MSc Policy Research

Programme overview
Researchers, research managers, policy advisers and service planners are all faced with a growing need for top-quality research that is timely and relevant. This programme builds on the links between research and policy in developing the particular skills and capacities needed by policy-oriented researchers, professionals and postgraduate students interested in carrying out public policy, social policy and social welfare research. We believe this is vital if researchers are to maximise the impact of their work in addressing issues of real concern to policy-makers.
The programme provides core research training in philosophy and research design in the social sciences, along with introductions to and further approaches in quantitative and qualitative methods in the social sciences. It also offers optional units in areas of the school's particular research expertise, such as child and family welfare, gender and violence, health and social care, poverty and social exclusion, and policy-oriented evaluation, led by academics who are at the top of their field.
We recognise that students will be joining with relevant - albeit varied - experience. Therefore, there will be opportunities for you to draw on your own experiences as researchers, managers and policy advisers and to share these with other participants on the programme. Those who have recently embarked on a career in policy research, or who hope to do so, will find the programme offers a unique combination of academic rigour, up-to-date policy content and relevant skills development. Core units are also taught in collaboration with other postgraduate programmes, providing a unique co-learning environment and allowing students an opportunity to interact and share insights with other interest groups.