Dr Sara Hagemann and Prof Nicholas Barr

This course is compulsory on the Master of Public Policy. This course is not available as an outside option.

This course has no pre-requisites.

This course will introduce students to the application of social science literatures to concrete policy issues. The course will be organised around topics which are both being actively discussed in the policy world and researched in the academic world. The emphasis will be on illustrating how different theoretical and disciplinary approaches analyse a particular policy topic and problem. The precise policy topics will be decided each year, depending on academic and practitioner availability, but we would aim to attract speakers at the highest levels either at the cutting edge or research of particular research topic or who are working directly in a topic area.

20 hours of workshops in the LT.

The teaching will take the form of a single 2 hour workshop in Lent Term. This will be based on a Harvard-style teaching model which we intend to inclusive, discursive and highly participatory. 

The policy project will be coordinated by the lead academic, who will meet with each student individually to discuss and approve (a) the proposed focus of the project, (b) the proposed research method and approach, (c) the identification of relevant existing research and literature, and (d) an outline of the structure of the project. Each student will get personalised feedback on their proposed project.

This will depend on the topics chosen, and the policy experts that are invited, each year.

A full reading list will be provided at the start of the course.

Coursework (100%, 3000 words) in the ST.

There will be a Policy Project of 3,000 words for submission in the Summer Term.