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BACHELOR OF SOCIAL SCIENCE

Bachelor of Social Science for 2025

Why study the Bachelor of Social Science?

Employers seek flexible, well-informed graduates who are sophisticated communicators and analytical thinkers. The IIE Bachelor of Social Science offered at IIE MSA is designed to enable students to develop such qualities.

The world of work is changing rapidly and students will need to take a global outlook and be adaptable in order to succeed. This programme provides a rich basis of skills and knowledge for graduates to apply directly within the workplace, or to build on through further studies in Honours or a postgraduate program.

With the skills and knowledge developed through their social science degree, graduates will be equipped to apply for positions in a diverse range of fields. These include journalism and publishing, business research and analysis, public relations and marketing, human resources, training and development, administrative positions, public or civil services, diplomacy, public policy makers, social and community services, counselling, social welfare and psychological services.

Successful completion of this programme leads to a IIE qualification.

For more information about studying the IIE Bachelor of Social Science offered at IIE MSA, get in touch with us today.

Career Opportunities

This social science degree will open up an attractive range of career options. Sophisticated communication, analytical thinking and flexibility are the qualities you can expect to possess after completing the Bachelor of Social Science. With skills like these you will be equipped to move into roles in areas including:

  • Marketing, branding and advertising
  • Criminal justice, policy development and human services
  • The police, courts and corrections
  • Government departments and non-governmental organisations
  • Restorative justice processes, victim counselling and employee assistance programmes
  • Field work, addressing geographical and environmental problems
  • International relations, foreign policy and politics (local and national)
  • Psychology, counselling and societal development
  • Research and academia.
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Duration

3 Years full-time

Accreditation

Accredited by the CHE. Registration: NQF Level 7, SAQA ID 90905

Discuss your study options with a Student Advisor
Intake

First Semester (February)

Attendances
  • On-campus at IIE MSA: Full-time
Programme Code:

BSSC0701

Entry requirements

Minimum Admission Requirements

National Senior Certificate (NSC)
Bachelor pass with English (50%)

National Certificate (Vocational) (NC(V))
Bachelor pass with English (50%)

Senior Certificate (SC)
Endorsement with English (50%)

Senior Certificate (Amended) (SC(a))
Bachelor pass with English (50%)

Alternate Admission
NSC: (English 40%-49%). If 50% min in final Grade 11 results was achieved. Should the English requirement not be met at NSC Grade 12, then entrance may be granted if the English requirement is met based on the Grade 11 final mark.

Please note, requirements for entry to this qualification are correct at the time of publication, however, these may change.

Applications

More information can be found by visiting How to apply

Entry requirements

International entry requirements

International Students

An USAf Exemption Certificate is required meeting the minimum of 50% for English OR requisite English test e.g. TOEFL, IELS."

A cognate Higher Certificate OR cognate 240 credit Diploma OR an Advanced Certificate OR 360 credit Diploma or Degree may satisfy the minimum admission requirements to degree studies.

If discipline not cognate at least 20% of credits must be academic literacy or numeracy related.

Please note, requirements for entry to this qualification are correct at the time of publication, however, these may change.

Applications

More information can be found by visiting How to apply

Study areas for Bachelor of Social Science

CRIMINOLOGY AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE

When you consider it away from the glamour of books, movies, television programmes and sensational media coverage, crime is revealed to be both a fascinating and incredibly complex subject.

If you have an interest in deviance, conflict, crime, victimisation, society and the need for creating and maintaining safety then a major research piece in criminology and criminal justice is for you. You may choose to focus your research on the forms of crime that can have a significant negative impact on society, the economy and the environment, or you might propose new ways to deal with crime, conflict and victimisation.

DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

Development studies takes an interdisciplinary approach to understanding key concepts and theoretical perspectives used in approaches to global development and poverty eradication. The area draws on ethnography, historical contextualisation and anthropology to help understand social and economic patterns of change; how development policy is imagined, produced, and received (or resisted) across multiple cultural contexts; and how development is imagined and defined through specific case studies of approaches, institutions and practitioners in the field. You will gain an understanding of global inequalities and how these impact on different groups of people. You will also gain an understanding of development theories and models and an understanding of how development has affected particular cultures and places.

GEOGRAPHY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

In this study area, you will develop an understanding of natural environments, societies, communities, economies, human-environment relations and environmental management. You will cover both human geography and physical geography and have the opportunity to participate in field studies and trips allowing you to further develop and apply skills gained.

INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

As the world globalises and nations and economies become more integrated, understanding our world and the ideas and beliefs of our neighbours is vital. International studies criss-crosses history, politics, international relations, sociology and economics. Offering a uniquely African perspective on global issues, you will start by looking at the history of the 20th century, and then move to the issues currently facing our world as we move into our world today.

POLITICAL STUDIES

Political studies is a broad area of study allowing you to learn about the interrelationships in the human world. You will consider debates about resource allocation, decision-making, social behaviour and political action, the management or resolution of conflict, power struggles, ideologies and political movements, and the nature of the government and the state, including relations between states. The study of politics is ultimately concerned with important questions about the nature of power and authority, with the relationship between theory and practice, and with trying to understand the nature of social existence and the conditions needed for establishing more desirable forms of human community.

PSYCHOLOGY

Psychology draws on a range of phenomena including remembering and forgetting, thinking, learning, problem solving, how we communicate, our emotions, and our social interactions. It allows us to examine how we respond to the world around us, providing valuable insights in how we can interact with the world more effectively and safely. The Psychology study area is research-led and based on the scientist-practitioner model of education whereby you will learn about psychology within a scientific perspective.

SOCIOLOGY

Sociology explores people and the relationships that they have in different contexts such as families, schools and workplaces. Sociologists look to things like social class, gender, ethnicity, power and culture to understand and explain the differences in how people live, think and feel.

 

What is Bachelor of Social Science?

Social scientists strive to understand, analyse, describe and explain the human world and their position within it, just as scientists attempt to describe and comprehend the natural world. The IIE Bachelor of Social Science is designed to help you make sense of our rapidly changing global culture. Equally relevant to the professional world of work and the world of knowledge, the programme will enable you to develop the skills needed to contribute to the social and cultural fabric of the community and to become truly global citizens. It will introduce you to a range of study areas in the humanities and social sciences. You will read, debate, examine and discuss issues, learning to carefully build arguments and propositions, to think independently and to develop new ways of approaching problems.

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