BA/BSc (Honours) Social Sciences
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Degree
- Code
- B06
- Level
- Undergraduate
- Made up of
- 360 credit points
Description
If you’re awarded a BA or BSc (Hons) Social Sciences you’ll have knowledge and understanding of society and the ability to analyse key social science concepts by means of both theories and evidence.
You can also concentrate your study in one or more subject areas to gain the following specialisms: with Economics, with Environment, with Geography, with Media Studies, with Politics, with Psychological Studies, with Social Policy, with Sociology. See below for more details.
Planning your studies
If you’re new to study or to the OU, we recommend that you start with a course at Level 1. For this degree we particularly recommend Introducing the social sciences (DD101) (or Introducing the social sciences - part one (DD131)) and either Introducing the social sciences - part two (DD132) or You and your money: personal finance in context (DB123) or Discovering psychology (DSE141)).
If you complete this Level 1 work successfully you’ll have a firm foundation for future studies as well as credit points to count towards your degree.
You can register your intention to study for this degree when you reserve your place on individual courses, or you can ask us at any time to link courses that you have already studied towards the degree. This gives you the flexibility to delay your decision or to change your mind as your studies progress. There is no time limit for obtaining the required credit points for this qualification; however, you should note the limitations on individual courses as mentioned below. You must include at least 120 points from OU courses that have not been counted in an OU diploma or other first degree you have been awarded. If you have graduated with an OU BA or BSc degree without honours this requirement is reduced to 60 credit points.
Career relevance and employability
Social science graduates are found in just about every occupational field: in the business world and in the media; in education and in the caring professions; in central and local government; in the public sector and in private and voluntary institutions and organisations; in looking after the environment and helping in urban regeneration. This degree may help you to gain recognition from a professional body. Download our Recognition leaflets 3.2 Royal Town Planning Institute, 3.4 Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management or 3.11 Other professional bodies or ask our Student Registration & Enquiry Service for copies. Ask our Student Registration and Enquiry Service for the careers publication OU study and your career if you want to find out more about the process of career development and about sources of careers information and guidance.
For planning your next career steps, visit the OU Careers Advisory Service.
There’s more information about the career relevance of degrees on the national HE Prospects website.
Suggested routes to the degree
You might want to study your qualification with a particular focus. The two diagrams below show routes that focus on geography and environmental studies; and sociology and psychological studies.
Please bear in mind that other routes are available - see the full course list below for all options.
Courses
For this 360-point honours degree you require:
60 points from the following optional courses:
| Level 1 optional courses | Points | Next start |
|---|---|---|
|
60 | Oct 2010 |
| or | ||
|
30 | May 2010 |
|
30 | Nov 2010 |
| or | ||
|
30 | May 2010 |
|
30 | May 2010 |
| or | ||
|
30 | May 2010 |
|
30 | Nov 2010 |
Or, subject to the rules about excluded combinations, the discontinued courses D102, D103, DD100, DD121, DD122.
If you have previously completed the discontinued 30-point course DD121 you can combine this with either DB123 or DSE141. Please note that you cannot combine DD121 with DD132 unless you also complete DD131.
