German and Sociology

German and Sociology at Aberdeen is a great combination, adding to your highly-developed language and cultural skills with a fascinating awakening of your ‘sociological imagination’. You will explore how the societies we live in shape us as individuals in all sorts of ways. With top-rated teaching and a culture of dynamic research, you will develop the skills to be a sought-after graduate by employers in many sectors and with strong international possibilities.

You will gain a solid grounding in the German language whatever your level, in a programme with the highest possible rating of ‘Excellent’ in the last national Teaching Quality Assessment. You will also develop a broad understanding of culture in the German-speaking world, with courses in social, historical and cultural aspects of these countries and encounter the world of German artistic expression in the form of literature, film and art, together with a deeper understanding of Germany’s complex history.

Sociology at Aberdeen will complement and add depth to your studies of German society. You will explore how society shapes us as individuals in all sorts of ways and study sociology of the family, work-life balance, religion and society. You will be taught by experts in social movements, conflict and peace, religion and secularisation and global political sociology. You will become skilled in the social research methods used to gather the evidence to better understand aspects of society – such as observation, interviews, large-scale surveys or analysing the content of documents and videos.

As an integral part of your 4-year programme, you will spend half of year three developing your language skills as a teaching assistant or visiting student in Germany or Austria.

In addition to your technical and language ability, you will develop great skills in thinking critically and posing probing questions – which have tremendous value to employers, for example in journalism, marketing and advertising, social and market research, teaching, health and social services, charities and human resources.

Sociology at Aberdeen is rated 4th in Scotland in the Complete University Guide 2023.