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- MA Social Policy
Course options
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Qualification
MA - Master of Arts
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Location
University of Birmingham
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Study mode
Full time
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Start date
01-SEP-25
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Duration
1 year
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. At the beginning of the 21st Century, welfare systems and other public institutions, seeking to fulfil human need face considerable challenges, presented by economic crisis, an ageing population, increasingly flexible forms of work, migration, and shifting ways of family life. Alongside these fiscal and demographic pressures that nation states face, 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 entail the study of a range of social problems, such as poverty, homelessness, substance use, crime and health inequalities. In doing so, you will be encouraged to consider the underlying causes and to formulate policy solutions to address specific social problems. Alongside this, the MA Social Policy programme will examine 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 not only describe the state of a specific society 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.
Employability
Social policy is an applied social science that will challenge you to formulate your own policy solutions to key social issues. In so doing, equipping you with a combination of social research expertise, substantive knowledge of social issues and policy domains, as well as techniques of policy analysis.
The MA Social Policy programme is designed for those working in various areas of social policy such as health, housing and social services or who are interested in pursuing a career in these and related fields. It is also suitable for students who have studied a relevant social science or humanities programme at undergraduate level and who are now seeking to study social policy for the first time at postgraduate level.
Application deadline
31 August 2024
Modules
Tuition fees
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- Canada
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- Croatia
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- Curacao
- Cyprus
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- Denmark
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- Dominican Republic
- East Timor
- Ecuador
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- England
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Estonia
- Ethiopia
- Fiji
- Finland
- France
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Georgia
- Germany
- Ghana
- Greece
- Grenada
- Guatemala
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Guyana
- Haiti
- Honduras
- Hungary
- Iceland
- India
- Indonesia
- Iran
- Iraq
- Israel
- Italy
- Ivory Coast
- Jamaica
- Japan
- Jordan
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- Korea DPR (North Korea)
- Kosovo
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- Laos
- Latvia
- Lebanon
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- Luxembourg
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- Mauritius
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£ 23,310per year
Tuition fees shown are for indicative purposes and may vary. Please check with the institution for most up to date details.
University information

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University League Table
13th
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Campus address
University of Birmingham, Edgbaston Birmingham, Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom
Subject rankings
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Subject ranking
12th out of 73
8th out of 41 3
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Entry standards
/ Max 211154 73%19th
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Graduate prospects
/ Max 10086.0 86%8th
1 -
Student satisfaction
/ Max 43.00 75%56th
5 -
Entry standards
/ Max 210145 69%11th
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Graduate prospects
/ Max 10072.0 72%7th
1 -
Student satisfaction
/ Max 42.85 71%33rd
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