Social and Political Thought MA

Explore our Social and Political Thought taught Master's degree.

Page updates

We may have revised the information on this page since publication. See the edits we have made and content history.

P-L3P8 full-time

MA

1 year full-time;
2 years part-time

29 September 2025

Sociology

University of Warwick

The MA Social and Political Thought is a long-established programme that uses conceptual, historical and theoretical resources to make sense of the complex and fast-changing social and political worlds of which we are a part.

The MA in Social and Political Thought at Warwick was founded by the world-leading social theorist and philosopher, Gillian Rose. This MA provides students with a thorough grounding in the classics of social and political theory, and a deep and varied engagement with their 20th and 21st century offshoots. The emphasis on all modules is the development of intellectual curiosity about how the social intersects with the political. Attention is paid, in particular, to the study of capitalism, (post-)colonialism, crisis, democracy, enlightenment, freedom, individualism, liberalism, knowledge, and power.

Skills from this degree

• Ability to analyse and evaluate complex intellectual ideas
• Ability to analyse and evaluate competing approaches to understanding the contemporary world
• Ability to build sophisticated and persuasive arguments from an array of sources
• Ability to carry out independent research
• Ability to write about complex ideas in a clear way

Each of our MA courses has specified core modules which will be studied alongside a range of optional modules. You will be required to choose four optional modules from our departmental list. All our MA courses follow a consistent structure meaning that you will follow a programme of taught modules, followed by a 15,000-word dissertation.

Class sizes can range from 6 to 30 students, depending on the module.

Each module will consist of at least 20 hours of teaching. Many modules are taught in 2 hour seminars of 10-15 students. Others follow a 1 hour lecture and 1 hour class format. You will also have a supervisor for your dissertation, who you will meet regularly to support this independent research project.

Taught modules are assessed through written assignments. You will focus on your 15-000 word dissertation after the end of Spring Term.

Reading lists

If you would like to view reading lists for current or previous cohorts of students, most departments have reading lists available through Warwick Library on the Talis Aspire platform. 

You can search for reading lists by module title, code or convenor. Please see the modules tab of this page or the module catalogue.  

Please note that some reading lists may have restricted access or be unavailable at certain times of year due to not yet being published. If you cannot access the reading list for a particular module, please check again later or contact the module’s host department. 

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 when you join us.

2:1 undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in a related subject.

• 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.

Read our departmental advice on applying to ensure your application has the best chance for success.

We have revised the information on this page since publication. See the edits we have made and content history.

This is a holding content block which does not currently display on the page. To make it live, update the copy above, change the Title to remove the brackets, and delete this sentence.