Social Studies and Counselling

The department is situated in the upper floor of the Best Building on the Chester Campus.

The Team

Our staff have an excellent reputation for teaching across all courses and our counselling team have a long standing reputation for excellence in counselling training. The department creates a supportive learning environment, where academic, social and professional skills required by future employers can be shaped with confidence.

Lecturers in the Department of Social Studies and Counselling are drawn from a wide variety of academic and professional backgrounds.

The department's commitment to high quality teaching and research is complemented by staff engagement in publication, national and international conferences, external research funding bids, consultancy, knowledge transfer, and pedagogic training.

The Social Studies and Counselling team is currently made up of 20 full-time and five part-time academic staff, aided by 10 Visiting Lecturers. We are roughly divided into four disciplinary teaching areas:  Counselling, Criminology, Politics and Sociology.

However, teaching and research in the department is frequently inter-disciplinary and these subject areas often overlap. We are supported by three members of administrative staff who run the main departmental offices in the Best Building (Chester campus) and the Martin Building (Warrington campus).

Research 

We have an active and diverse research culture of national and international significance, clustering broadly around criminological, sociological, communications and counselling/trauma enquiry. Our department publishes the innovative "Issues in the Social Sciences" book series, based on our annual departmental conference, through University of Chester Press. We have also recently celebrated the launch of the University's new Centre for Research and Education in Psychological Trauma (CREPT), headed by Dr Stuart McNab, programme leader of the department's MSc in Psychological Trauma.

Entry Requirements

Our entry criteria are adapted to meet the needs and prior experience of both standard and mature students, from a wide variety of educational backgrounds. We accept a broad range of qualifications, from A Levels, HNDs, BTECs and NVQs to professional qualifications, Scottish Highers and International Baccalaureate, and from 2010 onwards will include the new Diplomas. We also consider Access qualifications and Open University Foundation Year Credits. Please see the individual programme pages on the University website for further details about entry requirements.