The Department of Social Sciences at Loughborough was established in 1972. It is a major interdisciplinary department within the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities. It is unique in British Universities in its combination of academic disciplines - sociology, social psychology, and social policy. The department offers undergraduate degrees in each of these disciplines and in communications and media studies. Postgraduate taught courses are offered in Women's Studies, Criminology, and in Policy Organisation and Change in Professional Care.
The Department of Social Sciences houses three research centres which provide an institutional focus for externally funded research and for postgraduate research students: