AIMS

The fundamental objective of this degree is to produce professionals with a sociology profile. Students will acquire a global knowledge of those areas related to scientific knowledge of societies, and be able to direct social, social intervention and public policy research projects and to adapt efficiently to a rapidly developing field, with the ultimate aim of contributing, together with other professionals, to a better understanding of societies and their well-being through the elaboration of explanatory frameworks for social phenomena, analysis of the principle problems, formulation of proposals for social intervention and the planning and management of public policies. 

UA graduates in sociology will be qualified to work in an executive, advisory or managerial capacity within the public, private and non-profit sectors, in organisations undertaking the design, direction, control and analysis of opinion, consumer and publicity research, and as consultants and specialists in research investigating quality.  They will also be equipped to work as coordinators on social intervention programmes, as specialists in social problems and as managers, planners and assessors of public policies in government, non-profit sector associations and organisations, consultancies, research institutes and offices, and voluntary bodies.

GENERAL AND SPECIFIC SKILLS

The specific and general professional skills that students should acquire over the course, and which are required to pass the degree, are described below:

• Credit structure of the degree course
• Distribution of credits per subject type
• General description of the course programme 
  

CREDIT STRUCTURE OF THE DEGREE COURSE

The new Sociology Degree programme comprises 240 credits. These constitute the theoretical and practical bases that the student must acquire, namely: the fundamentals of this field of knowledge, compulsory and optional subjects, seminars, practical IT experience, external practical experience, supervised projects, an independent project and a Final project.

Subjects, each worth 6 European ECTS credits, are organized into semesters.  Students must take 5 subjects each semester in order to complete 30 credits and thus, 60 credits per academic year and a total of 240 credits over the four academic years.

In order to make the course compatible with other activities, students are permitted to take a part-time course consisting of 30 credits per academic year.

DISTRIBUTION OF CREDITS PER SUBJECT TYPE

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE COURSE PROGRAMME

The Sociology Degree programme is structured around seventeen modules.  This overall module-based structure guarantees greater and better coordination, permits a more flexible organisation and offers the possibility of achieving the proposed educational objectives with greater efficiency.  A module is defined as an academic unit that includes several subjects which are related from a disciplinary point of view (theoretical or methodological). Thus, the subjects can be understood as integrated.

Of the modules constituting the programme, sixteen comprise subjects and their corresponding curricular contents, and one incorporates contents aimed at professional vocational training. Thus, the module “Transfer” incorporates the subjects “External practical experience” and “End of Course project”. The ultimate aim of this module is to connect the student with his or her employment niche, providing supervision and help towards understanding and integrating the curricular contents acquired in a professional context.

LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT (IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

Students who study an undergraduate degree at the University of Alicante must confirm a minimum level of B1 in a foreign language (a B2 is recommended) in order to obtain the diploma.  

The required language level is in accordance with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. 

The language accreditation requirement can be obtained previously or at any time during university studies. However, the language requirement will be necessary in order to be able to assess the final year project.

The different forms of obtaining such language requirement can be consulted in the additional information in this section.  

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LANGUAGE TEACHING COMPETENCE CERTIFICATE

Students who want to have a career in non-university teaching when they finish their studies are recommended to obtain the teaching competence certificate (Valencian and/or foreign languages).

This certificate can be obtained by taking specific itineraries in your university studies or by taking the UA teaching competence course in Valencian, German, French and English.

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FINAL YEAR PROJECT (TFG)

All the official undergraduate degrees must be completed by preparing and defending a final year project, which must be done in the final phase of the studies and be aimed at the assessment of competences associated to the degree.

The final year project must be an original, independent and personal work. The elaboration of it may by individual or coordinated. Each student will prepare this project under the supervision of a tutor, allowing students to show the received training content in an integrated many, as well as the acquired competences associated to the undergraduate degree.

In order to register in the final year project, students must comply with the requirements established in the “Regulations for continuation studies for students registered in undergraduate degrees at the University of Alicante”. Among the requirements established to be able to register in the final year project, a minimum of 168 credits must be passed in undergraduate degrees with a total of 240 credits, and a minimum of 228 credits in undergraduate degrees with a total of 300 credits or more.

