Studying social welfare and social policy will allow you to focus on the areas of most importance to people’s lives, including education, housing, health, and criminal justice, giving you the skills and understanding to make a difference to people’s lives at local, national and international levels.

It will prepare you for many careers in non-governmental organisations (NGOs), including community organisations, charities, social enterprises and not-for-profit organisations, as well as governmental or academic institutions.

What will you do on the course?

How can issues such as child labour and trafficking be overcome through global initiatives? Can changes to local policy do anything to stop domestic violence or knife crime?

On our Masters course, you will explore these and many other issues, comparing different strategies and policies across different countries, and from the perspective of many different disciplines, including politics, criminology and psychology.

The skills and knowledge you pick up on this Masters course will prepare you for a career in non-governmental organisations (NGOs) (including community organisations, charities, social enterprises and not-for-profit organisations), employment in governmental organisations and academic organisations. Our past graduates have gone on to work in education, poverty reduction, charities and NGOs, consultancies, and government bodies both in Britain and overseas.

You might also choose to continue onto a research degree, such as our PhD/MPhil International Relations or PhD/MPhil Sociology.