Durham University is highly regarded by employers and has an excellent graduate employment record with over 95% of students finding employment or entering further training within six months of graduation

Career Options and Employability


Durham University is highly regarded by employers and has an excellent graduate employment record with over 95% of students finding employment or entering further training within six months of graduation. The University is regularly among the country's top performers in graduate employment while SASS programmes are ranked in the top 10 in the UK for graduate prospects.

The exciting interdisciplinary mix of Sociology, Criminology and Sport allows students to develop and combine interests in cognate subjects preparing them for a range of careers in the public and private sectors. These have historically included: policy advice, market research, journalism, education (in all sectors), project leadership, social work, community development, development work with NGOs, human resource management, sport policy and development, sports management, coaching, research and policy, health promotion and allied health professions such as occupational therapy or physiotherapy, coaching and professional sports performance



Destination of Leavers - Applied Social Sciences graduates

Of those students employed:

• 41% are in fulltime employment

• 78% of those are in graduate level employment

• £21,000 Median Salary

Of those in further study:

• 100% are in graduate level study

A significant number of Applied Social Science graduates progress onto higher level study following their degree. Several remain within their academic field of interest, notably at Durham but also other prestigious institutions including Goldsmiths College (London), Oxford, Newcastle to name a few. Others pursue vocational professional study such as teaching (PGCE), social work, public health, surveying and journalism. A small number take conversion courses in law (Graduate Diploma Law) and psychology. Others pursue further study at Durham in a marketing/human resources related field.

Studying Anthropology and Sociology (BA) at Durham University provided me with strong multi-disciplinary background that has been extremely useful for my work within the humanitarian sector. The course provided me with current thinking and theory regarding cultures and society and also taught me to be more critical and analytical in my work.

Emma Lovell BA Anthropology and Sociology (2007)

Employment development opportunities

Careers Adviser delivers talks to all undergraduate year groups

Year 1 (5 minutes as part of induction) focusing on developing employability skills, penultimate year on internships , work experience and final year on graduate employers/schemes , the recruitment cycle and making effective applications for jobs and further study.

A separate talk provided for final year Criminology students on career options related to degree.

Level 3 modules across all programmes involve field trips to relevant professional organisations and invited speakers working in practice contexts.

Students on postgraduate degrees often seek potential employers as sites for their research to show their skills to those they want to work with

Work experience

Undergraduate programmes in SASS do not currently offer placement opportunities but we are keen to support empirical dissertations involving fieldwork in organisations with which we have links. Our research-methods teaching stream which runs through all of our undergraduate degree programmes develops the skills which students apply to real world contexts.

The School also runs two large professional postgraduate programmes to train Social Workers and Community and Youth Workers, both of which involve substantive practice placements.

Professional accrediation

Our undergraduate programmes do not carry professional accreditation. However, our Social Work and Community and Youth Work postgraduate awards carry GSCC and NYA accreditation respectively.

Our Postgraduate Research programmes are recognised as part of the ESRC North-East Doctoral Training Centre, and so can attract bursaries for further study, as well as offering opportunities for students to engage in collaborative research projects with prospective employers.

Career examples

Durham University Applied Social Science graduates progress into a diverse range of careers and employment sectors. The private, public and charitable sectors are all represented. Example career areas include Marketing, Accounting, Recruitment Consultant, Public relations, Retail Manager, Advertising, Private Banking, Human Resources, Consultancy, Community Cricket Coach, Sport Policy and Sport Development Officer, Armed Forces Officer , Insurance, Sport Event Management, Political Researcher, P.E Teacher (Private School), Media Executive . Example high profile employers include Home Office, London Wasps, Hampshire cricket Club, Decathlon, GLL, IMG, Trinity Mirror Group, Rugby School, Durham Cricket Club, NHS and Army.