UCPH highlights the Department of Sociology's work on educational reforms of sociology programmes

A high dropout rate in the first year of study and high graduate unemployment. These were two of the problems that a critical programme evaluation pointed out in their review of the programme at the Department of Sociology in 2019.

The points of attention in the evaluation became the starting point for reform work.

The reform work on the programmes has been so fruitful that the department is now highlighted across UCPH as an example of how departments can purposefully and methodically develop and strengthen their programmes based on programme evaluations.

The selection was made because the Danish Accreditation Institution has asked for an example of a programme evaluation from 2023 that can be included in the upcoming institutional accreditation of UCPH.

The change process began with an analysis in early 2020, where the department conducted interviews with graduates and focus group interviews among students to investigate the background of the problems.

Subsequently, a working group was set up at the department, where both researchers and students took part in developing reform proposals. In early 2021, the group was able to submit its work to the study board, which further developed the reforms, and the planned reforms could be implemented as early as the summer of 2021:

It has been a great team effort that has made it possible to make the necessary changes at the department. Without committed researchers and students and with great support from the administrative staff, it would not have been possible to make the improvements we have succeeded in making.

To solve the problem of the high dropout rate in the first year of study, the department reformed the subjects 'General Sociology 1 and 2' into the subjects 'Societal Problems' and 'Sociological Theory and History of Sociology'. The subject 'Danish Society' was reformed so that the dialogue with employers from both the public and private sectors was strengthened, and the integration of the teaching of theory of science in the other subjects of the programme was strengthened. ​

The aim was to ensure dialogue between theory and practice both within each subject and across subjects. 

At the same time, the department expanded the number of quota 2 places to increase the proportion of dedicated sociology students.

At the same time, there has also been a focus on giving graduates better opportunities to find work after graduation. A reform of the master's programme has strengthened the methodology programme by introducing a master's module in 'mixed methods'. Here, students learn to combine qualitative and quantitative methods, which are key components of the sociological skill-set.

"At Sociology, our students are trained to be methodologically strong in both qualitative and quantitative work, but by teaching in the intersection between the two approaches, we better prepare our students for the labour market," says Head of Department Benedikte Brincker.

A joint effort

The broad effort that has been made at the Department of Sociology since 2020 can be seen in the latest programme evaluation, which concludes that both the Bachelor's and Master's programmes are thriving.

The selection shows that the Department of Sociology has used the evaluation system to highlight problems and subsequently ensure that they have been followed up on.

But this is not the only reason why the efforts to improve the programme are going well, according to Head of Department Benedikte Brincker. She also points to the dedicated researchers and students who have worked constructively together to find common solutions and create positive change:

"It has been a great team effort that has made it possible to make the necessary changes at the department. Without committed researchers and students and with great support from the administrative staff, it would not have been possible to make the improvements we have succeeded in making," she says.

To read more about Institutional Accreditation, click here​.