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Degree Programmes

If you would like to add information on a degree programme to this page, please contact the ESPAnet secretary.

Master in Comparative Public Policy

University of Edinburgh

The MSc in Comparative Public Policy provides intensive analytical training in the systematic comparison of social and public policies from an international perspective and develops substantive knowledge in a wide range of policy fields around topical issues such as policy evaluation, policy learning and policy transfer.
In a context of growing interconnectedness between national governments and supranational organizations, alongside increased movement of people and globalized economic trade, advancing our understanding of the similarities and differences of social and public policies across national systems is becoming ever more important in academic and professional terms alike. This degree is highly relevant to anyone who works or intends to work in policy-relevant professions in the public, private or non-governmental sectors that operate in an increasingly international context of policy-making. Past students of our degrees have gone on to doctoral programmes in the UK and overseas, and to occupy policy positions in the public sector and non-governmental organisations.

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Master in Global Social Policy

University of Sheffield

This masters course develops academic and technical skills that will enable students to think critically about global social policy formulation and implementation and gain an understanding of the role and function of international agencies in tackling social problems at global, national, and local levels. While Professor Deacon and his colleagues in the sociology department will teach the core modules of the masters, the course itself will include guest lecturers and speakers from the World bank, ILO, WHO, UNDP, UNESCO, ISSA, and INGOs and global social movements. The course will also offer placements in these agencies for dissertation research and practical experience.

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Masters Programme in International Social Policy

University of Bath

The University of Bath invites applications for its Masters Programme in International Social Policy, for entry in October 2008. Senior Faculty include Ian Gough, Jane Millar, Graham Room and Guy Standing. The Programme, launched in 2007, has three main themes:

  1. The varied patterns of social policy development in different countries and world regions, in response to globalisation and socio-economic change;
  2. The global interactions among national social policy strategies: for example, the global competition for scarce social and health service personnel;
  3. The emerging architectures of global social policy-making through the major international organisations: for example, the UN, the WHO and the ILO.

The Programme comprises a mix of compulsory and optional modules taken over two semesters, followed by a dissertation, which enables students to tailor their degree to suit their specific interests. People in mid-career are able to pursue research projects related to their employment context. The Department of Social and Policy Sciences is one of the leading research centres in social policy in Britain. It has a strong reputation in relation to social policy developments in Europe and internationally, including:

  1. major projects within EU programmes on poverty and social exclusion, knowledge-based economies and other areas of EU policy evaluation;
  2. the home of the Journal of European Social Policy;
  3. programmes of research on welfare regimes and social policy in developing countries, in conjunction with the UK Department for International Development, the ILO and the World Bank;
  4. a wide array of research links with universities and institutes in Europe, North America, Asia and other parts of the developing and developed world.

For further details, please click here.

International Master in Social Policy Analysis by Luxembourg

Leuven and Associate Institutes (IMPALLA)

The IMPALLA program is organized jointly by the CEPS/INSTEAD (Luxembourg) and the catholic University in Leuven (Belgium). Its broader academic network includes University of Nancy 2 (France), University of Tilburg (The Netherlands) and University of Luxembourg. The program leads to an advanced Master Degree issued by the K.U. Leuven where the IMPALLA students are registered as regular students.

The academic program has three major objectives:

  1. to offer a solid theoretical foundation in comparative socio-economic policies at the European level and beyond;
  2. to provide a thorough training in advanced research methodology;
  3. to give a well-founded expertise in policy evaluation.

For further details, please click here.

MA in Social Policy and Social Interventions

Utrecht University

The Social Science Faculty of Utrecht University offers since 2004 an Academic Master’s degree programme in Social Policy and Social Interventions which is highly relevant for developing an understanding policy and its implementation via interventions in social welfare in a comparative perspective. Decentralisation and privatisation of social interventions raise new research questions in European countries. This advanced programme will provide students with theoretical insights they need to study the substance of social welfare and will provide them with the methods and skills to independently carry out research and manage social policies and interventions in an academically sound manner. Students with a Master’s degree will be eligible for positions involving research into practice and policy and for policymaking positions with government and professional institutions in various sectors, such as the healthcare, welfare and employment sectors.

For further details, please click here.

Changes in European Welfare Regimes and the European Social Model

Aalborg University

The Department of Economics, Politics and Public Administration at Aalborg University offers a completely new course on European Welfare studies. The aim if the course is to provide the students with an understanding of the theoretical and methodological perspective on welfare state change, as well as insight into current changes and challenges in European welfare and labour market systems. European welfare models exhibit strong and persisting institutional differences. At the same time, the European Union seeks to strengthen the social dimension and to build a “European Social Model”, based on recognition of institutional differences but aiming at equivalent outcomes. The Scandinavian welfare model(s) have attracted attention as possible role models. Apparently, they have addressed the challenges of ageing and globalisation without giving in on equality and social security. This course addresses the questions of convergence vs. divergence between European welfare models and the question of the sustainability of European Social Model(s) amid common challenges such as ageing, globalisation, changes in the family structure and individualisation.

For further details, please click here.

MA in Social Welfare

Umeå University

Social welfare is one of the best developed research areas at Umeå University, and we now open up the possibility to study Social Welfare at an advanced level. The new International Master in Social Welfare Programme offers both international and Swedish students interested in issues related to quality of life, working life, the family, and the welfare state, a high quality and relevant education.

For further details, please click here