Explore our Public Policy taught Master's degree.

P-M9PF

MA

1 year full-time;
2 years part-time

2 October 2023

Politics and International Studies

University of Warwick

Warwick's Public Policy MA provides you with an interdisciplinary understanding of theories and concepts of policy making, combined with the practice of policy analysis and evaluation, to build an understanding of how governments respond to global challenges such as pandemics and climate change.

Why do some issues grab the attention of policy-makers and others do not? How do governments decide which problems to focus on? Why do bad ideas become policy and good ideas languish for years? Why do governments respond differently to global policy challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic? Governments are facing more complex demands every day. If you want to make a difference in the world, you need to understand the limits and possibilities of how policies are developed, implemented, and evaluated.

This programme will give you an advanced understanding of the major theories and concepts of governance, public management, and public policy. You will work with world leading experts on transnational policy making and gain a practice focused understanding of why and how ideas are turned into public policy; whose interests make the biggest impact and how; and why some policies are more difficult than others to implement.

Modules are taught via one 2-hour seminar per week. Seminars give you the opportunity to interact with leading scholars as well as with your peers to explore a set topic each week. Every seminar will be based on extensive guided reading you will do each week, but there is no strict pattern to how sessions are run. This may include mini-lectures followed by discussion, Q&A sessions, organised debates, peer presentations, policy briefs, small group work, case studies, simulations, and other projects.

You can also choose to study part-time with us. Find out more about part-time study on our PAIS web pages.

Normally a maximum of 18 per seminar group in PAIS delivered modules.

6 hours of Seminars per week for 9 weeks in Terms One and Two plus advice and feedback hours when requested and Dissertation supervision in Terms Two and Three.

Assessment methods include research essays and other (written) assignments throughout the year, culminating in a 10,000 word dissertation at the end.

Reading lists

Most departments have reading lists available through Warwick Library. If you would like to view reading lists for the current cohort of students you can visit our Warwick Library web page.

Your timetable

Your personalised timetable will be complete when you are registered for all modules, compulsory and optional, and you have been allocated to your lectures, seminars and other small group classes. Your compulsory modules will be registered for you and you will be able to choose your optional modules in a module pre-registration process about which you will receive information at the beginning of September.

2:i undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in a related subject.

Visit our PAIS web pages for department-specific advice on applying to ensure your application has the best chance for success.

Postgraduate FAQs (PAIS specific)

Postgraduate FAQs (General)

• Band B
• IELTS overall score of 7.0, minimum component scores of two at 6.0/6.5 and the rest at 7.0 or above.

There are no additional entry requirements for this course.

Theories and Traditions in Public Policy

Public Policy has undergone rapid transformations as a field of study over the past two decades. It was once seen as the preserve of national and local governments. Today, however, we talk of policy made by networks that transcend national borders, government departments, and traditional hierarchies. This module introduces you to the interdisciplinary field of policy studies. It provides you with a grounding in the key theoretical approaches to public policy. It is focused on the practical application, giving you the opportunity to apply techniques of policy analysis to some of the most pressing global challenges.

• The EU as an International Actor: Engaging with the Neighbourhood
• East Asian Development Policies
• Issues and Actors in Global Economic Governance
• Comparative Politics

The optional module lists are updated regularly.

You may select up to 40 CATS (normally two modules) from a list of specialist modules for this course, and a further 40-80 CATS from our extensive range of optional modules for a total of 120 CATS of taught modules.

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