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Accessibility statement
An image to illustrate the Sociology research area
The Sociology discipline at The Open University has a strong interdisciplinary orientation and plays an important role in shaping broad sociological agendas, with staff participating in various research networks and serving on the editorship and/or editorial boards of several leading academic journals in the UK and internationally.
We have built a reputation for producing rigorous and innovative research in and across the following main areas:
Our distinctive approach combines theoretically informed, interdisciplinary research with innovative methods to address complex social and cultural change. Committed to public engagement, our research informs both academic debate and policy, tackling real-world challenges and inequalities.
Our research encompasses a range of interconnected areas examining the social, cultural, and political forces shaping contemporary society. Digital Sociology explores how AI, social media and data infrastructures reshape culture, work, identities and power. Race, Identity and Multiculturalism investigates how citizenship, race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexuality and class intersect to influence inclusion, exclusion and social change, with research on migration, diaspora, media, faith and cultural production. Violence, War and Militarism examines the causes, experiences and legacies of conflict, from military institutions and everyday militarism to the relationships between war, technology, medicine, media and the environment. Across all these areas, we are committed to understanding – and challenging – the inequalities that shape contemporary societies.
Our long-standing strengths in the sociology of culture, difference and diversity are complemented by internationally recognised research on markets, public space, gender, migration, refugees, technology and development, international media and communications, cultural dialogue and diplomacy, as well as major contributions to the OU's Justice and Borders research initiative.
As a postgraduate researcher, you will become a valued member of our collaborative research community, working alongside research-active academics, postdoctoral fellows and interdisciplinary colleagues. With expert supervision and a supportive research culture, you will develop original, impactful research that contributes to scholarship, policy and more equitable, inclusive societies.
Most of our full-time research students are based at our Milton Keynes campus; for details of residence requirements for different modes of study, see Full-time study and Part-time study.
Explore specific areas of research, current and prospective projects, entry requirements, fees and funding, available supervisors, how to apply and contact details for advice.
Digital cultures, networks, and social change
Migration, gender and generation
Multicultural life, citizenship and inequality
Racialisation, political conflict and social divisions
Sociology of violence, war and militarism
The feminist political economy of the Global South
Consider linked topics from other research areas.
Ageing and later life
Child and youth studies
Death, dying and bereavement
Economics of health, social policy and wellbeing
Education futures
Living with disability and long-term conditions
Reproduction, sexualities and sexual health
Wellbeing of children, youth and families
My research has to do with the transformation of culture in diasporas. I started my career as an environmental advocate, but eventually went to work for an organisation of the Armenian diaspora. In my research, I will be focussing on the particular case of the Armenian diaspora. I was very happy that the OU was interested in my application and so grateful for my supervisors’ guidance and encouragements.