Course summary

Social Policy seeks to not only understand the social world; but seeks to change it for the better through practical action. Human well-being can be delivered through a range of public, private and voluntary institutions.Welfare systems and other public institutions face considerable challenges presented by economic crisis such as an ageing population, increasingly flexible forms of work, migration, and shifting ways of family life. Alongside these fiscal and demographic pressures, rising socio-economic inequality and austerity has begun to reverse a number of key social advancements in terms of health and social mobility, making it a fascinating and critical time to study these issues. The MA Social Policy will address a range of social problems, such as poverty, homelessness, crime and health inequalities. You will be encouraged to consider the underlying causes and to formulate policy solutions to address specific social problems. The MA Social Policy programme also examines contemporary and comparative developments within social policy so that you will be able to consider the shifting nature of welfare arrangements in a broader political, economic and social context, from both a UK and global perspective. Inherent to Social Policy as a field of study is a normative focus that seeks to describe the state of a specific society not only in terms of the fulfilment of human needs, but to consider if our societies should be more effectively and justly organised. A key focus for the MA Social Policy programme will be on the ways in which we might transform our societies to increase human well-being and to promote sustainable forms of living, and to encourage you to evaluate alternative forms of social organisation.