Public Policy - MA

The Public Policy MA is a multidisciplinary course that covers policy making and analysis, comparative public policy, public sector economics, governance and public management. You will focus on the critical issues and key developments relating to public policy, such as governance, globalisation and policy evaluation. This course will equip you with the analytical and critical skills relevant for understanding the challenges of public policy and its implementation.

Key benefits

• You will learn to think analytically and independently about key issues and develop essential skills to support critical policy and qualitative and quantitative research methods.
• Project placement (internship) providing you with future employment opportunities and the chance to study different public service areas.
• A highly flexible study programme, drawing on a broad range of professional and disciplinary expertise and experience.
• Regular speakers from UK-based government departments, public sector bodies, NGOs and policymaking units who discuss the implementation and evaluation of public services policies.

Description

The Public Policy MA course provides a unique opportunity to study politics, policy and social issues in a range of non-UK settings. The course offers you flexibility with the choice to study either full or part-time. You will explore a range of required modules such as The Policy Process and Comparative Public Policy. You will also study a range of optional modules allowing you to create a unique study plan that reflects your interests.

The study programme is made up of optional and required modules. The course requires modules totalling 180 credits, 60 of these credits will come from a dissertation of around 15,000 words.

Course format and assessment

Teaching

We use lectures, seminars and group tutorials to deliver most of the modules on the course. You will also be expected to undertake a significant amount of independent study. 

The total contact time per 20-credit taught module is 20-30 hours. These sessions will include lectures, teacher-led and student-led group discussions based on the main areas of study. In addition to this you will have 200 hours of self-guided learning time.

For the Dissertation, you will have at least eight dissertation workshops plus one-to-one dissertation consultations. In addition to this you will have 592 hours worth of self-study. 

Typically, one credit equates to 10 hours of work.

Assessment

The primary method of assessment for this course is a combination of written examinations and coursework. Typically, a 20-credit module will comprise of assessments, essays and a written examination. Grades awarded for each module will reflect your attendance and lecture participation. The assessment of the dissertation module will be by a 1,000-word research proposal (10 per cent) and a 15,000-word dissertation (90 per cent).

Career prospects

Our graduates go on to work in a variety of public sector management and policy-oriented positions. Recent graduates’ employment opportunities:

• Working in the policy and analysis section of a large London embassy.
• Health service leadership positions with responsibility for multi-million-pound budgets.
• A policy adviser to the chairperson of a major transport organisation.
• A senior analyst in the ministry of industry and trade of a developing country

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Visit the Public Policy - MA page on the King’s College London website for more details!