ABSTRACT
The four-year sandwich course in sociology at Bath took in its first twenty-four students in 1963. The intention was to explore the possibilities of applying the sandwich method, well established in engineering, medicine and nursing, teaching and social work, to the teaching of the social sciences. Sociology can provide models for the organisation and interpretation of experience. Sociology is both a theoretical study of conceptual systems and an attempt to develop scientific methods of measurement and analysis to problems of social engineering. Despite lip-service to the sandwich principle, recent changes in policy have made it more difficult for students to get grants for some kinds of placements, while voluntary agencies are increasingly demanding higher training fees. All students, whether with firm vocational interests or none, are encouraged to see the placement as one primarily related to sociology, rather than to business management, social administration, teaching or any other vocational goal.
