sociology research jobs manchester

School of Social Sciences

Sociology staff in the School of Social Sciences

Head of sociology.

Professor Vanessa May Professor of Sociology, Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences

Research specialisms: belonging, self, temporality, ageing, families.

Deputy Head of Sociology

Dr Andrew Balmer   Senior Lecturer in Sociology

Research specialisms: secrecy, lying, lie detection, science and technology, dementia.

Teaching and research staff within Sociology

Professor Claire Alexander   Professor of Sociology,  Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences

Research specialisms: race/ethnicity and identity, youth/gangs, migration/diaspora, south Asians/Muslims in Britain.

Dr Elisa Bellotti Senior Lecturer in Sociology

Research specialisms: social network analysis, mixed methods, criminal networks, scientific networks, gender and social networks.

Professor Alice Bloch Professor of Sociology, Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences

Research specialisms: intergenerational memory, family narratives of the Holocaust, forced migration, refugees, migration, undocumented migrants, second-generation refugees.

Professor Wendy Bottero Professor of Sociology 

Research specialisms: inequalities, subjectivity, social identities, social practices, pragmatism and social inquiry.

Professor Tine Buffel Professor of Sociology and Social Gerontology

Research specialisms: ageing and urbanism, social exclusion/inequality, neighbourhood and community, co-production and participatory research methods, age-friendly communities.

Dr Joshua Bunting Lecturer in Sociology

Research specialisms: social movements, activism, historical sociology, oral history, social change. 

Professor Bridget Byrne

Professor of Sociology,  Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences

Research specialisms: race/ethnicity, class, citizenship, gender, nation.

Dr Seán Carey Senior Research Fellow, Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity

Research specialisms: Ethnicity and identity, food and hospitality, East London, and ethnography.

Professor Nick Crossley Professor of Sociology,  Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences

Research specialisms: social networks, culture, relational sociology, music, embodiment.

Professor Fiona Devine Director of Alliance Manchester Business School and Professor of Sociology,  Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences

Research specialisms: social stratification and mobility, politics and participation, space mobility and lifestyles, gender, work and family.

Dr Patty Doran Research Fellow

Research specialisms: ageing and urbanisation, social exclusion and inequality, health, lifecourse, age-friendly communities.

Dr Gemma Edwards Senior Lecturer in Sociology

Research specialisms: social movements, protest, social networks, participation, historical sociology.

Dr Verdine Etoria  [email protected] Lecturer in Sociology

Professor Martin Everett Chair in Network Analysis,  Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences

Research specialisms: social networks, analytical sociology, methodology, new media.

Dr Simin Fadaee Senior Lecturer in Sociology

Research specialisms: social movements, revolutions, social justice, Marxism, Global South.

Professor Colette Fagan Professor of Sociology and University of Manchester Vice-President for Research,  Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences

Research specialisms: gender, work and care; employment, job quality and working conditions; international comparative analysis.

Dr James Fletcher Research Associate

Research specialisms: Gerontology, dementia, ageing, cognition, disability, mental health.

Dr Kevin Gillan

Senior Lecturer in Sociology

Research specialisms: social movements, protest, neoliberalism, globalisation, corporations.

Dr Briony Hannell

Lecturer in Sociology

Research specialisms: digital feminism, anti-feminism, social media, digital culture, digital identities, youth. 

Professor Brian Heaphy Professor of Sociology

Research specialisms: sexualities, gender, personal life, social change.

Professor Sue Heath Professor in Sociology and Associate Dean for Postgraduate Research,  Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences

Research specialisms: housing, home, shared living, intergenerational relations, creative methods.

Dr Ivette Hernandez Santiba ñ ez Lecturer in Sociology

Research specialisms: social movements, urban politics, contestation to neoliberalism in Latin America.

Dr James Hodgson Lecturer in Sociology

Research specialisms: sexualities, queer visual culture, social isolation and aloneness.

Dr Helen Holmes Senior Lecturer in Sociology

Research specialisms: materiality, everyday, sociology of consumption, temporality, creative methods.

Dr Torik Holmes Research Associate

Dr Patricia Irizar Simon Fellow

Research specialisms: Ethnic inequalities, mental health, health behaviours, mixed methods 

Dr Remi Joseph-Salisbury Reader in Sociology

Research specialisms: race/ethnicity, (anti-)racisms, mixedness, education, decoloniality.

