School of Law and Social Sciences

At the School of Law and Social Sciences we provide a range of professionally recognised degrees across a wide range of subject areas. Our teaching is delivered by a dynamic team bringing together a blend of practical expertise and academic excellence to provide students with a stimulating and enjoyable education.

By consulting a wide range of relevant industry stakeholders we ensure our courses are topical, relevant and applicable to the needs of the organisations who may employ you. Our courses will prepare you for a wide range of employment options in the private and public sectors including the legal profession, social work, health and social care, child care, child protection, librarian roles, criminal justice and community care, human resources, public relations, police and criminal justice, and community development. Our courses can also lead you to higher or further qualification, research or a teaching qualification.

Our students graduate confident and ready to take on the challenges of their future roles, whilst being proudly equipped with the skills required to add value to our society.

Awards and Recognition

• 1st in Scotland for student satisfaction in Social Work (Complete University Guide 2025)
• 2nd in the UK for teaching quality in Social Work (The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024)
• 1st in Scotland and top 10 in the UK for student experience in Sociology (The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024)
• 2nd in Scotland for overall student satisfaction in Journalism (National Student Survey 2023, excludes colleges, small, specialist and private providers)

Placements

Placements are an excellent opportunity for you to gain real world experience, apply the knowledge and skills you have developed throughout your studies. It is a great opportunity to meet future employers, boost your CV and increase your employability for when you graduate.

We provide placements at the forefront of practice and in a range of settings for our BA (Hons) Law and Management, BA (Hons) Journalism and BA (Hons) Social Work students.

Furthermore, both the BA (Hons) Applied Social Sciences and BA (Hons) Social Work courses offer a study abroad option as part of our exchange programme with our partner institutions in Poland, Cyprus, Malta, Germany, Vienna and Belgium. There is also the opportunity to study at the University of Tennessee for one term. This allows you to enhance your personal development and confidence and benefit from studying your subject in a different culture.

Affiliations and Industry Links

We are proud to be associated with many leading organisations, institutions and professional bodies. Together they will help you to enter the workplace better equipped to manage the opportunities you are presented with:

• The Law Society of Scotland
• The Faculty of Advocates
• Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
• Energy Institute
• North East Scotland College
• Scottish Social Services Council
• British Psychological Society
• British Sociological Association
• Institute for Research and Innovation in the Social Sciences
• The Care Inspectorate

About our research

At the School of Law and Social Sciences we promote a vibrant and diverse research community where our sustainable, inclusive and interdisciplinary research environment supports researchers address local and global challenges. Our esteemed staff and research students are from all corners of the globe, bringing unparalleled expertise and global perspectives.

We excel in policy-based, theoretically informed and applied research across law, the social sciences, journalism and information management. We encourage research collaboration with public, private and third sector organisations for the purpose of creating societal benefit. We offer a wealth of doctoral research opportunities including discipline-specific and interdisciplinary fields, as well as professional doctorates, all fostering innovation and excellence in academia.

Areas of expertise

Our areas of expertise span several disciplines and are built around four key interdisciplinary research themes:

• Environment, Energy and Sustainability
• Living in a Digital World
• Health and Wellbeing
• Inclusive and Creative Societies

Research on each of these broad themes could be discipline-specific (e.g. information science, law, psychology, social work or sociology) or interdisciplinary. We employ diverse research methods ranging from quantitative to qualitative options to conduct theoretically informed empirical and policy-focused research. 

Information Science

Information Science research within the School covers a wide spectrum of activities. Areas of expertise include the value and impact of public libraries, cultural heritage (often but not exclusively in the digital sphere), community interactions with local history and heritage, storytelling, information-seeking behaviours, digital literacy, online safety, as well as political engagement with social media technologies. Information staff also have an interest in a range of methodological approaches primarily in the qualitative domain including conversational research and photo elicitation amongst others. The Information staff are actively involved in supervising a wide range of inter and multidisciplinary PhDs across a wide range of subjects and participate in research networks across the university and externally. 

Law

Our researchers in law are adept at the use of traditional legal research approaches such as doctrinal, comparative and socio-legal research. Current research covers a wide spectrum of law disciplines in both public and private law. Among these are healthcare law, extradition, criminology, European Union Law and European Human Rights. Our research staff also have expertise in construction law, contract law, energy law and policy, and environmental law. The law team are renowned for their expertise in dispute avoidance and resolution, maritime law and the law of the sea and employment law and will welcome research proposals from prospective students in these areas.

Psychology

Our research in psychology covers a broad range of areas including cognitive psychology, health psychology and social psychology. Our staff employ varying research methodologies to examine issues such as multiculturalism, online communities and movements and mental health and wellbeing.

Social Work

Social work research is interdisciplinary and seeks to engage and address a wide range of national and international topics including those that are referred to as societies wicked problems. We are actively engaged in researching topics related to international social work, structural inequality, public health, mental health, children and families, early years, leadership and management in health and social care, service evaluation and redesign, and eco-social work. We are committed to making an impact in society, ensuring that social work thrives as an academic discipline and its voice contributes to critically addressing issues of social justice, equality, social reproduction, and socio-economic concern.

Sociology

Researchers in sociology examine issues around collective violence, peacebuilding, post-conflict societies, development, environmental change, energy and corporate social responsibility. There is also significant expertise within cultural sociology, theoretical sociology and the sociology of health.