Sociology is a relatively new subject on school curriculam and college course lists.

However, the study of sociology has been around for thousands of years, when Ancient Greek philosophers such as Plato posed questions of the "perfect world". There are many reasons why you may wish to study sociology - the fact that it is an interesting subject, it causes you to adopt and consider new perspectives, and it improves your communication skills, are just a few of the reasons why we can benefit from the study of sociology.

Firstly, sociology is a field of study which is constantly evolving and always relevant. Human beings are social animals - we, unlike domestic animals such as cats, thrive and develop off interaction with other humans. We need to communicate in order to fulfill our physical needs, as well as to satisfy our emotional and mental development. Therefore, sociology is useful as it can provide insight into the way in which individuals, friends, families and whole societies function and interact with one another. Evidence to support and dispute the facts you learn in sociology can be seen every day, all around you, adding to the interesting nature of this subject, and emphasizing the fact that sociology is a living, breathing field of study.

Sociology also improves your communication skills, for both written and verbal communication. The basis of many sociology classes is class discussion or debate, where people can explore and challenge the ideas of others. In a sociology class, you may need to defend your own ideas or dispute the ideas of others. The principles of sociology are mainly theories and abstract concepts, so you will require a good knowledge and command of English in order to articulate these complex ideas. Your written communication will be improved in its structure, as you will learn to create beautiful, fluid essays which contain a well argued and thoroughly considered argument before coming to a decisive conclusion.

People who study sociology go on into a wide variety of jobs. You will gain a range of very valuable skills. You will learn how to work independently. You will learn how to find information, extract what is important from it and turn it into an argument. Most courses now include exercises in team working, so you will learn to work in collaboration with others, but also how to work effectively without close supervision. All sociology degrees teach research methods. From these you will learn how to generate new knowledge and information using a very wide range of tools from the large social survey interpreted through statistics, to in-depth interviews, to analysing the language used in media texts or situations like GP surgeries. You will learn to conduct research both with others and on your own.

Take these skills together with your insights into the workings of society and it is not surprising that a very wide range of employers see a sociology degree as highly relevant. Beyond this many people today study sociology for the personal enrichment it brings them, broadening their minds and enabling them to see their world in new and interesting ways. Back to top.^