Dr Dharmi Kapadia Senior Lecturer in Sociology

Research specialisms: race/ethnicity, mental illness, mental health services, stigma, advanced quantitative methods.

Professor Graeme Kirkpatrick Professor of Social and Cultural Theory

Research specialisms: technology, aesthetics, culture, games, art.

Dr Luciana Lang Research Associate

Professor Yaojun Li Professor of Sociology

Research specialisms: social mobility and stratification, ethnic integration, socio-economic inequalities, international comparison, social capital.

Dr Jessica Mancuso ( [email protected] ) Lecturer in Sociology

Research specialisms: gender, sexuality, LGBTQ studies, feminism, visibility and identity.

Dr Peter McMylor Senior Lecturer

Research specialisms:  social theory, morality, ethics, sociology of intellectuals, marxism, sociology of religion, political religions, cultural identity, historical/comparative/civilizational sociology, economic sociology.

Dr Robert Meckin Senior Lecturer

Biotechnology, automation, robotics, interdisciplinarity, responsible innovation, science and emerging technologies.

Dr Krisztina Mekli Research Associate

Professor Andrew Miles Professor of Sociology

Research specialisms: social class, cultural participation and policy, social mobility, inequalities, mixed methods research.

Dr Nadim Mirshak Senior Lecturer in Sociology

Research specialisms: authoritarianism, sociology of education, political sociology, state-civil society relations, social movements and alternative resistance.

Dr Linda Naughton ( [email protected] )

Research Fellow (Urbanisation and Ageing)

Dr Richie Nimmo Senior Lecturer in Sociology

Research specialisms: animals and human-animal relations, Actor-Network Theory (ANT), posthumanism and biopolitics, environmental sociology, historical and archive methods.

Dr Petra Nordqvist Senior Lecturer in Sociology

Research specialisms: gender, sexuality, kinship, family relationalities, reproductive donation.

Dr Elisa Pieri Senior Lecturer in Sociology

Research specialisms: security and biopolitics, pandemics, Science and Technology Studies (STS), urban sociology, media and discourse.

Professor Hilary Pilkington Professor of Sociology,  Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences

Research specialisms: youth, social activism, extremism, post-socialist societies, comparative qualitative research methods.

Professor Debora Price Professor of Social Gerontology,  Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences

Research specialisms: ageing and ageing societies, pensions and finance over the lifecourse, poverty and inequality in later life, gender, couples and families across the lifecourse.

Dr Paul Simpson ( [email protected] ) Lecturer in Sociology

Research specialisms: ageing sexualities, masculinities, sensory methods.

Dr Amit Singh Leverhulme Early Career Fellow ' Race, class and mobility: learning to labour in London, Morecambe and Manchester'

Research specialisms: race, class, habitus, conviviality, inequalities, sports, pubs, education and culture. 

Professor Nicholas Thoburn Professor of Sociology

Research specialisms: publishing and the book, Marx, Marxism and Communism, social housing and architecture, social and political theory, material text.

Professor Penny Tinkler Professor of Sociology and History

Research specialisms: gender history, girlhood, life-course, creative and photographic methods, memory.

Dr Meghan Tinsley Senior Lecturer in Sociology

Research specialisms: race/ethnicity, nationalism, postcolonial theory, collective memory, cultural production.

Dr Maisie Tomlinson Lecturer in Sociology

Research specialisms: human-animal relations, a nimal subjectivity, “anthropomorphism”, posthumanism, sensory methodologies and multi-species ethnography.

Dr Daniel Welch

Senior Lecturer

Research specialisms: consumption, environment, sustainability, practices, social theory, culture, futures.

Dr Joann Wilkinson Senior Tutor

Professor Sophie Woodward Professor in Sociology

Research specialisms: materiality, gender, consumption, fashion, creative methods.

Dr Luke Yates Senior Lecturer in Sociology

Research specialisms: social movements, protest, consumption, practices, sharing.

Dr Neta Yodovich  [email protected] Research Associate,  Dating app connections project

Research specialisms: Researching relationships, identity, belonging, gender, feminism and pop culture.

Professor Gary Younge Professor in Sociology,  Honorary Fellow of the British Academy,  Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences

Research specialisms:  social movements (especially the civil rights movement), inequality, race, immigration, identity and politics.

