FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
MISSION, VISION AND IDENTITY
Introduction
The purpose of this document is to set out an overarching mission, vision and
identity for the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Sheffield. It forms the
bedrock for all other strategy documentation within the Faculty and the operational
plans that will at different points in time set out how these strategies will be
achieved. The document has been developed with the aim of ensuring that as many
staff as possible can identify with, and see how their work contributes to, the mission
and vision of the Faculty.
Background
The Faculty is a large, complex and diverse grouping of thirteen departments
(Architecture, East Asian Studies, Economics, Education, Geography, Information
Studies, Journalism Studies, Landscape, Law, Management, Politics, Sociological
Studies and Town and Regional Planning). It thus includes most of the classical social
science disciplines, but also several other major subject areas in the social sciences,
often established as faculties in their own right in other universities, together with a
number of specialist fields of social scientific study that are distinctive to Sheffield.
This mix of interests is rich and exciting, taking the Faculty into the world of both
professional and academic education. It also renders the Faculty unique in relation to
its peer institutions within the Russell Group of UK universities..
Mission
The mission of the Faculty is to undertake interdisciplinary research and teaching that
informs, influences and engages with academic, professional, practice, and policyrelated debates, locally, nationally and internationally; and, in so doing, maintains the
Faculty in its present position as a world-leading centre of research and teaching in
the social sciences.
Vision
The Faculty aspires to be known for the outstanding quality of its research and
teaching, and for being both committed to knowledge exchange and distinctive in its
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social mission and core values. It aims to preserve, support and shape the broad
range of social sciences disciplines that it represents within a Faculty ‘family of
departments’, thereby providing real added value that benefits the wider academic,
professional and social environment in which we live and work.
Identity
The Faculty is characterised by four distinguishing features which collectively shape
its particular identity in relation to other comparable faculties of social science.
These are:

Exceptional breadth and diversity

Creative interdisciplinarity

Serious commitment to impact and social engagement

Comprehensive internationalism
Breadth and diversity
Given the range of departments that constitute the Faculty, a very wide set of
economic, educational, environmental, legal, political and social issues are explored
within
our
research
and
teaching
programmes,
both
within
the
UK
and
internationally. However, the exceptional diversity of the individual departments that
comprise the Faculty means that there exists a greater than normal breadth of
expertise, thereby offering huge potential for collaborations and the pursuit of
unusual approaches to both research and teaching.
Importantly too, all of the
Faculty’s activities are informed and taken forward by engagement with a wide
range of theoretical traditions and a strong commitment to pluralism in the
intellectual approaches deployed.
Interdisciplinarity
Across the Faculty there is a strong interest in pursuing an interdisciplinary agenda in
both research and teaching. Many departments are themselves characterised by a
core interdisciplinarity. There are also in existence many dual degree programmes
and joint cross-departmental research programmes.
Beyond the Faculty too,
interdisciplinary research and teaching is undertaken in collaboration with colleagues
from our partner Faculties of Arts and Humanities, Engineering, Medicine and Health,
and Science within the University of Sheffield.
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These various partnerships are characterised by an intellectual openness and
willingness to step outside the confines of disciplinary straitjackets.
Combined with
links with external partners, nationally and internationally, this commitment to
fostering creative interdisciplinarity ensures that there exists a rich and diverse
environment for the social sciences at Sheffield. This enables the Faculty to respond
effectively to research initiatives and provides a platform for the development of
teaching programmes that influence, and are influenced by, this agenda.
Social sciences at Sheffield extends beyond a focus on the social realm to explore
the natural and physical environments in which people live and the symbiotic
relationships that arise between people and places.
In addition, an increasing
emphasis is placed on understanding the virtual world and exploring how new
technologies impact on society.
Such perspectives are enabled not only by the
breadth of the social science disciplines within the Faculty, but also by a shared
realisation of the necessary interrelationship between the physical, social and virtual
worlds.
The Faculty’s Interdisciplinary Centre of the Social Sciences (ICoSS) provides a focal
point for such interdisciplinary activity.
ICoSS provides purpose-built research
facilities and hosts a range of exhibitions, seminars and other events designed to
stimulate conversations between members of the Faculty and foster a collective spirit
of creative enquiry.
Other research centres in the Faculty also bring an
interdisciplinary focus to bear on specific topics such as criminology, political
economy, childhood and youth, ageing, public policy, regional development and
media freedom.
Impact and social engagement
Another distinctive feature of the social sciences at Sheffield is the strong links that
are made between research, teaching and professional practice. The majority of the
departments within the Faculty have some form of professional accredited training
within their portfolio of activities and these links ensure that our graduates in these
areas have a competitive edge, enjoying the benefit of research-led teaching that
also drives the development of professional practice.
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A strong focus on policy-related research is similarly threaded throughout the work
of the Faculty. This ensures that our research has a practical focus and applications
that can help improve the quality of people’s lives through the links that exist
between social scientists at Sheffield and a range of public services, but also through
our evaluation of policies at the local, national and international level.
The Public Services Academy (PSA) acts as the knowledge exchange hub of the
Faculty.
Along with other more focused units established in the departments, it
ensures that the Faculty’s research and consultancy work remains at the forefront of
the needs of users in the public and private sectors. The Faculty is committed to
ensuring that its researchers engage with society and seek to ensure that their
findings have a beneficial impact on how we live.
This commitment to social engagement is further evident within the Faculty’s
learning and teaching portfolio. A common feature of our teaching includes a focus
on the study of social systems, or the social elements of systems, and issues relating
to people and communities and the places that they create and inhabit.
The
Faculty’s learning and teaching environment is designed to provide intellectual
space for the discussion of ideas at the same time as being grounded in an
awareness of the real impact each subject within the Faculty can make to society.
The Faculty also has a strong commitment to widening access to higher education, to
making the resources of the University available to the wider community, and to
continued professional education.
Staff and students are encouraged to take an
active role in the local community through the provision of both their professional
expertise and their time.
Internationalism
The Faculty recognises that we live and work in an increasingly globalising world and
seeks to build internationalism into everything that it does. We thus provide both
students and staff with an environment that values and promotes the international,
prepares graduates to enter this changing world, and allows staff the opportunities
for interaction and collaboration with colleagues from around the world, both inside
the higher education sector and with international organisations, business and
governments.
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A considerable amount of the research undertaken within the Faculty extends to the
global stage, informing and evaluating policy and practice internationally. We enjoy
many active collaborations with partners in universities all over the world and are
now seeking further to enhance our international reputation via the establishment of
strategic alliances with faculties of social science in other leading
international
universities.
The Faculty has a strong track record in attracting international students at all levels
of study, with an emerging emphasis on comparative international study being
developed within many degree courses. These international students, who come to
Sheffield from many countries, contribute enormously to a vibrant and creative
culture within the Faculty’s departments. Teaching collaborations with several other
countries further enhance the international orientation we are endeavouring to
cultivate as a matter of course.
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