School of Social Sciences
Understanding human experience and exploring how and why society works
The School is home to seven disciplines. Additionally, it serves as a hub for engagement in regional Western Australia through the Centre for Regional Development and Centre for Rock Art Research and Management.
The School collaborates across government, community and industry to develop responses to major societal opportunities, challenges and injustices.
Through innovative research, industry placements and transformative education, our students forge critical understandings of local, regional and global issues.
Our disciplines
Anthropology
This area seeks to better understand people and the societies in which they live and work.
Find out moreArchaeology
Archaeology is the study of human life, thoughts and actions through materials left behind.
Find out moreAsian Studies
Asian Studies critiques and interrogates Western theories of social, economic, political and cultural development.
Find out moreLinguistics
Language is at the core of what it means to be human and is central to how we interact with others in our lives.
Find out moreMedia and Communication
Media and communication tools are transforming the way we think about our identities, relationships and communities.
Find out morePolitical Science and International Relations
Our research and teaching explores the politics and governance of our complex, dynamic and globalised world.
Find out moreGeography and Planning
Cutting-edge research balancing human development with the natural environment
Find out moreWelcome from Head of School Professor Amanda Davies
The School of Social Sciences is a vibrant, exciting place in which to study and research. Often described as sitting between the hard sciences and the arts, social science is the systematic development of knowledge about society – past, present and future.
Social scientists run head first into the difficult questions to logically reveal how society shapes, and is shaped by, politics, economics, culture, religion, geography and the environment. And we do so with purpose and passion. Solutions to global challenges, including achieving sustainable development, addressing climate change, eliminating poverty, improving the status of indigenous populations and closing the gap between rich and poor, can only be advanced when the best knowledge about how societies work is available.
Our courses have excellent employability results, with our graduates highly sought after for their ability to apply understandings about societies to real-world problems and challenges. You will find the School of Social Sciences a very welcoming environment in which to study because, after all, the more brains we have thinking about how to address the pressing challenges facing our world, the better.
Become a bilingual citizen of the world at the largest language hub in WA
With four European, four Asian and two Classical languages on offer, UWA is the leading institution in WA for language learning.
Immerse yourself in another language. Learn to see the world in a new way. Move between cultures with ease.
Hear about our new courses
Bachelor of International Relations
UWA’s Bachelor of International Relations provides you with comprehensive knowledge of international relations from a range of perspectives — political, legal, historical, and sociological. In line with UWA’s expertise and Perth’s geography, you’ll receive unique training focusing on the Indo-Pacific region.
Hear about our new courses
Bachelor of Social and Environmental Sustainability
Are you passionate about creating a sustainable future? The Bachelor of Social and Environmental Sustainability provides a unique blend of social sciences, humanities, environmental studies, and policy.
News
Study explores what helps agritourism grow
Location, authenticity, interaction and learning are important factors to enhance agritourism experiences, according to researchers from The University of Western Australia.
Read moreAustralians are having fewer babies and our local-born population is about to shrink: here's why it's not that scary
Australians are having fewer babies, so many fewer that without international migration our population would be on track to decline in just over a decade.
Read moreRegional environment behind recent terror attacks will likely support extreme groups
Last week’s terror attacks in Moscow and in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar have once again raised the spectre of international terrorism.
Read moreOur notable alumni
Andrew Wong
Associate Television Producer
Andrew Wong
Associate Television Producer, Singapore
Bachelor of Arts '18 (Communication and Media Studies)
UWA Bachelor of Arts alumni, Andrew Wong, graduated in December 2018 with a major in Communication and Media Studies. A Singaporean national, Andrew returned home post-graduation and shortly after, joined a local media production company as an Associate Producer of documentaries broadcasted on networks such as Channel NewsAsia and National Geographic. Andrew is passionate about sports, movies and photography and is an avid traveller whose adrenaline runs on looking for new sights and hidden trails to capture that one “epic” photo.
“The visual language of film and photography is my passion amongst many others. The idea of creating content that engages with the audience, with stories from the various reaches of the world, is an exciting one. This was one of the reasons why I really enjoyed my time at UWA in the Communication and Media Studies major, as it gave me new experiences and road trips around the best sunsets WA can offer.”
