Course summary

The MSc Public Policy covers both the theories and approaches to understanding and engaging with policy work, as well as applying these theories and approaches to policy making in a practice-oriented way through case study learning. What are the factors that shape the policy decisions taken by governments at supranational, national and local levels? How do these decisions interact and impact on society and on the economy? Answering such questions effectively requires an interdisciplinary understanding of the field of public policy, drawing insights especially from politics, social policy, sociology and economics. With a particular focus on the social and economic policy fields that are at the heart of modern welfare states, the MSc Public Policy offers an advanced understanding of the political, social and economic context of policy-making and government activity in modern societies. This programme, based in the School of Social and Political Science, draws on the School's multi-disciplinary expertise across different fields of public policy, with a focus that ranges from the local to the global.