Honorary staff

Prof Janeen Baxter Honorary Hallsworth Visiting Professor

Prof Philip Cerny Emeritus Professor

Dr Ulrike Ehgartner Honorary Research Associate

Professor Dame Janet Finch Honorary Professor, Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences

Dr Leah Gilman Honorary Research Fellow

Research specialisms: family and personal life, reproductive technologies, sociology of donation.

Prof Peter Halfpenny Emeritus Professor

Dr Bethan Harries Honorary Research Fellow

Dr Paul Kelemen Honorary Research Fellow

Dr Keekok Lee Honorary Research Fellow (Sociology)

Dr Laurence Lessard-Phillips Honorary Research Fellow (Sociology)

Professor Jennifer Mason Emerita Professor of Sociology, Fellow of The British Academy

Research specialisms: personal life, affinities, socio-atmospherics, qualitative methods, mixed methods.

Professor David Morgan Emeritus Professor of Sociology

View David Morgan's memorial page .

Professor James Nazroo Emeritus Professor of Sociology, Fellow of the British Academy, Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences

Research specialisms: inequality, race/ethnicity, ageing, health, mental health.

Dr Helen Norman Honorary Research Fellow

Dr Tugba Aydin Ozturk Honorary Research Fellow

Research specialisms: sociology of music, media, culture and technology, social networks and social capital, semiology, gender, music and art policy.

Professor Christopher Phillipson

Emeritus Professor of Sociology and Social Gerontology

Research specialisms: ageing societies, age-friendly cities, work and retirement, urban sociology, social policy.

Dr James Rhodes Honorary Research Fellow

Professor William Sharrock Emeritus Professor of Sociology

Research specialisms: choice, rules, analytic sociology, experimental philosophy, computerised visualisations in astrophysics research.

Professor Carol Smart Professor Emerita, Morgan Centre, and Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences

Dr Djordje Sredanovic Honorary Research Fellow

Dr Bram Vanhoutte Honorary Research Fellow

Professor Alan Warde Professor Emeritus of Sociology, Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences

Research specialisms: consumption, food and eating, culture, stratification, sustainability.

Prof Mark Western Honorary Hallsworth Visiting Professor

Honorary staff within Sociology

• Dr Gaelle Aeby - Honorary Fellow, Morgan Centre
• Dr Katherine Davies - Honorary Fellow, Morgan Centre
• Professor Dame Janet Finch - Professor Emerita, Morgan Centre
• Professor David Morgan - Professor Emeritus, Morgan Centre
• Professor Carol Smart - Professor Emerita, Morgan Centre
• Dr Nina Teasdale - Honorary Research Associate

Departmental Administrator

Jackie O'Callaghan Email:  [email protected]

Alternatively, use our A–Z index

Attend an open day

Download our course brochure

Discover more about Sociology at Manchester

MSc Sociological Research

Year of entry: 2024

• View full page

When assessing your academic record we consider your degree subject, grades you have achieved and the standing of the institution where you studied your qualification.

Full entry requirements

Course options

Course overview

• Discover a course that provides a thorough grounding in advanced quantitative and qualitative methods taught within an applied social science framework.
• Gain an understanding in learning methods of data analysis, including advanced statistics for complex data.

On this day, you will find out more about the School, our resources, and meet academic and admissions staff who will be able to answer any questions you have.

See open days and visits for more information.

For entry in the academic year beginning September 2024, the tuition fees are as follows:

• MSc (full-time) UK students (per annum): £12,500 International, including EU, students (per annum): £24,500
• MSc (part-time) UK students (per annum): £6,250 International, including EU, students (per annum): £12,250

Further information for EU students can be found on our dedicated EU page.

The fees quoted above will be fully inclusive for the course tuition, administration and computational costs during your studies.

All fees for entry will be subject to yearly review and incremental rises per annum are also likely over the duration of courses lasting more than a year for UK/EU students (fees are typically fixed for International students, for the course duration at the year of entry). For general fees information please visit: postgraduate fees . Always contact the department if you are unsure which fee applies to your qualification award and method of attendance.

Self-funded international applicants for this course will be required to pay a deposit of £1000 towards their tuition fees before a confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS) is issued. This deposit will only be refunded if immigration permission is refused. We will notify you about how and when to make this payment.

Policy on additional costs

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

Scholarships/sponsorships

The Manchester Alumni Scholarship Scheme offers a £3,000 fee reduction to Manchester alumni who achieved a first-classbachelor'sdegree within the last three years and are progressing to postgraduate study.

