Department of Sociology

Our areas of teaching include sociological theory and methodology, software data analysis, demography, urban studies, gender and religion. The department is engaged in a variety of approaches to research, including  ethnographic methods, surveys and social demography. The primary focus of research activities consists in applied and contract research. The Centre for Sociological Studies of the City and the Region was established in 2019. We foster students’ community  life through the activities of the students’ sociology club SH1UK. We invite you to explore sociology at FF UHK!

The Department of Sociology was established in 2008 (the first head of the department prof. Lubomír Brokl). The department provides a full-time Bachelor's degree programme in Sociology. There is a Centre for Sociological studies of the city and the region within the department. Our important partners are in particular the Institute of Sociology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, the Czech Statistical Office, the statutory city of Hradec Králové and the Hradec Králové Region. The department is a collective member of the Czech Sociological Society that cooperated on organizing the annual conference held in 2018 .The SH1UK student sociology club is active at the department. It organizes lectures and other activities (in cooperation with the department, e.g. a summer school).

Contact

Location: B building, room 21250

Mgr. Štěpánka Muzikářová (assistant for department)

Email: stepanka.muzikarova@uhk.cz

Telephone: (+420 49 333) 2005

Basic Information and Contacts

The Department of Sociology provides for the study programme of Sociology in the Bachelor's full-time studies as part of the Sociology study programme. The aim of the study is to enable students who have graduated from the Bachelor’s level, to make a qualified choice of further orientation, whether study or practical. During their studies, students acquire general, partly special, sociological education, i.e. basic knowledge in the field of sociological and social science theories, history of sociology, sociological disciplines, methods and techniques, including computer processing of research. Students can broaden their knowledge horizons during their mobilities for studies abroad. Graduates can assert themselves in further studies in the field of general and empirical sociology (research and commercial), or in the follow-up study of related social sciences fields, as well as in the practice of public life, public administration, non-profit organizations, media, sociological professional workplaces and commercial research agencies. The aim of the department is to extend the studies with a follow-up Master's degree.

The activities of the department focus on the development of research, the interconnection of research and teaching. Sociological research is focused on the issue of the city (sociology of the city) and the region. The department has already carried out or is currently carrying out sociological surveys for the purposes of the regional administration. Students also participate and in that way they acquire valuable practical skills. Prospectively, the workplace seeks international cooperation, especially a cross-border one.

At present, the department strengthens cooperation with departments within the Czech Republic, establishes contacts abroad, and cooperates with the Institute of Sociology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, with the Czech Statistical Office. The purpose of mutual contacts is not only the exchange of experience, comparison of empirical findings but especially the effort to engage in joint research projects.

Contact

Location: B building, room 21250

Email: stepanka.muzikarova@uhk.cz

Telephone: (+420 49 333) 2005

Centre for Sociological studies of the city and the region

Realized Researches

Students of the Department of Sociology are involved in all researches.

We are currently working on:

• TA CR Analysis of the Social Situation in Relation to the Automobile Production in the Industrial Zone Solnice-Kvasiny-Rychnov n/Kněžnou (2018–2022)
• TA CR Changes in Basic Municipalities' Facilities in Rural Municipalities and Impacts on their Inhabitants, in Cooperation with the Institute of Sociology of the Czech Academy of Sciences (2019–2021)
• Citizens' Satisfaction with Services Provided by the Regional Authority of the Hradec Králové Region (2019)

In the years 2017–2018 for the Statutory City of Hradec Králové:

• A1 Citizens' Satisfaction with the Local Community
• B6 Travelling Children to School and Back
• A3 Mobility and Local Passenger Transport
• Survey of Public Spaces in the City of Hradec Králové
• Application of the city of Hradec Kralové

 The following has been carried out within the region:

• Citizens' Satisfaction with Services Provided by the Regional Authority of the Hradec Králové Region (2009, 2010, 2012, 2014)
• Employees’ Satisfaction with Management of the Regional Authority of the Hradec Králové Region (2012, 2014)
• Survey of the Effectiveness of the ROP Northeast Advertising Campaign (2013, 2014)
• Commuting of Public Transport Users in Hradec Králové to Destination Stops in the Warehouse Area (2016)
• Number of visitors of the City Forests of Hradec Králové (2016–2017)

 What do we Offer to you

"Society Diagnosis - Wits and Data in your hand!"

…the slogan suggests that the sociology students are taught to think sociologically and to master an arsenal of ways how to use and create knowledge that gives orientation and helps to solve obvious but also quite hidden social problems.

A three-year full-time Bachelor's degree programme is not just books but also empirical research and work with data. It is a field needed and demanded in many sectors and professions. Without sociology it is not possible to know the phenomena, changes, processes that determine the contemporary social reality in our country and in the world. The issues examined concern the lives of individuals, social groups, organizations and complex social systems.

What is Necessary for Studies?

Interest in social events and certain enthusiasm is of particular importance. Sociology as a relatively young science is created mainly by people who, by their interest, discover and refine the procedures how to practically and efficiently produce and promptly use knowledge.

