The Department of Sociology is widely known for its innovative approach to both teaching and research. Its activities in both areas are characterized by a strong interest in the relationships between culture and society, and in the practical relevance of sociology.

The quality and significance of the department's teaching activities were recognized by the award of the highest possible rating of 24 in the last Teaching Quality Assessment. The course books for Sociology’s second level course, DD201, were reviewed in The Times Higher, (the key weekly professional journal for the academic profession) on 6 June 2003. The reviewer, Richard Jenkins, Professor of Sociology at the University of Sheffield, wrote that these are “marvellous books: full of life, often superbly illustrated and good to look at…bursting with the vigour and virtues of education” and that “These books represent much that is vital and excellent about British sociology – a broad intellectual base, an openness to cognate disciplines and a tradition of commitment to innovation”.

The department's research was awarded a rating of 4 in the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise. The established areas of research that produced this success still flourish and there is considerable emphasis on developing new and socially relevant research programmes for the future. A notable example of such a programme is the partnership led by Open University Sociology and Sociology at the University of Manchester which secured long term funding from the Economic and Social Research Council to establish a research centre on Social and Cultural Change. The Open University's Professor Tony Bennett is a Director of this Centre for Research on Socio-cultural Change where work began in 2004.