Why social science matters
Social science is highly relevant to helping us understand and manage many of the issues facing society, the environment, the economy and places, in the UK and internationally. They make a positive contribution to our daily lives – through the economic value they provide, the tangible differences they make to society, the innovation they facilitate and through guiding good policy decisions. The social sciences also offer opportunities to all, through the skills and knowledge they afford and the diversity of careers they can lead to.
Find out more about why the social sciences matter to individuals, communities and societies at large below.
The social sciences are relevant, and the UK excels at them
-
80%
of the social science research submitted to the 2021 Research Excellence Framework exercise by UK universities was recognised to be world leading or internationally excellent.
-
47%
of UK graduates chose to study social sciences in the 2022/23 academic year.
-
80%
of the UK’s economic output in 2024 was accounted for by the services sector, which is fuelled by the social sciences.
-
Economics, law, politics, business studies and geography
are among the top 10 disciplines for lifetime graduate earnings.
-
10
UK based universities are ranked in the top 50 universities in the world for social science, of which three of these are ranked in the top 10.
-
Approximately 80%
of the UK Government’s Areas of Research Interest Database questions were related wholly or significantly to social science research when it was launched in 2023.
“There is nothing more important to the survival of society than social science and the humanities.”
STEM Panel Member, REF 2021 2021
Did you know evidence from social science-based research programme Born in Bradford has led to millions of pounds worth of investment in improving urban green spaces & establishing a clean air zone in Bradford?
The social sciences are the understanding of people, society, economy and places.
Social science enables us all to understand our rapidly changing and interconnected human world. It includes many different areas of study, such as how people organise and govern themselves, and broker power and international relations; how wealth is generated, economies develop, and economic futures are modelled; how business works and what a sustainable future means; the ways in which populations are changing, and issues of unemployment, deprivation and inequality; and how these social, cultural and economic dynamics vary in different places, with different outcomes.
Understanding society in this way equips us with the skills and essential evidence to improve it, helping solve some of society’s most pressing challenges – making the population healthier, the economy stronger, the climate greener, and social structures fairer. For example, the Bradford clean air zone was introduced after social science research showed that air pollution was impacting residents’ health.
“The social sciences have a critical contribution to make in helping us understand, imagine, and craft a more sustainable future for all.”
UNESCO 2013
Did you know that social science spin out WorldPop provides the default subnational population data for all UN agencies? This feeds into the software used by 70+ ministries of health, covering an estimated 2.5 billion people.
UK social science is world leading.
UK social science delivers tangible real-life impact at local, national and global scales – and provides good value for money. UK universities are among the top ranked in the world for social science, with ten UK based universities being ranked in the top 50 universities in the world for social science, of which three of these are ranked in the top ten.
You can explore how world leading UK-based social science research is making a difference in our Making a Difference library.
The social sciences make a positive contribution
-
Every business in the UK depends on professional social scientists in order to function
Social science is fundamental to business and economic development. Companies rely on the skills and knowledge from social scientists to understand and engage with their markets, clients and consumers, to analyse and manage risk and long-term strategies, to develop new products and to engage in multidisciplinary ways of working.
For example, real-time business data collected through social science research as part of the Decision Maker Panel is fundamental to decisions being made by the Bank of England.
Therefore, funding social science education and research is a smart investment to ensure that the skills and insights social scientists provide to UK business and the economy are sustained.
-
Every citizen interacts daily with aspects of social science
Social science delivers tangible improvements to people’s daily lives – helping to reduce inequalities in education, supporting tackling health disparities, ensuring that people are paid fairly and so much more.
Taking a more holistic view, insights from social science in areas which have typically been seen as relating primarily to STEM, for example, have provided huge benefits in ensuring that new technologies fit with the world around us and have provided a deeper understanding of people’s thoughts and behaviour relating to the climate crisis.
From tackling hate crime to reducing wage inequality, the social sciences are helping to find solutions to some of the most pressing issues of our time.
-
Social science is essential in delivering innovation in practice
Social science is essential for transforming innovative ideas into commercially successful products and services that benefit society. These can be products or services that emerge directly from social science research itself or from the insights that social science provides, such as an understanding of markets, consumers, behaviour and law, which enables innovation in other sectors to be adopted, develop and flourish. In either case, social scientists’ understanding of society, economics, market research, psychology and risk management all plays a significant role in enabling commercially successful innovations to thrive.
For example, WorldPop produces data on population distributions and characteristics at high spatial resolutions, enabling researchers, governments, international organisations and NGOs to target interventions and drive sustainable development across a range of areas including health, education and disaster response.
-
Social science underpins regional, devolved and UK Government policy and analysis
Social science contributes vital evidence to inform government policy which touches all of our daily lives, from our education at school and the healthcare we receive to our wages at work. Over three quarters of the UK Government’s areas of research interest, which help inform policy directions, are wholly or largely related to social science research and insight – illustrating what an important contribution social science research and insights make to our society.
At a time when so much policy emphasis is being placed on increasing living standards or identifying ways to ensure socially just transitions around climate change or emerging technologies, social science perspectives will become ever more important. Social scientists are also adept at working across disciplines and with STEM researchers to provide multiple, nuanced perspectives.
Did you know social science research has substantially reduced the risk of HIV infection in over 2.5 million children in Sub Saharan Africa?
Did you know social science research informed the introduction of the National Living Wage in 2016, raising the wages of over 1.5 million UK workers?
Social science subjects are open and available to all.
Studying the social sciences is a popular choice for many students who want to understand more about the societies we live in, people’s behaviour and the nature of our changing human world. They open up a huge range of opportunities for further study and career options, not only in roles related directly to these areas but the transferable skills gained from social science can be applied to many different sectors too. That’s why they are a popular choice for many students completing their post-16 qualifications – business studies, economics, psychology and sociology are ranked in the top 10 most studied subjects at A Level in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Studying social science at higher levels of education is open to everyone, with most universities across the breadth of the UK offering social science degree programmes, in single disciplines and as multi-disciplinary programmes. There are social science further education courses and apprenticeships too.
“We need STEM people to help us manufacture, we need the chemical scientists and the liquid scientists to help us make our products, we need technologists who help with things like production and storage … but there is no point in doing all of that, if you haven’t got anyone to sell to, because you have ignored what the consumers are telling you and the insights they give you.”
Diageo 2020
Social science skills are valued by employers and lead to well-paid careers.
Social scientists have skills and knowledge that are in demand across a range of sectors leading to a variety of interesting, rewarding and well-paid careers. Social science graduates earn in line with average expected graduate earnings and, in some cases, significantly more than the average graduate salary, with economics, law, politics, business studies and geography being among the top ten disciplines for lifetime graduate earnings.
Explore how social science is making a difference
See examples of how social science is making a positive impact on our society, from tackling inequalities and driving economic growth, to guiding good decision-making and working with STEM colleagues to find solutions to some of society’s most pressing challenges.
