Overview

This well established taught MRes programme offers a combination of taught coursework and a supervised dissertation, giving you the opportunity to develop advanced research and analysis skills and to examine, through your own guided research project, aspects of social policy in which you have a particular interest.

The programme is especially targeted at people seeking to develop a career in social and/or policy research. It is an ideal platform for those planning to undertake a PhD in Social Policy on completion of their masters degree.

• ESRC accredited research training
• Fees, bursaries and scholarships
• Next start date: 10 October 2011

Our MRes Social Policy programme is suited to you if you are interested in:

• The main pillars of the welfare state in the UK and elsewhere
• The impact of globalisation on social programmes in the UK and other countries
• Why the policy-making process in the 21st century is so complex
• How and why patterns of social inequality still persist
• What more could be done to reduce child poverty at home and abroad

Who is the programme for?

• Graduates from social policy, politics, sociology or other social sciences. Graduates from other backgrounds who wish to develop and understanding of social research methods and policy analysis.
• Those looking to develop a career in social research and/or policy analysis.
• Those considering undertaking an ESRC funded 1+3 route to a PhD level qualification

Graduates from the MRes in Social Policy programme head to a wide variety of destinations, but most tend to go into one of three key areas:

• policy analysts inside government agencies, NGOs or campaigning organisations;
• researchers in the same fields; or,
• academic research, often following a further period of study at PhD level.

Entry requirements

Upper second-class honours degree or equivalent qualification. However, if you have relevant work experience with good academic potential you may also be considered.

International students: if English is not your first language you should also read the English Language requirements for postgraduate study.

Structure

Themes and content

For the most part, the MRes in Social Policy is based around research training modules. In the Autumn Term you are provided with a broad introduction to social research methods, before moving into more advanced training in both qualitative and quantitative methods in the Spring Term. Following completion of these modules, you will embark on your own individual research project, producing a 15-20,000 word dissertation under the guidance of your own individual supervisor. You will also have the opportunity to present your research in progress to a wider audience during a programme of dissertation workshops. In addition to this research training focused content, you will also complete a social policy analysis module that both provides an overview of issues in key social policy fields and grounds you in key policy analysis theories.

Course structure

This is a 1-year, full time postgraduate programme. Part-time options are available, please contact Samantha McDermott if this route is of interest to you.

Teaching and support

Modules

The MRes Social Policy programme comprises of modules which have been specially developed for the postgraduate programmes in the Department. We do not co-teach these modules with undergraduate students, and this allows you to study the themes and issues at a more advanced level. The relatively small number of modules on offer is a demonstration of our commitment to developing a high-quality, advanced programme of study which is focused in its aims.

Modules are taught through a combination of workshops, lectures and seminars. You will find that small group working and establishing your own perspective on social issues will become a core part of your studying process.

The Department

• One-to-one supervision whilst undertaking an extended social policy research project on a topic of your choosing
• The chance to study in one of the biggest social policy departments in the world that has a reputation for research excellence
• A friendly, supportive and intellectually stimulating environment in which to study
• Small group teaching with classes typically no larger than 20 people and some with fewer than 10 people

Dissertation

Dissertation examples

Reflecting York's position as a leading research university, all Social Policy masters degrees at York – including the MRes in Social Policy – require you to complete an individual research based dissertation on a topic of your choice and under the supervision of an individual member of staff. This strong research focus means there is a 50-50 balance between time spent on taught courses and your own specialist research project. This reflects the advanced nature of our social policy masters programmes, which are designed to act as a pathway to careers in policy analysis or PhD level study.

During the Autumn Term of the MRes you will be asked to think through ideas for your dissertations and discuss these with staff. Topics and supervision arrangements are agreed by the beginning of the Spring Term and, once coursework is completed at the end of the Spring Term, students usually spend five months working full-time on their dissertation.

Given the individual nature of dissertation topics, examples of topics studied vary radically, but recent projects undertaken by social policy masters students include:

• Measuring the extent to which welfare states in the OECD have moved towards a neo-liberal paradigm
• An examination of the role of social capital plays in supporting different types of welfare state
• An analysis of the conception of social rights embedded in UK asylum policies
• Mapping the changing network of organisations involved in domestic violence service provision