About Social & Public Policy MA(socsci)/llb/ma in University of Glasgow

Social and public policy focuses on finding ways to address global and local challenges such as poverty, housing, health and technology. The programme applies ideas from political science, sociology and economics to understand how governments shape their responses to address people’s needs and explore the impacts of public policy on society.

The Social and Public Policy Teaching Team was awarded the prestigious UK-wide Social Policy Association/Policy Press Outstanding Teaching Award 2020, in recognition of UofG’s excellence and innovation in teaching in social policy in the UK (SPA 2020).

You’ll have the valuable opportunity of a work placement with a voluntary or public sector organisation.

PROGRAMME STRUCTURE

YEAR 1

You will examine the development of policies and services such as healthcare and social security, which were created to eradicate postwar social problems, through a focus on the Beveridge Report of 1942, which identified the “Five Giants” of want, disease, squalor, ignorance and idleness. Then, using policies and practices in Glasgow as a lens, you will have the opportunity to study current responses to globalisation and contemporary social problems such as housing, excess mortality, youth, substance abuse, urban deprivation, welfare and wellbeing.

YEAR 2

You will study influential ideas and major perspectives on welfare and public policy across the world by examining different assumptions on the aims of policy and functions of welfare systems. This includes exploring differences in ideological, political, and social agendas in an international context. You will study the politics and power dynamics of policymaking, considering how social problems, such as welfare reform, inequality and the impact of technology and big data, are constructed and why some are higher on the political agenda than others.

YEARS 3 AND 4

If you progress to Honours (years 3 and 4) you will choose subjects from a diverse range of topics to suit your interests, including:

work, welfare and the politics of reform disability and society health and health inequalities housing policy, welfare and markets remaking cities: dilemmas of 21st-century urban policy education for citizenship making public policy in the real world active citizenship (includes a placement in a voluntary or public sector organisation) ideological concepts and values utopias: welfare theory and social policies for a “good society” big data, policy and power  youth policy and welfare: cross cultural perspectives.

OUR INTERNATIONAL LINKS

You will have the opportuzznity to study abroad at one of our partner universities as part of your degree. This won’t add any extra time to your studies. Glasgow Q-Step Degrees

The University of Glasgow's Q-Step Centre offers programmes which develop your quantitative skills, or in other words, your ability to handle data and use numerical evidence.

Developing quantitative skills and your confidence in using them, will really enhance your insight and understanding of the key issues you encounter in your chosen field of study.

The University of Glasgow Q-Step Centre offers five degree programmes that integrate quantitative skills training within the School of Social and Political Sciences. All of these programmes aim to engage you with meaningful ways of understanding the social world.

We will teach you how to understand and analyse quantitative results, as well as how to present your own, and how to discuss their substantive implications. These are essential skills for understanding quantitative evidence presented in academic literature, but also for interrogating data in public media and government reports.

Around one quarter of your study time will be devoted to quantitative methods. And our degrees also offer you the possibility to gain valuable experience by participating in internships with selected high-profile employers.

MA (SocSci) Social & Public Policy with Quantitative Methods

Social and Public Policy focuses on social problems such as poverty, homelessness and ill-health. The programme applies ideas from political science, sociology and economics to explore how governments shape their responses, and to understand the impacts of public policy on society.

• Programme alteration or discontinuation
  The University of Glasgow endeavours to run all programmes as advertised. In exceptional circumstances, however, the University may withdraw or alter a programme.

• For applicants whose first language is not English, the University sets a minimum English Language proficiency level.

International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic module (not General Training)

• 6.5 with no sub-test under 6.0.
• Tests must have been taken within 4 years 5 months of start date. Combined scores from two tests taken within 6 months of each other can be considered.

TOEFL (ib, my best or athome)

• 90 with minimum R 20, L 19, S 19, W 23.
• Tests must have been taken within 4 years 5 months of start date. Combined scores from two tests taken within 6 months of each other can be considered.

PTE (Academic)

• 60 with minimum 59 in all sub-tests.
• Tests must have been taken within 4 years 5 months of start date. Combined scores from two tests taken within 6 months of each other can be considered.

University of Glasgow Highlights

University of Glasgow Cost of Attendance

The cost of attendance will also include any additional costs a foreign student may have, such as living expenses while studying in the UK in addition to tuition fees.

University of Glasgow Fees

Tuition fees for some of the popular programs are as follows:

Cost of Living at University of Glasgow

Other costs involved include rent or on-campus accommodation fees, expenses on books and material, and other lifestyle choices