MSc in Public Policy

What is public policy? Who are the key actors and what institutions are involved? How is it shaped by, and how does it impact upon, an economic, social and cultural environment which is increasingly globalised? This programme investigates the international public policy environment in terms of global political economy and the impact of business, voluntary sector and public policy agents in the field of multi-level governance. The programme encompasses both a theoretical understanding of the policy process and models of appraisal with a practical orientation to evaluating research evidence.

As well as considering generic policy concerns, the programme allows you the opportunity to choose from a range of substantive policy issues. These include the economics of public policy; poverty and social exclusion; penal policy; cities, housing and public policy; health and public policy; migration, asylum; and sustainability. While all the programme units consider policy in an international and comparative context, particular emphasis is placed on Europe and East Asia.

Core units

You must complete four core units:

• Governance, Institutions and the Global Political Economy
• Informing and Evaluating Policy: Research Methods and Analysis
• Power Politics and the Policy Process
• Public Management and Organisations

Optional units

• Cities, Housing and Public Policy
• The Economics of Public Policy
• Gender and Violence: International and Global Perspectives
• Gender Development and Public Policy: A Global Perspective
• Health and Health Care in a Global Context
• An International Analysis of Poverty and Social Exclusion
• Migration, Asylum and Human Rights in the European Union
• Organisations and Public Management
• The State of Labour
• The Policy and the Politics of Urban Sustainability

*Elective units require a minimum of seven students in order to proceed

Dissertation

You must complete a dissertation of 15,000 words. The dissertation accounts for 60 credit points. You begin work in late April and must submit by September.