In order for the final year project to be assessed, a B1 level of a foreign language (B2 is recommended) must be confirmed.

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• Access routes
• Procedure for applying for admission
• Recommended applicant profile
• Number of places and pass marks

ACCESS ROUTES

Admission to this degree course is open to any applicant who meets one of the following entrance requirements:

1.     SPANISH BACCALAUREATE (LOMCE) UNIVERSITY ENTRANCE EXAM (PAU): Although students can access university by means of any Baccalaureate specialization, the recommended one is Humanities and Social Sciences.

Admission scores for this degree can be improved by taking the specific modules of the University Entrance Exam (PAU) as indicated in the table below with their respective weightings.

TABLE 1

2.     PREVIOUS BACCALAUREATES WITH OR WITHOUT A PASS IN THE UNIVERSITY ENTRANCE EXAM (PAU): Students who have completed their Baccalaureate under previous education systems and have passed the PAU will be able to use the mark obtained in their application.

However, students can take specific exam modules during the voluntary PAU exam period in order to improve their admission score as shown in table 1. They can also sit for the obligatory PAU exams, in which case they will have to take all the exams scheduled during this period.

3.     VOCATIONAL EDUCATION: Vocational educational qualifications such as senior technician, senior technician of plastic arts and design, or senior technician in sports is the preferred professional area although access to this degree may be through any professional field.

Admission scores can be improved by taking the PAU exam in up to 4 of the modules in table 1.

4.     STUDENTS FROM EDUCATION SYSTEMS IN COUNTRIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION OR OTHER STATES WITH WHICH SPAIN HAS AN INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENT: Accreditation is required and issued by Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED).

Students can sit for exams in subjects included in the Pruebas de Competencias Específicas (PCE), organised by the UNED, in order to improve their admission score up to 14 points as indicated in the weightings in Table 1.

5.     STUDENTS FROM FOREIGN EDUCATION SYSTEMS: Prior to applying for the validation of their foreign Baccalaureate, students may sit for up to 4 exams in subjects offered by the Pruebas de Competencias Específicas (PCE) organised by UNED (at least one subject from the core subjects).

The weightings indicated in table 1 will be applied to core and/or optional subjects.

6.     OTHER: University degrees and other similar qualifications. University entrance exam for students over 25 (preferential option: Social and Legal Sciences). Access on the basis of professional experience (applicants over 40 years of age). Access to applicants aged 45 years or more by means of an exam.

Weightings of the subjects of the specific phase of the Proof of Access to the University (PAU) in the previous years

High School Diploma Subjects

Academic Years 2010-11 2011-12

0.1

0.2

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

Academic Years  2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17

0.1

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

0.2

x

x

x

PROCEDURE FOR APPLYING FOR ADMISSION: PRE-ENROLMENT AND REGISTRATION

• Anticipated number of places offered during the first pre-enrolment session: 60

• In order to apply for a place, the procedure and pre-enrolment periods established each year must be observed.  It is normally necessary to pre-enrol, and two pre-enrolment periods are established for this.  The first period, or phase A is held in mid-June and the second, or phase B, is held in mid-September.  During the second period, places may only be applied for on courses which have not been filled following phase A.  Places are awarded on the basis of the preferences, criteria and reserve quotas established by current legislation. Information concerning the application procedure  (Pre-enrolment).

• Applicants admitted to a course must formally register within the timescale established annually in the enrolment calendar (usually at the end of July and the end of September). Registration Information.

RECOMMENDED APPLICANT PROFILE

As regards the recommended educational background, new students should have a basic grounding in the social and human sciences, together with good skills in logical reasoning.

NUMBER OF PLACES AND PASS MARKS

• "Pass marks" indicated correspond to the results of the first adjudication of June.
  
• The definitive Pass marks can be inferior to the here collected.

