Social Sciences

We have a proud tradition of critical scholarship in criminology and an internationally recognised research profile. We immerse students in rigorous, socially engaged scholarship and teaching.

Birkbeck is internationally recognised for pioneering work in gender, sexuality and feminist research, with expertise from across the social sciences and humanities.

Our work covers areas of critical contemporary importance, including cities and urbanisation, environment and climate change, geographic information systems, international development, social inequality and cultural change.

Our undergraduate courses cover aspects such as life course studies, health policy, social inequalities, epidemiology, public and voluntary sector management.

We are a distinguished centre of interdisciplinary research, with a strong reputation for the quality of our teaching. Our central London location puts us at the heart of the UK's political life.

We carry out critical, socially engaged research and are at the forefront of the development of the innovative, expanding interdisciplinary field of psychosocial studies.

We offer a number of undergraduate and postgraduate courses in sociology and a range of postgraduate degrees in social research.

Investigate the issues shaping everyday life, from inequality and identity to politics, crime, and culture.

Take a look at what you can study in the School of Social Sciences.

We have a vibrant research culture and regularly host eminent visiting scholars and organise international conferences and events.

Our research is collaborative and covers the breadth of the discipline, from areas of critical contemporary theory and policy to empirical, policy-relevant research.

We carry out research in the broad areas of health, wellbeing and care, and are interested in the social relations of health and care, health policy and health and care inequalities.

Find out more about our research into politics, public policy, political economy and international relations in Britain and around the world.

We are at the forefront of the innovative, interdisciplinary field of psychosocial studies, which stretches across, and draws from, the social sciences and the arts and humanities to understand how individual lives and social forces shape each other.

Find out more about the School of Social Sciences and its international reputation for excellence in research and teaching.

Read more about academics in the School of Social Sciences and their areas of expertise.

We are responsible for coordinating and signposting the learning and academic development support available to students in the school.

Current students use Moodle, our virtual learning environment, to access module study resources and programme handbooks.

In August 2025, Fabiola Leon left El Salvador and moved to London to begin her MSc in Public Policy and Management at Birkbeck as a Chevening Scholar. As she prepares to complete her studies, she reflects on the experiences that have shaped her time in the UK, from building friendships within Birkbeck's international community to adapting to life in one of the world's most diverse cities.

22 October 2026
18:00 — 19:30

Online
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