International Social and Public Policy with Politics BSc (Hons)

The BSc International Social and Public Policy with Politics has social policy as its major subject and politics as its minor subject; and the study of social policy will make up the majority of the degree.

International social and public policy covers real world issues such as poverty, disadvantage, international development, and welfare and work. It is about understanding and addressing social problems in society, and it examines the formation and implementation of policy, and how this affects people’s wellbeing. The subject is diverse and exciting, and plays a crucial role in contemporary politics. The study of government involves analysing the ways in which individuals and groups define and interpret political issues and seek to shape government decisions.

Social policy and politics are closely linked. The social policies you see around you were not created in a vacuum but reflect an accumulation of decisions in which political behaviour by citizens and their representatives, and governments and other organisations at local, national and international levels, have all played key roles.

The programme is designed to provide you with the skills to understand how voters, political parties and politicians, civil servants, different governmental departments and agencies interact, whether proposing, modifying, blocking or implementing policies across the world. You will discuss current and past social policies and the analytical principles underlying them. Areas of study might include levels of social security benefits and their eligibility conditions, the nature of private-public partnerships in health service provision, or the mix of local authority schools and academies.