Evidence-Based Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation

The MPhil is designed for students with a specific interest in understanding the effectiveness of policies, such as regulations concerning alcohol abuse or gun control, public health or poverty policies, and social interventions, such as cash transfers, parenting education, or violence prevention programs. It prepares students for a career in, for example, development, public policy, or policy and programme evaluation. Applicants with a professional background, such as those in evaluation, public health or policy consulting, will enhance their research skills and develop a major piece of research in a world-class environment.

The MPhil has six major components:

• MPhil thesis
• core course on evaluation methods
• pathway course, either Social Intervention or Policy Evaluation
• two specialist options, e.g. on Child and family interventions, Social policies and health inequalities, Community-level programmes and policies. In the second year it may be possible to select an option from Comparative Social Policy
• research methods training (Quantitative and qualitative methods, R-programming, Systematic reviews).

Assessment will be based on your MPhil thesis, a methods workbook and two three-hour written exams.

You will write a research thesis of 30,000 words to acquire expert knowledge in your area of interest, to apply the research methods, and contribute to new scientific knowledge.

This course, taken over two terms, trains students to critically consume and produce evaluation research for policies and social interventions, focusing on multiple methods, including randomised controlled trials and quasi-randomised methods, qualitative evaluation, and systematic reviews. The course has a strong focus on ‘open science’ and research transparency.

You will select one of two available pathways, to be taken over two terms:

• Social Intervention, covering evidence-based methods to evaluate social interventions, theories underlying interventions, ethical issues, and applying research in practice and policy, including the challenges of implementing programmes in the real world; or
• Policy Evaluation, introducing you to social policy analysis, policy formation, and the relationship between evidence and policy, and to different research methods for evaluating policies, e.g. quasi- experimental designs, natural experiments.

You may be able to change your choice of pathway in the first week of the programme.

You will take two one-term specialist courses from a list of options which may include Children and Families, Social Policies and Health Inequalities, Community-level programmes and policies.

MPhil students may attend advanced methods classes, such as Intermediate Statistics, in their second year.

Students following the social intervention or policy evaluation pathway take a core evaluation methods course. In addition, all student in the MPhil EBSIPE take the following methods courses:

In addition to the core evaluation methods course, the MPhil EBSIPE teaches

• systematic reviews, quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods, ie to learn to synthesise the best available evidence (2 terms)
• quantitative methods, ie key statistical concepts and application in the leading software, R (1 term)
• qualitative research methods, ie design, data collection, analysis and qualitative meta-synthesis.
• field methods, ie managing, costing and running real-world evaluations.

Specialist interdisciplinary training in systematic reviews has led to published Masters' theses, for example:

• van Urk (2014)
• Grant (2013)
• Knerr (2013)
• Vlahovicova (2017)

The allocation of graduate supervision for this course is the responsibility of the Department of Social Policy and Intervention and it is not always possible to accommodate the preferences of incoming graduate students to work with a particular member of staff. Students are able to meet their potential supervisor in the first week of term. Under exceptional circumstances a supervisor may be found outside the Department of Social Policy and Intervention.

In the case of students who require specific help to adjust to an academic programme or to a new range of skills, the supervisor will work with them to ensure that they have additional support.

Recent graduates from the MPhil have gone on to study for doctorates in a range of high quality universities. Many of the department’s graduates go on to pursue academic careers in world-leading research universities, while others hold influential positions in government, non-governmental and international organisations, such as the World Bank, World Health Organisation and UN agencies.

Changes to this course and your supervision

The University will seek to deliver this course in accordance with the description set out in this course page. However, there may be situations in which it is desirable or necessary for the University to make changes in course provision, either before or after registration. In certain circumstances, for example due to visa difficulties or because the health needs of students cannot be met, it may be necessary to make adjustments to course requirements for international study.

Where possible your academic supervisor will not change for the duration of your course. However, it may be necessary to assign a new academic supervisor during the course of study or before registration for reasons which might include sabbatical leave, parental leave or change in employment.

For further information, please see our page on changes to courses.

Other courses you may wish to consider

If you're thinking about applying for this course, you may also wish to consider the courses listed below. These courses may have been suggested due to their similarity with this course, or because they are offered by the same department or faculty.

All graduate courses offered by the Department of Social Policy and Intervention

Comparative Social Policy MPhil

Comparative Social Policy MSc

Evidence-Based Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation MPhil

Evidence-Based Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation MSc

Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation DPhil

Social Policy DPhil

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Entry requirements