At present, the world is changing at an incredible speed. And the preferences on the labour market are changing as well: specialists who are outside-of-the-box thinking, creative, capable of analytical activity, in command of not only theoretical knowledge of social processes, but also skills in managing, forecasting, designing, modelling and developing a set of measures, and practical recommendations to solve specific social problems, are in demand. Graduates of the SUSU Department of Sociology possess all of these qualities.
“Sociology is one of the promising fields at the SUSU Institute of Media, Social Sciences and Humanities,” says the Director of the Institute of Media, Social Sciences and Humanities, Doctor of Sciences (Philology), Professor Lidiia Lobodenko. “The Department conducts applied sociological research, and trains Bachelor’s and Master’s degree students in this field. Future sociologists are trained by academic and teaching staff and the practicing specialists.”
The Department of Sociology of the Institute was formed 30 years ago in 1991, when sociology was introduced for compulsory study in all specialties of the university according to educational standards. It should be noted that SUSU was the first university in the South Urals region to obtain a license to train sociologists. Then, with the transition to a two-level system of education, the university began to train Bachelor’s and Master’s degree students.
According to the Head of the Department of Sociology at the SUSU Institute of Media, Social Sciences and Humanities, Candidate of Sciences (Sociology) Elena Salganova, SUSU is one of the leading universities in our country where you can get the profession of a sociologist. Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes in sociology are implemented in the project-based learning mode. Within training, every student creates his/her own project that is a case study on a relevant topic. Working on an individual project - a startup, students obtain the skills to develop a research program, tools, practical work on data collection, analysis and statistical processing. Innovative methods are actively applied in the training of sociologists, which are primarily related to the introduction of new data collection and processing technologies into their work, respectively, and with training in the use of these. Here we are talking of online polls, and the use of Big Data, the introduction of computer programs for processing data, and enriching them with new capabilities, and so on. Thus, a connection is made between knowledge, which constitutes the theoretical foundation of a sociologist’s professional training, with modern research practices to obtain sociological data based on information technology.
The Sociology Bachelor’s degree students learn to conduct applied research that is aimed at monitoring social and economic or political situation, studying electoral or consumer preferences, organizational development, or specific managerial decisions. The leading professional courses of the Bachelor’s degree programme are: Data Analysis in Sociology; Implementation of Sociological Research; Management Sociology; Economic Sociology; Sociological Technology in PR; Sociology of Politics; Sociological Research Methods; Sociological Research in Marketing; Consumer Sociology; Sociology of Education; Sociology of Culture; and others.
The second stage of education is training under the Master's degree programme "Integrated Social Analysis". As a result of mastering this program, a Master of Sociology obtains competencies in the fields of applied sociology (in implementation of applied sociological research), project activities (in the implementation of the full cycle of the project, including a digital one), in the field of education (the graduate can work as a researcher, a teacher, or an analytical sociologist), in research activities (in conducting analytical studies). The Sociology Master’s degree students master such professional courses as the Sociology of International Relations; Modelling and Forecasting in Political Sociology; Sociology of Political Leadership; Methods of Sociological Research of Electoral Behaviour; Computer Programs for Sociological Information Processing; Sociology of Political Conflict; Sociological Analysis of Gender Politics; Sociological Problems of Public Opinion Analysis; and others.
Students present the results of specific applied research at sociological conferences in Chelyabinsk, Ekaterinburg, Moscow and other cities in our country. These projects have received support from the university’s academic partners, including the editorial board of the journal “Sociological Research”, the Public Relations Department of the Government of the Chelyabinsk Region, and others.
Sociology students participate in annual special projects, student conferences, round tables, and discussion clubs.
SUSU Sociology graduates work in state and municipal authorities, production and analytical services of companies in various fields of activity, centres for the study of public opinion, advertising and marketing agencies, consulting campaigns, mass media, and publishing business.
The training of sociologists in the Bachelor’s degree programmes is intended for 4 years of full-time study on a state-financed or contractual basis; Master's degree programme - 2 years of full-time education, or 2 and a half years of part-time study. Both forms of training are available on a contractual basis.
More information on the admission requirements and training in the field of Sociology can be found on the web-site of the university https://abit.susu.ru/ and by calling at telephone +7 (351) 267-90-29 (Director’s Office of the SUSU Institute of Media, Social Sciences and Humanities).