PROFESSIONAL PROFILES

Of the five professional profiles identified in the sub-commission for Sociology White Paper (Social Intervention, Social Research, Education, Public Policies and Organisation of work), the Degree in Sociology offered by the UA focuses on three (Social Intervention, Applied Social Research and Public Policies), as a consequence both of an attempt to adapt the course to its socio-economic setting (economic sectors and predominant areas of activity, size of organisations, information needs) and of the current academic staff’s preferred areas of specialisation.

- The Social Intervention profile aims to focus on the study of old and new social problems such as inequality and social exclusion, poverty, the roots of violence and peace studies, gender differences, changes within the family, problems associated with youth and the dependent population, new types of work, the social impact of the environmental crisis, social policies and the future of the Welfare State, and the costs and opportunities arising from international migration.

- The Public Policies profile aims to prepare the sociology graduate as a specialist in the design, planning, management and assessment of public projects and programmes aimed at local and regional development, international cooperation, social intervention, cultural and tourism management, and other public policies (employment, health, town planning, environment, gender, citizen participation, etc.).

- Finally, Applied Social Research constitutes one of the most fertile and solicited fields in sociology.  It centres on the design, direction, control and analysis of electoral polls and opinion and consumer surveys, the design and planning of commercial strategies and campaigns, the design, planning and management of communication strategies and campaigns, and the analysis of quality control systems through the implementation of both quantitative and qualitative techniques.

Professions for which the degree qualifies its holder

Sociologist: Applied Social Research, Social Intervention and Public Policies.

An education in sociology is also exceptionally adapted to the cognitive, personal and applied prerequisites of other professions such as journalism, publicity, labour relations, cooperation and development specialists and managers, social work, education, basic and applied research, commercialisation, personnel management, and participation in trade unions, politics and in non-profit organisations.

Timescale for implementation of the new Sociology Degree and phasing out of the former Sociology Degree

The new Degree will be implemented progressively from 2010-2011 onwards, in such a way that a new course will be offered each academic year. Concurrently, the present Sociology Degree programme will be phased out.

Therefore:

• In 2010-2011, the first year of the new Degree will be implemented, and teaching on the second, third and fourth years will be maintained.
• In the academic year 2011-2012, the second year of the new Degree will be implemented, whilst teaching of the third and fourth years of the present Degree will be maintained.
• In the academic year 2012-2013, the third year of the new Degree will be implemented, whilst teaching of the fourth year of the present Degree will be maintained.
• In the academic year 2013-2014, the fourth year of the new Degree will be implemented.

For those students who began their course under the 2000 programme but who do not finish their studies within the timescale for phasing out the present programme given above, two examination sessions will be held in each of the two following academic years for each subject included in the programme.  In the event that a student has not finished his or her studies under the 2000 programme according to the timescale for phasing out this programme, he or she will be required to transfer to the new programme in order to continue or finish their studies under the new Sociology Degree course.

In terms of credit recognition, students of the present UA Sociology Degree are guaranteed credit recognition as outlined in the table below, in accordance with comparability of the skills and knowledge associated with the subjects taken by the student and those proposed in the new Sociology Degree at the University of Alicante.

Credit equivalence between the former Degree (Licenciatura) in Sociology and the new Degree (Grado) in Sociology

The credits obtained by the student under the former Sociology Degree which are not recognised in the above table, can be recognised as follows: 

• As optional credits in the new Degree, to the maximum of optional credits established by the degree in question.
• Those free-elective credits originally recognised for cultural, representative or extra-curricula university activities will be recognised in the new Degree course taken, up to a maximum of 6 academic credits, recognised for diverse activities included in Article 12.8 of the Royal Decree 393/2007 (participation in activities relating to culture, sports, student representation, social solidarity and cooperation).

DEGREE IN SOCIOLOGY. SYLLABUS SUMMARY

Internal Quality Assurance System (SGIC) of the Title

• Structure of the Centre for Quality
  • Comission of Internal Quality Guarantee
  • Other Commissions  
• Handbook SGIC
• Procedures
  • Strategic (PE)
  • Key (PC)
  • Support (PA)
  • Measurement (PM)

• Management of the SGIC (Access to ASTUA)

Follow-up of the Title

• Self-reports UA
• External reports AVAP 
• Other reports
• Improvement Plans
• Progress and Learning Outcomes