Hi guys! I’m Wendy, another new Insider on the block and here to lay down the law on what the School of Social Sciences (SOCSI) at Cardiff is about! As you can read from my bio, I am only at the beginning of this adventure, that is university! I still remember back to Freshers Week and having to endlessly tell people my course and where I was from, however the majority of people who asked didn’t understand what Social Sciences meant. I can understand their confusion because honestly I didn’t even know until I did my research, so here I am doing your research for you 😉

LOCATION
The School of Social Sciences has undoubtedly the most stunning building, the Glam Glamorgan Building! 😉 Not gonna lie it definitely influenced me when choosing which universities to apply for. Since I was applying for Psychology, I definitely felt all the other universities’ Psychology buildings looked so dull. This factor is important to consider especially when waking up for 9ams since least the building you’re walking into could do is look amazing! It just makes those early lectures slightly less painful 😛

SUBJECTS
When you first hear the words, Social Science you probably think of just Sociology and Criminology but the School is much more than that! There are a variety of single and joint honour degrees related to studying society for you to choose from: Education, Human & Social Sciences, Social Sciences, Social Analytics, Social Policy, Sociology, Criminology.

MY COURSE SPECIFICALLY: HUMAN & SOCIAL SCIENCES
When someone asks me what I study, I reply cheerfully, “Human & Social Sciences” anticipating their confusion. So the difference between normal Psychology at Cardiff and Human and Social Science is basically that my course is more focused on how Psychology’s influence is felt throughout society: humans, education and policies. Bonus: You still get a BPS (British Psychological Society) accreditation at the end, just like other Psychology degrees! My favourite moment of my course so far is definitely the social breaching experiment we got to do in Cardiff City Centre, it was so fun and interesting to be amidst the real world, studying people’s behaviour. Lastly for those hoping for a reading week so that they can catch up on lecture readings, we sadly don’t get one. The reason is that we would have to start lectures earlier than other courses thus shorter holidays which is a big no no for me.

TIMETABLE

Since you will be taking 6 modules, you’ll have alternating weeks: A & B where your module seminars will be spread (e.g. 4 in Week A, 2 in Week B). If you have any timetable clashes or issues, please contact the Student Hub (Room 0.02 Glamorgan). Lectures may also run twice if it is a compulsory/popular SOCSI module so you will be allocated to one slot. Now parents, don’t be too worried about those gaps, frees are crucial for having time to grab some food between lectures, revise the lectures you just had at the library and just having a breather!

LIBRARY
The Bute Library is located on the 1st floor of the Bute Building and will have most of your SOCSI books so you definitely don’t need to buy books before you arrive! Inside there are study areas with particular rooms for those of us who study better in silence (aka. me). There’s also a café on the ground floor for when you get peckish while studying. Your student card will act as your library card and you can find books through LibrarySearch. There is also the main Cardiff University Library: the ASSL but that gets really busy so I advise studying in Bute especially during exam season.

WHO CAN YOU TALK TO IN SOCSI?

1. Personal Tutor: They’re basically there to make sure you haven’t completely had a mental breakdown. You can honestly go to them for anything!

2. Student Hub: If your timetable is just completely wrong or you need to find a room, they are your best best.

3. Module Covenor: They are in charge of running the module so if you don’t get a lecture or need assessment clarification, email them.

4. Seminar Tutor: If its seminar specific or your module convenor isn’t replying, they can be just as helpful.

5. Other Students: You’ll probably already have a course group chat and honestly that can be a life-saver if you’re running late and have no idea where the lecture is.

6. SOCSI Subject Liberian: If you see that a book has run out and would like to request for more or have any library queries, contact her (she is super nice and helpful!)

7.  SOCSI Student Staff Panel: If you have any issues with the way lectures/school is run, they can bring the issue up to staff.

This post was pretty info-heavy and will be a lot ot absorb but don’t worry you’ll get the hang of everything eventually. I’ll be writing some more light-hearted advice posts so look forward to that! If I’ve left out anything you want to ask, please comment below or contact me via my social media!