 What might discourage you?

You are not from a prestigious school? More than anything else, the will to learn is needed.

Statistics, numbers, tables…? We teach the basics that can be learned in sufficient time and pace. English? The English exam can be taken at any time during the three-year study. Centre for Language Preparation at our faculty will help you. English will come in handy in your life.

Absence of a follow-up Master's degree in sociology at our faculty? After three years, you can choose to study sociology elsewhere, a related field at our and other universities, or you decide not to choose a school and to find a job. In three years there may be a Master's degree at our faculty too.

You are from a prestigious school? Experts from prestigious institutions work at the department. And while studying, you can study abroad too.

What can we offer to you?

Standard quality studies, with a faculty under one roof, with a diverse college life, in a beautiful city and region. More information can be found on the following pages.

I wish you happy choice and success in the admission procedure.

PhDr. Miroslav Joukl, Ph.D.

Head of Department

 

Dear applicant,

below on this page, you will find important information necessary to fill in the application form for the admission procedure. You will learn details about the admission procedure, what the recommended literature will be and what your possible future employment will be.

For further information and submitting application, please see here.

Department of Sociology of the Philosophical faculty UHK

 

STUDY PROGRAMME CHARACTERISTICS

Sociology - Three-Year Bachelor's Degree in full-time Study

A/ The aim of the study is to enable students who have completed the Bachelor’s level to make a qualified choice of their further orientation.

a/ Study (in the follow-up Master's degree in sociology or in related disciplines; the follow-up Master's degree has not been accredited at FF UHK yet; students apply for related subjects at the University of Hradec Králové, apply for studies of sociology or related subjects at other universities in the Czech Republic)

b/ Practical (with the application of the field in various branches and professions according to the graduate’s profile).

B/ What is being studied in the field?

During their studies, students acquire general, partly special, sociological education, i.e. basic knowledge in the field of sociological and social science theories, history of sociology, sociological disciplines, methods and techniques, including computer processing of research.

Compulsory subjects include:

Introduction to sociology, General sociology (three semesters), Theory and history of sociology (three semesters), Methods of sociological research (two semesters), Statistics for sociologists, Data analysis by means of SPSS and its interpretation, Practice of qualitative research and Practice of quantitative research (two semesters each), Research activities, Demography, Social and cultural anthropology, Sociology of settlements, Czech and world sociology research.
Students take an English language exam, for which they can be preparing for over three years. The exam can be taken at any time during studies and the students can take advantage of language courses offered by the Centre for Language Preparation of our faculty.

The compulsory optional courses for students to choose from, include:

Sociology of politics, home, lifestyle, religion, work, etc., Population development of the Czech Republic and the world, Use of statistical data and databases, Social psychology, Theory and reality of civil society, Regional development, Social problems, Space analysis: GIS, visual sociology, Ecology and society, Philosophy of society, Professional ethics, Social policy, Social work for sociologists, Research activities 2, etc.

Students can attend language courses taught by the Centre for Language Studies of our faculty, gain language knowledge and skills in foreign languages (e.g. English, German, French).

Depending on individual interest, the students can also attend courses offered at other departments or courses offered for all faculty students (e.g. Career and personal development, Multimedia creation and presentation). These courses can be selected among the so called freely electives.

Studies Abroad

Students can broaden their knowledge horizons during their mobilities for studies abroad. Sociology students also take advantage of the ERASMUS+ programme and go on mobilities for studies in European countries to acquire knowledge and skills from the subjects studied at a foreign university in order to develop their language skills, get to know a different university environment and culture in another country. The results obtained in the studied subjects are acknowledged as part of their studies at a Czech university and in the relevant field. However, they can terminate their studies at their home university without extension. Students can also participate in  mobilities for traineeships abroad during their studies and gain better prerequisites for their future study and practical orientation.

C/ State Bachelor’s Examination

Students who have completed their studies take the state Bachelor’s examinations.

The exam includes:

a/ Oral exam from the following spheres:

Empirical sociology, Methods and techniques of sociological research

Theory and history of sociology

General sociology

b/ Bachelor’s thesis defence

(students write their Bachelor’s theses in order to present their knowledge and skills in the field of their own empirical research)

D/ What can be interesting in our studies?

We are pleased that the student sociological club SH1UK (read shluk = clump) has started its activities at the department. It is lead by students and organizes its own activities.

The Centre for Sociological Studies of the city and the region was established at the department. Among the activities organized within the centre are lectures with experts and research activities. Students participate in these activities and gain valuable experience, meet the requirements within their research activities.

Students work with SPSS software for quantitative data processing, MAXQDA software for qualitative data processing, and with other technical aids available in the computer lab at our faculty.

During their studies, students become acquainted with a number of experts from other sociological or other workplaces too. These are employees of the Institute of Sociology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, the Czech Statistical Office, and other universities in the Czech Republic.

Our department participates in a number of activities, which also include lecture series within the University of the Third Age or other programmes, lectures offered for partner schools, etc.