Creating effective social policies is key to tackling the big issues we face in society today such as poverty, health inequality, and unemployment.
This course enables you to explore how social problems arise, how governments react, and the impact this has on citizens and communities.
The BA (Hons) Social Policy degree draws on a range of social science disciplines in addition to its core focus. These include sociology, politics, philosophy, economics, and law. You can use these approaches to examine welfare, poverty, and inequality, tackling difficult and often controversial topics, including current issues in the news.
The first year introduces core concepts that provide a platform from which to scrutinise social policy issues in detail. You can examine social problems and policies in the UK and internationally, and how to conduct and apply social science research.
In the second and third years, you'll be able to build on these foundations by choosing from a range of optional modules. These modules, which often reflect staff research expertise, provide an insight into topics such as education, law, ethics, work, crime, human rights, race and racism, and the making and implementation of policies.
Modules can include Social Issues and Social Justice, Key Social Science Concepts, Debating Welfare States, Comparative Politics and Policy, Ideology into Practice, and Analysing the Policy Process.