Social Studies and Counselling
The Department of Social Studies and Counselling is located in the Faculty of Social Science here at the University of Chester. The department is situated on the upper floor of the Best Building on the Chester Campus.

Lecturers and staff made my three years at Chester so enjoyable. I feel privileged to have belonged to such a welcoming and supportive department. I can only hope my future study and work experiences come close to this.
“I make a personal commitment to all of our students to be accessible. This open approach reflects the Department’s commitment to enhancing the student experience. I know that if you join us you will find that we are an approachable and committed team of academics who put the student at the centre of what we do.”
Meriel D’Artrey
Head of Department
The Team & Our Programmes of Study
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. Please take the time to look at our programmes of study and our staff pages to see our range of courses and staff expertise.
The department's commitment to high quality teaching, research and research supervision is complemented by staff engagement in publication, national and international conferences, external research funding bids, consultancy, knowledge transfer, and pedagogic training.
Whilst we are an interdisciplinary department, we are divided into five disciplinary teaching areas: Counselling, Criminology, Politics, Psychological Trauma and Sociology. We are supported by three members of administrative staff based in 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 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 established Centre for Research and Education in Psychological Trauma (CREPT), headed by Dr Stuart McNab, programme leader of the department's MSc in Psychological Trauma.
The Department of Social Studies and Counselling is also proud to have a strong background in, and growing number of postgraduate students undertaking research degrees. If you are considering studying for a research degree with us, then you can find out about our staff’s individual areas of expertise here.
Academic Programme
Foundation:
Undergraduate Programmes:
- Counselling Skills
- Criminology
- Economics
- International Relations
- Politics
- Sociology
- Fnd in Policing (Warrington Campus)
Postgraduate Programmes: