Introduction

Do you want a career that gets to the heart of society’s problems and changes people’s lives? Gain the skills to identify key social challenges, and analyse and identify policies used to address them on this interdisciplinary Masters course. Studying social welfare and social policy will allow you to focus on the areas of most importance to people’s lives, including education, housing, health, and criminal justice, giving you the skills and understanding to make a difference to people’s lives at local, national and international levels.

It will prepare you for many careers in non-governmental organisations (NGOs), including community organisations, charities, social enterprises and not-for-profit organisations, as well as governmental or academic institutions. On our Masters course, you will explore these and many other issues, comparing different strategies and policies across different countries, and from the perspective of many different disciplines, including politics, criminology and psychology. Our Master’s course attracts multicultural students with a variety of backgrounds from sociology to business studies, and health to the Arts. Whatever their background, our students are all enthusiastic about making a difference to their communities by improving human rights and living conditions. This might include changing how their society handles issues such as gender equality, prisoners’ rights, children’s education, or environmental protection, among others. The international dimension of our Masters course will also make you an attractive candidate for potential employers – you will be used to working alongside people from different backgrounds, as well as exploring social issues from the perspective of different cultures.

How you'll be assessed

You will be assessed using methods that best allow us to assess your development throughout the course, and that relate to the kind of work you can expect to produce in your future career. These include essays, reports, case studies and debates - there are no exams in this course. You will also receive plenty of group workshops and individual supervised support for your Major Project.

Careers

The skills and knowledge you pick up on this Masters course will prepare you for a career in non-governmental organisations (NGOs) (including community organisations, charities, social enterprises and not-for-profit organisations), employment in governmental organisations and academic organisations. Our past graduates have gone on to work in education, poverty reduction, charities and NGOs, consultancies, and government bodies both in Britain and overseas.