Programme Specification: MSc Social Policy (European and Comparative Social Policy)
1. Awarding Body
2. Details of accreditation by a professional/
statutory body, e.g. ESRC; BPS etc
3. Name of final award
4. Programme Title
5. Duration of the course
6. Based in the Department/Institute:
7. Relevant QAA subject benchmark statements
8. Application Code
9. First written/last amended
LSE
N/A
MSc
Social Policy (European and Comparative Social
Policy)
Full-time 12 months, part-time 24 months
Social Policy
N/A
L4U8
January 2004 / November 2012
10. The programme aims to:
Provide students with an understanding of how European welfare states have been differently
conceptualised and organised. It also seeks to build expertise in the increasingly important area of the
supra-national governance of social policy formulated by EU institutions.
Specifically the programme aims to:
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introduce students to key issues in comparative analysis of European and other advanced welfare
states;
increase the student's facility to exploit European and international materials effectively;
deepen understanding of the specific historical and cultural bases of contemporary institutional
arrangements of advanced welfare states primarily in Europe;
encourage the students to acquire a thorough grounding of the historical and contemporary factors
crucial to the welfare state in at least two countries other than their own;
to analyse through a cross-national and cross-dimensional perspective contemporary problems in
national welfare systems;
analyse the growing role of the European Union in social policy-making and to assess the impact on
EU decision-making on convergence of welfare objectives among Member States.
11. Programme outcomes: knowledge and understanding; skills and other attributes
The programme intends to:
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provide a thorough knowledge of a broad range of social policy fields relevant to comparative and
EU social policy, whether these are prosecuted directly by EU institutions or by national and subnational instances;
incorporate key issues concerned with the evolving governance of the EU, assessment of the major
policies it has implemented and examination of social policies in closely related policy areas like
social security, health and urban policy confronting the member states;
reinforce this focus through the study of European and international ‘contextual’ optional courses
where there is a strong emphasis on issues of governance and in the social policy options, where
students are able to obtain a deeper understanding of substantive problems in a policy sector of
their choice.
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12. Teaching, learning and assessment strategies to enable outcomes to be achieved and
demonstrated
Teaching and learning strategies
 various teaching, learning and assessment strategies are used to enable the outcomes above to be
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achieved - lectures, seminars, tutorials, the Moodle Virtual Learning Environment and self-directed
study;
lecture formats rely on audio visual support; outside experts in European and international Social
Policy contribute to the programme;
seminars are interactive and organised around themes for discussion or key readings; these aim to
deepen and consolidate knowledge, and develop critical awareness and communication skills;
one-to-one tutorials provide individual pastoral and academic support and dissertation supervision;
students are strongly encouraged to deepen their language skills by taking courses in the Language
Centre.
Assessment strategies include
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unseen examinations;
essays (formative and/or summative);
dissertation (summative);
summative assessment is carried out anonymously.
Students are encouraged to use the resources of the British Library of Political and Economic Science, as a
major depository of EU and international organisations’ publications and to consult material at the Goethe
Institut, Institut Francais, Instituto Cervantes and the Istituto Italiano.
13. Programme structures and requirements, levels, modules and awards
See the MSc Social Policy (European and Comparative Social Policy) programme regulations for further
information.
Additional information
14. Criteria for admission to the programme
The Department expects students to come from a range of academic and national backgrounds, reflecting
the range of intellectual and professional skills involved in planning, managing and researching social
policies at cross-national and EU level. Students need a first degree in a relevant academic subject at a
standard equivalent to a British upper second class honours. Students with post-qualifying professional
experience are particular welcome.
15. Indicators of quality
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steady demand for the programme;
high entry requirements;
good examination results;
favourable remarks from external examiners;
students’ questionnaires via the Teaching Quality Assessment surveys.
The LSE Careers Centre website provides data on career destinations of LSE graduates.
16. Methods for evaluating and improving the quality and standard of teaching and learning
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the Department takes seriously the feedback on teaching quality provided by the annual Teaching
Quality Assessment survey of students;
the Department holds termly staff-student meetings at which student representatives from all
programmes are able to raise issues of concern. It takes forward suggestions and proposals coming
from that meeting;
each programme in the Department has one or two elected student representatives who bring
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issues of concern to the staff member with management responsibility for the Programme and to the
staff-student meeting;
the Department has a Teaching Committee; part of its remit is to plan provision and support
innovation;
the Department (and School) takes seriously the feedback from external examiners; comments
made by external examiners are followed up within the Department and by the School;
the School’s Teaching and Learning Centre is available to monitor and observe teaching and offers
constructive advice on how to improve the standard of teaching and quality;
Departmental TLAC review once every five years;
The Teaching Learning and Assessment Committee which regulates all aspects of teaching quality;
The Graduate Studies Sub-Committee which oversees all graduate programmes and ensures that
significant changes to programmes and courses pass through a sequence of formal stages, so that
curricular changes are appropriate and compatible with other developments.