And 60 points from the following optional courses:
| Level 2 optional courses | Points | Next start |
|---|---|---|
|
15 | May 2010 |
|
30 | Feb 2011 |
|
60 | Feb 2011 |
|
30 | May 2010 |
|
60 | Feb 2011 |
|
60 | Jan 2011 |
|
60 | Oct 2010 |
|
15 | Jun 2010 |
|
60 | Feb 2011 FINAL |
|
30 | Sep 2010 FINAL |
|
60 | Feb 2011 |
|
30 | May 2010 |
|
60 | Oct 2010 |
|
60 | Oct 2010 |
|
60 | Oct 2010 |
|
60 | Oct 2010 |
Or, subject to the rules about excluded combinations, the discontinued courses D212, D213, D214, D215, D216, D218, D270, D271, DA204, DD200, DDZX200, DSE202, DT210, DXR220, MDST242, SD206, THD204, U205, U206, U207, U208, UZX213
And 60 points, either from the list of optional courses above or from the following optional Level 2 courses:
| Level 2 optional courses | Points | Next start |
|---|---|---|
|
60 | Oct 2010 |
|
60 | Jan 2011 |
|
60 | Oct 2010 |
|
60 | Oct 2010 |
|
60 | Jul 2010 |
Or, subject to the rules about excluded combinations, the discontinued courses EU208, K201, K202, K204, K256, K259, K263, U210
And 60 points from the following optional courses:
| Level 3 optional courses | Points | Next start |
|---|---|---|
|
60 | Feb 2011 |
|
60 | Jan 2011 |
|
60 | Oct 2010 |
|
60 | Jan 2011 |
|
60 | Feb 2011 |
|
60 | Feb 2011 FINAL |
|
60 | Oct 2010 |
|
60 | Oct 2010 |
|
60 | Oct 2010 |
|
60 | Jan 2011 |
|
60 | Feb 2011 |
|
60 | Jan 2011 |
|
60 | Feb 2011 |
|
60 | Feb 2011 FINAL |
Or, subject to the rules about excluded combinations, the discontinued courses D300, D309, D311, D315, D316, D317, D318, D319, DA301, DD302, DU310, DU321, ED356
And 60 points, either from the list of optional courses above or from the following optional Level 3 courses:
| Level 3 optional courses | Points | Next start |
|---|---|---|
|
60 | Feb 2011 |
|
60 | Oct 2010 |
|
60 | Feb 2011 |
|
60 | Oct 2010 |
|
60 | Feb 2011 |
Or, subject to the rules about excluded combinations, the discontinued courses E300, K302
To complete the 360 points needed for an honours degree, the remaining points up to a maximum of 60 points can be from any OU undergraduate courses. You must ensure that you have the required number of points at each level.
The courses listed can count towards this degree after we have stopped presenting them for a maximum of twenty years for Level 1 courses and ten years for Level 2 and 3 courses. Please see course descriptions for future availability.
Specialisms
If you want a BA or BSc (Hons) Social Sciences that shows you have concentrated your studies in one subject area, you must include within the general requirements for the BA or BSc (Hons) Social Sciences at least 60 points at Level 2 and 60 points at Level 3 from one of the appropriate set of courses below.
If you want to specialise as much as possible in a single subject you should do all the courses in the appropriate list.
If you want a degree in two subject areas, you must include at least 60 points at Level 2 and 60 points at Level 3 from each of two sets of courses.
With Economics
| Level 2 | Points | Next start |
|---|---|---|
|
60 | Feb 2011 |
| Level 3 | Points | Next start |
|---|---|---|
|
60 | Jan 2011 |
Or subject to the rules about excluded combinations, at Level 2 the discontinued course D216, at Level 3 the discontinued course D319
With Environment
| Level 2 | Points | Next start |
|---|---|---|
|
60 | Jan 2011 |
| Level 3 | Points | Next start |
|---|---|---|
|
60 | Feb 2011 |
Or subject to the rules about excluded combinations, at Level 2 the discontinued course U206, at Level 3 the discontinued course DU310
With Geography
| Level 2 | Points | Next start |
|---|---|---|
|
60 | Feb 2011 |
| Level 3 | Points | Next start |
|---|---|---|
|
60 | Feb 2011 FINAL |
Or subject to the rules about excluded combinations, at Level 2 the discontinued course D215, at Level 3 the discontinued courses D314, DU310
With Media Studies (available until December 2012)
| Level 2 | Points | Next start |
|---|---|---|
| The discontinued 60-point course DA204 |
| Level 3 | Points | Next start |
|---|---|---|
|
60 | Feb 2011 FINAL |
Note: when the Media Studies specialism is withdrawn at the end of 2012, these courses can be counted towards the general social sciences or humanities degree.