Till the next post,

Wendy

Hi guys! I’m Wendy, another new Insider on the block and here to lay down the law on what the School of Social Sciences (SOCSI) at Cardiff is about! As you can read from my bio, I am only at the beginning of this adventure, that is university! I still remember back to Freshers Week and having to endlessly tell people my course and where I was from, however the majority of people who asked didn’t understand what Social Sciences meant. I can understand their confusion because honestly I didn’t even know until I did my research, so here I am doing your research for you 😉

LOCATION
The School of Social Sciences has undoubtedly the most stunning building, the Glam Glamorgan Building! 😉 Not gonna lie it definitely influenced me when choosing which universities to apply for. Since I was applying for Psychology, I definitely felt all the other universities’ Psychology buildings looked so dull. This factor is important to consider especially when waking up for 9ams since least the building you’re walking into could do is look amazing! It just makes those early lectures slightly less painful 😛

SUBJECTS
When you first hear the words, Social Science you probably think of just Sociology and Criminology but the School is much more than that! There are a variety of single and joint honour degrees related to studying society for you to choose from: Education, Human & Social Sciences, Social Sciences, Social Analytics, Social Policy, Sociology, Criminology.

MY COURSE SPECIFICALLY: HUMAN & SOCIAL SCIENCES
When someone asks me what I study, I reply cheerfully, “Human & Social Sciences” anticipating their confusion. So the difference between normal Psychology at Cardiff and Human and Social Science is basically that my course is more focused on how Psychology’s influence is felt throughout society: humans, education and policies. Bonus: You still get a BPS (British Psychological Society) accreditation at the end, just like other Psychology degrees! My favourite moment of my course so far is definitely the social breaching experiment we got to do in Cardiff City Centre, it was so fun and interesting to be amidst the real world, studying people’s behaviour. Lastly for those hoping for a reading week so that they can catch up on lecture readings, we sadly don’t get one. The reason is that we would have to start lectures earlier than other courses thus shorter holidays which is a big no no for me.

TIMETABLE

Since you will be taking 6 modules, you’ll have alternating weeks: A & B where your module seminars will be spread (e.g. 4 in Week A, 2 in Week B). If you have any timetable clashes or issues, please contact the Student Hub (Room 0.02 Glamorgan). Lectures may also run twice if it is a compulsory/popular SOCSI module so you will be allocated to one slot. Now parents, don’t be too worried about those gaps, frees are crucial for having time to grab some food between lectures, revise the lectures you just had at the library and just having a breather!

LIBRARY
The Bute Library is located on the 1st floor of the Bute Building and will have most of your SOCSI books so you definitely don’t need to buy books before you arrive! Inside there are study areas with particular rooms for those of us who study better in silence (aka. me). There’s also a café on the ground floor for when you get peckish while studying. Your student card will act as your library card and you can find books through LibrarySearch. There is also the main Cardiff University Library: the ASSL but that gets really busy so I advise studying in Bute especially during exam season.

WHO CAN YOU TALK TO IN SOCSI?

1. Personal Tutor: They’re basically there to make sure you haven’t completely had a mental breakdown. You can honestly go to them for anything!

2. Student Hub: If your timetable is just completely wrong or you need to find a room, they are your best best.

3. Module Covenor: They are in charge of running the module so if you don’t get a lecture or need assessment clarification, email them.

4. Seminar Tutor: If its seminar specific or your module convenor isn’t replying, they can be just as helpful.

5. Other Students: You’ll probably already have a course group chat and honestly that can be a life-saver if you’re running late and have no idea where the lecture is.

6. SOCSI Subject Liberian: If you see that a book has run out and would like to request for more or have any library queries, contact her (she is super nice and helpful!)

7.  SOCSI Student Staff Panel: If you have any issues with the way lectures/school is run, they can bring the issue up to staff.

This post was pretty info-heavy and will be a lot ot absorb but don’t worry you’ll get the hang of everything eventually. I’ll be writing some more light-hearted advice posts so look forward to that! If I’ve left out anything you want to ask, please comment below or contact me via my social media!

Till the next post,

Wendy