Patrick Morrison
Assistant Curator at Western Australian Museum
Patrick Morrison
Assistant Curator, Western Australian Museum
Bachelor of Science '18, Bachelor of Arts (Honours) ’19 (Archaeology)
"I started studying straight after high school in 2016. My undergraduate majors were in Neuroscience and Archaeology, and in 2019 I completed an Honours in Archaeology.I thoroughly enjoyed my time at UWA, and have especially fond memories of travelling for both archaeological field trips and debating competitions. I studied neuroscience after falling in love with it during the Brain Bee at high school, organised by Jenny Rodger at UWA.
My second major became archaeology after a very interesting first year class with Sven Ouzman, where I ended up sourcing and firing my own clay tablet for an assignment. I was lucky enough to get a job at the Museum straight after graduation.
I have remained connected to UWA since then, especially as I finish publishing work that I completed during my Honours year."
Amy Bowdrey
Program Support Coordinator at DVassist
Amy Bowdrey
Program Support Coordinator, DVassist
Bachelor of Arts '19 (Political Science and International Relations, Law and Society)
"Since graduating, I have worked as the Research Officer and Program Support Coordinator at DVassist, an organisation supporting those experiencing domestic and family violence in regional, rural and remote Western Australia. UWA equipped me with the skills and experiences that have shaped my chosen career path. While I was there, I was able to complete an exchange to the University of York where I was able to learn from an entirely different perspective.I continue to work with UWA even after graduating. I am involved in the Career Mentor Link Program where I mentor a student in their career development. My passion is to empower those to speak, not to speak for them. I hope that I can use my skills to empower people with lived experiences of injustice and inequality to develop their own organisations, causes or voices to empower others who are similarly impacted."
Aaron D'Cruz
Marketing and Product Manager
Aaron D'Cruz
Marketing and Product Manager
Bachelor of Arts, '16 (Communication and Media Studies, Marketing)
"A few months before graduating from UWA in 2016, I was scouted by a publicly listed tech company. They found me on Twitter - for which I can only attribute to luck. But it was my former manager’s reference that sold me – a reference only a mother can beat. Being a curious go-getter, I started co-organizing hackathons for the government. Doors instantly opened that helped me to start a consulting side-hustle, and was also where I met my co-founder, Chris. Two years ago we launched a construction software startup and we now have a team of seven.
Designing products the world has never seen before is beyond fulfilling. The process of exploration, ideation, designing and deploying is fun every step of the way, and allows me to experiment with different tools and ideas. It’s the most interesting part of my career so far, and I’d like to continue creating bigger and bolder tools for the rest of my life."
Jessie Gordon
Multi-award winning musician
Jessie Gordon
Internationally acclaimed, multi-award winning musician
Bachelor of Arts ’04 (Linguistics and Anthropology and Sociology)
Bachelor of Arts Linguistics and Anthropology graduate, Jessie Gordon, is an internationally acclaimed, multi-award winning musician whose musical passions span across jazz, blues, gospel and roots music. She is a jazz blues vocalist, vintage jazz dancer, raconteur and self-proclaimed cheese enthusiast.
Jessie’s passion for music has taken her around the world, touring Southeast Asia, Germany, France, Spain, Italy and the UK. She has won 15 Music and Cabaret awards at FRINGE WORLD Festival and has received 22 nominations. Jessie has collaborated with local Perth bands including Sassafras, Apocalypse Lounge, The Dirty Blues Band, Perth Cabaret Collective, and the Anatomically Incorrect Gentlemen, and recently released two albums with her original music, A Work of Fiction and Best Friends.
In 2004, Jessie graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in Linguistics and Anthropology. Following graduation, she undertook an honours year in anthropology and began a PhD which she never completed, having succumbed to the lure of bright stage lights.
“Anthropology changed the way I looked at the world. I can’t emphasise enough the impact it had on me. I still remember the profound revelation I experienced studying gender and sexuality, and also healing and medicine, through an anthropological lens.
“For me the intersection of language and music provides a constant tension in performance. There are so many interpretations of a melody that can support the lyric of a tune, or provide a counterpoint to it. I use the skills I learned in my arts degree every day to think analytically about musical and lyrical content and find new ways to interpret and communicate on stage.”
Our courses
Research centres and entities
- Centre for Forensic Anthropology
- Centre for Regional Development
- Centre for Muslim States and Societies
- Centre for Rock Art Research and Management
- Planning and Transport Research Centre
- The Digitisation Centre of Western Australia
- The Ethnography Lab of Western Australia
- The Language Lab
- VaxPol Lab