With Politics
60 points from:
| Level 2 | Points | Next start |
|---|---|---|
|
60 | Oct 2010 |
Or, subject to the rules about excluded combinations, the discontinued courses D212, D214, DD200, DDZX200
And at least 60 points from:
| Level 3 | Points | Next start |
|---|---|---|
|
60 | Feb 2011 |
|
60 | Oct 2010 |
Or, subject to the rules about excluded combinations, the discontinued courses D316, DD302
With Psychological Studies
| Level 2 | Points | Next start |
|---|---|---|
|
60 | Oct 2010 |
Or the discontinued course DSE202
And at least 60 points from:
| Level 3 | Points | Next start |
|---|---|---|
|
60 | Jan 2011 |
|
60 | Jan 2011 |
Or, subject to the rules about excluded combinations, the discontinued courses D309, D317
With Social Policy
| Level 2 | Points | Next start |
|---|---|---|
|
60 | Oct 2010 |
Or the discontinued course D218
And at least 60 points from:
| Level 3 | Points | Next start |
|---|---|---|
|
60 | Oct 2010 |
|
60 | Oct 2010 |
Or, subject to the rules about excluded combinations, the discontinued courses D300, D311, D315
With Sociology
| Level 2 | Points | Next start |
|---|---|---|
|
60 | Oct 2010 |
| Level 3 | Points | Next start |
|---|---|---|
|
60 | Oct 2010 |
Or, subject to the rules about excluded combinations, at Level 2 the discontinued course D213, at Level 3 the discontinued courses D318, DA301
To complete the 360 points needed for an honours degree, the remaining points up to a maximum of 60 points can be from any OU undergraduate courses. You must ensure that you have the required number of points at each level.
The courses listed can count towards this degree after we have stopped presenting them for a maximum of twenty years for Level 1 courses and ten years for Level 2 and 3 courses. Please see course descriptions for future availability.
Learning outcomes
The learning outcomes of this qualification are described in four areas:
- Knowledge and understanding
- Cognitive skills
- Practical and professional skills
- Key skills
Read more detailed information about the learning outcomes, and how they are acquired through teaching, learning and assessment methods.
Credit for previous study elsewhere
If you have already completed some successful study at higher education level at another institution we may be able to give you credit for this study that you can count towards this Open University qualification. You can find out more on our Credit Transfer site. If you make a successful claim for transferred credit it may affect your choice of courses so you are advised to investigate this option as soon as possible.
Credit transfer details for this qualification:
Classification of your degree
On successful completion of the required number and type of courses you will be awarded a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science (Honours) Social Sciences degree. Your honours degree will be classified either as first-class honours, upper second-class honours, lower second-class honours or third-class honours. The class of degree is determined by the best grades you achieve in 240 points from those courses above Level 1 listed above. At least 120 of those points must come from courses at Level 3. You will have the opportunity to attend a degree ceremony.
Regulations
As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the Award Regulations and the Student Regulations.
Award Regulations
- Introduction to the Award Regulations
- General Award Regulations
- BA/BSc (Honours) Social Sciences
- Schedule A to the Award Regulations
Student Regulations
The Student Regulations (including the Code of Practice for Student Assessment and the Code of Practice for Student Discipline) are available on our Policy Documents for Students website.
How to register
To register for this qualification, read the description and check you meet any specific requirements (for example, some of our qualifications, require you to be working in a particular environment, or be sponsored by your employer). Then select the course you wish to study first and ensure it is suitable for you before following the registration procedure for that course.
About this page
An undergraduate qualification in Environment, Development and International Studies, Psychology and Social Sciences.
Study explained
- Credit points
- - show how much study is required to complete a course or qualification. One credit point represents roughly 10 hours of study.
- Level
- - indicates how difficult a course is. Undergraduate study starts at Level 1.
- Financial support
- - find out if you qualify for support with your fees with our eligibility checker.
- Study explained
- - all you need to know about studying with the OU.
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