Course description
Students participating in this course will develop their skills and knowledge in the analysis of European Public Policy in an internationally renowned public policy research environment.
Why might you want to do a course in European Public Policy?
The course is designed to be suitable for two categories of student :
Full-time students who wish to specialise in European Public Policy in order to :
* Assist them in obtaining employment in a wide range of political, public sector, voluntary sector and private sector organisations
* Proceed to a PhD by research using the skills acquired from the course
* Obtain an academic research job.
Part-time students already employed in public, private or voluntary sector organizations, who are in policy research or policy advisory positions and wish to obtain knowledge and skills to enable them to fulfil such roles more effectively.
The course is designed to ensure that students have a grounding in public policy research generally, with a particular emphasis on further detailed exploration of the application of theories and methods appropriate to European public policy research.
Structure of the Course
The MSc is organised into core and optional classes. Students also complete a dissertation. The core classes provide an introduction to the theory and practice of public policy, as well as the wider European context within which public policy is made and implemented.
The core courses are :
* European Governance
* European Political Economy
* Policy Analysis
* Comparative Public Policy
Core Classes
* European Governance - This class examines key processes, policy areas and proposals for reform in the EU system of governance. Participants consider the role of the EU and the nature of its relationship with its public.
* European Political Economy - This class equips students with an advanced knowledge and understanding of political economy in the main European states and the European Union.
* Policy Analysis - This class examines the theoretical, practical and ethical issues involved in conducting policy analysis research, both research of policy and the policy process, and research designed to be used in the policy process.
* Comparative Public Policy - This class assesses the existing theories, concepts and approaches in the field of comparative public policy research, as well as analysing contemporary developments in the field.
* Principles and Practice of Research Methods - Students will be introduced to the Strathclyde library and computing systems as well as some of the problems and methods of social science research. Instruction will be provided on overcoming practical research problems, including how to make use of search sources including the Internet, CD-Roms, and the Social Statistics Laboratory.
* Research Project Design - In the second semester advice will be given on the skills which are necessary to move from a research idea to doing and writing up the research. The immediate emphasis is on the completion of the dissertation, but the skills are relevant to the preparation, conduct and presentation of results in other contexts.
* The Graduate Colloquium - Students are also required to attend the Graduate Colloquium which meets regularly on Wednesday afternoons. In this context Masters and PhD students present brief papers on various aspects of their own research, which are then discussed. This class is not assessed.
The Department offers a range of optional classes which are all assessed by project work. Students may choose any two options.
The range of options will normally, for example, include
* International Environmental Policy,
* Green Politics,
* The European Policy Process,
* The European Union and International Relations,
* International Institutions and Regimes,
* Contesting Global Governance,
* Philosophy of Social Science,
* Qualitative Methods,
* Quantitative Methods: Survey Methods
* Quantitative Methods: Statistics and Analysis,
* Money and Capital in Developing Countries,
* Industrialisation and Technology,
* Political Parties,
* Comparative Politics,
* Territorial Politics in Comparative Perspective,
* International Security: Concept and Issues,
* States, Markets and Varieties of Capitalism,
* International Relations Theory in a Global Age,
* Welfare State in Comparative Public Policy
The exact number of optional classes on offer will change from year to year. The Department does not guarantee that any class will be available in any one year and reserves the right to add or delete classes from the option list.
Classes average 20 contact hours, with additional computer laboratory sessions for some methods classes.
Students also complete a dissertation.
Personal transferable skills are developed in the context of :
Principles and Practice of Research Design and the Research Project Design Seminar.
Duration of Course
12 months full-time; 24 months part-time.
Assessment
Core and optional classes are assessed by a variety of assessment methods - including essays, options papers, and group projects - and account for half of the total assessment. The dissertation of 15,000 words also accounts for half of the total assessment
