School of Sociology and Social Policy

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MA Social and Public Policy Course Content

Compulsory Modules

Issues in Social Policy Analysis and Research explores the intellectual paths and means available for analysing and investigating policies and practices, taking recent developments in welfare arrangements and social policy institutions as material. The module will introduce you to a range of analytical starting points and theoretical perspectives; it will ask you to consider views about causation, the problem of 'proof' and the kinds of enquiries that arise through particular positions, values and settings.

Evaluation Research aims to provide an overview of the theory, methodology, practice and usage of programme and policy evaluation. The module will introduce you to the family of methods used to conduct evaluations, such as randomised controlled trials, quasi-experimental methods, formative evaluation, action research, and empowerment evaluation.

You will also explore the issues surrounding the impact of policy research and evaluation on the policy-making process, and address some of the current debates about evaluation, such as the trend towards mega and meta evaluations, the professionalisation of evaluation, and the need for standards.

Social and Public Policy Dissertation allows you to tailor your own programme of training and research in consultation with a member of staff drawn from the department's MA/PhD supervisory panel. Through the dissertation, you demonstrate your ability to develop and complete an in-depth analysis, select and use appropriate research methods, deploy advanced theoretical concepts and relate a focused study to broader social and public policy debates and concerns.

Elective Modules

You also choose two modules from the following list.

Research Strategy and Design
Quantitative Research Methods
Qualitative Research Methods
Advanced Racism and Ethnicity Studies
'Race', Identity and Culture in the Black Atlantic
Contemporary Social Thought
Liquid Sociology
Disability and Development
From Conception to the Grave: Health in a Global Context
Debates on Disability Theory and Research

Full-time students may take either three modules in Semester 1 and one in Semester 2, as well as the dissertation, or two modules in Semester 1 and two in Semester 2, as well as the dissertation.

Part-time students have some flexibility as to when they take their modules, but we do advise candidates to consider the credit load between semesters. One pattern may be to take three modules in the first year, with two in Semester 1 and one in Semester 2. This leaves one module and the dissertation for the second year.

Postgraduate Diploma in Social and Public Policy

Available on a 12-month full-time or 24-month part-time basis, the Postgraduate Diploma in Social and Public Policy covers similar ground to the MA, but does not include the dissertation module.

On the basis of a good performance in a full-time student's first semester, or a part-timer's first year, students initially registered for the Diploma may be transferred onto the corresponding MA.