For more information,seeour Fees and funding page.

• Commonwealth Scholarships and Fellowships Plan (CSFP) General Scholarship

Contact details

See: School Subjects

Courses in related subject areas

Use the links below to view lists of courses in related subject areas.

Entry requirements

Academic entry qualification overview, english language.

Applicants whose first language is not English should meet the following language requirements:

• IELTS Academic test score of 7 overall, including 7 in writing with no further component score below 6.5
• TOEFL IBT 100 with 25 in writing and no further score below 22 in each section. TOEFL code for Manchester is 0757
• Pearson Test of English (PTE) score of 76 overall, with 76 in writing and no further score below 70

Pre-Sessional English Courses

We will consider applicants who do not meet these scores but you will be required to complete a pre-sessional English language course at the University of Manchester prior to the start of the course.

To be considered for a pre-sessional English language course for this programme we require the following minimum IELTS (Academic) scores:

6 Week Pre-Sessional Course : IELTS 6.5 overall with 6.5 in writing and no more than one sub-skill of 6.0.

10 Week Pre-sessional Course : IELTS 6.0 overall with 6.0 or above in each sub-skill 

If you have not yet completed your current academic study and are interested in studying a pre-sessional course, you must hold an IELTS for UKVI (Academic) test certificate to ensure that you are eligible for a separate visa for the English language course.

English language test validity

Some English Language test results are only valid for two years. Your English Language test report must be valid on the start date of the course.

Applicants from Majority English-speaking countries

If you are a national of a   majority English-speaking country   (or have studied for a full bachelor's degree or higher from one of these countries) you may be exempt from submitting further evidence of English language proficiency.

Other international entry requirements

We accept a range of qualifications from across the globe. To help international students, the university provides specific information for many individual countries. Please see our  country-specific information page   for guidance on the academic and English language qualifications which may be accepted from your country.

Application and selection

How to apply, advice to applicants.

Please note, due to the high volume of applications we receive the course may close before the advertised deadline and as such, early application is advised.

If you meet our entry requirements but we are unable to make you an offer you may be placed on a waiting list. Candidates on a waiting list will receive an offer only if places become available.

Re-applications

Course details, course description.

This course aims to educate and train you to give you the requisite skills and knowledge to become an effective, professional sociological researcher.

This entails teaching:

• the philosophical underpinnings of sociology;
• key issues and questions in sociology;
• key sociological theories;
• key issues in selected substantive areas of sociology (students are offered a range of options of such substantive areas);
• principles of research design;
• techniques and principles of quantitative analysis;
• techniques and principles of qualitative analysis.

This is a recognised 1+3 entry route for ESRC PhD training.

Teaching and learning

Part-time students complete the full-time course over two years. There are no evening or weekend course units available on the part-time route.

You must first check the schedule of the compulsory course units and then select your optional units to suit your requirements.

Updated timetable information will be available from mid-August and you will have the opportunity to discuss your unit choices during induction week with your Course Director.

Coursework and assessment

Course unit details.

Throughout the MSc Sociological Research course, you will take six course units, which are:  

• research design;
• research strategy and project management;  
• social theory and cultural identity; 
• philosophical and methodological;
• foundations of social research; 
• quantitative methods; 
• qualitative methods.   

Plus two optional course units, including: 

• postcolonial theory and method; 
• protest and progress  sociology of consumption;  
• cultural criticism:
• sources for a public sociology;
• new developments in theories of gender and sexuality; 
• urban sociology;
• social capital and social change.

You may also negotiate an independent studies course unit, linked to your particular research interests, subject to a suitable academic supervisor being available. You would need to complete a 12,000-word dissertation, on a research topic of your choice, in addition to the eight taught course units.

Course unit list

The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.

What our students say

Disability support, career opportunities.

You will develop a considerable range of transferable skills as part of the course enabling you to keep open a wide range of career options.  

Students who complete the MSc Sociological Research course are suitably placed to pursue PhD study. In addition, you will be skilled to pursue a wide-range of graduate-level occupations, and social research careers in public, private and voluntary sectors.  

As a School of Social Sciences postgraduate at The University of Manchester, you will have access to a variety of careers support tailored to your career of further study. For more information, see Careers and Employability .  

The University has its own dedicated Careers Service that you would have full access to as a student and for two years after you graduate. At Manchester you will have access to a number of opportunities to help boost your employability .