminology and Sociology*
- BSc (Hons) Media, Communication and Sociology*
- BSc (Hons) Sociology with Psychology*
All students enrolling on a course will have the option to apply to join one of the following QM pathways at the end of their first year of study.
- Sociology with Quantitative Methods
- Criminology with Quantitative Methods
- Criminology and Sociology with Quantitative Methods
- Media, Communication and Sociology with Quantitative Methods
- Sociology with Psychology with Quantitative Methods
Students on a QM Pathway will, alongside their substantive modules, study quantitative analysis of social research data, data visualisation, comparative survey analysis and advanced quantitative methods.
All pathway students will undertake a graded research placement in a partner institution and will have the opportunity to apply for an international placement in the summer between their second and third years of study.
Partner organisations
Part of the training for the quantitative methods pathway in year 2 involves the students taking a compulsory quantitative placement module. The placement module gives students the opportunity to apply their quantitative skills in the real world. The placement is an accredited module and part of the students’ degree course.
The students do ‘quantitative work’ on the placement which could involve producing, analysing or reporting quantitative data or statistics.
Some of the organisations involved in hosting our students have included:
- NatCen Social Research
- Kantar
- Full Fact
- Which? policy
- Islington Council – children’s services
- British Transport Police
- BBC Media Action
- European Social Survey (City, University of London)
City Q-Step co-Directors
- Dr Eric Harrison, Senior Lecturer in Quantitative Sociology and Deputy Director, European Social Survey HQ.
- Dr Matt Barnes, Senior Lecturer in Sociology (Quantitative Data Resources).
Centre Members
- Professor Rachel Cohen, Senior Lecturer in Sociology and Head of Department
- Professor Jason Dykes, Professor of Visualisation
- Dr Vanessa Gash, Reader in Sociology
- Dr Katrin Hohl, Reader in Criminology
- Dr Sally Stares, Senior Lecturer in Sociology (Quantitative Methods)
- Nhlanhla Ndebele, Q-Step Teaching Fellow.
Q-Step accreditation
Graduate opportunities
Our courses equip graduates with a range of transferable skills that are highly prized in the workplace. They develop:
- the methodological expertise to analyse social, criminal and psychological data
- the analytical capability to identify and engage with social policy debates
- critical thinking skills
- professional research and writing skills.
Graduates with these skills can find work in diverse sectors, including:
- national and local government
- the NHS
- education
- market research
- the not-for-profit sector
- human resources
- the financial sector
- media and communications.
City’s central London location offers excellent internship opportunities that help students stand out in a crowded job market.
Our students have secured placements with a diversity of organisations, large and small, international and local and often situated within minutes of City.
They include organisations specialising in community work, welfare, crime and justice, human rights, mental health, international development and government.