MSc / MPhil in Comparative Social Policy (CSP)

CSP Facebook - getting/keeping in touch with past and present students

What are the courses about?

The MSc and MPhil degrees in Comparative Social Policy explore welfare systems and policy developments across a range of different countries. As well as asking students to engage with the material they are introduced to in lectures and in selected readings we also encourage students to share their own personal understanding and experiences of different welfare systems. 

Through lectures and seminars students are encouraged to learn about and reflect upon key theories, concepts and debates within comparative social policy. Particular questions we explore include: Why and how does policy develop or change across different welfare systems? What (and whose) needs does policy respond to? How and why do policy developments vary in different countries? And what are the outcomes or consequences of different policy approaches? As well as introducing students to developments relating to overall welfare systems, students also explore different policy areas such as health care, social security, housing policies and policy approaches for supporting families. Who pays, provides and regulates welfare in these particular areas and with what consequences. In particular, who wins, who loses and why might this matter? 

Students are also given rigorous training in social research design and methods. This helps students evaluate existing research evidence and provides the necessary grounding for independant research. A particular feature of our MSc and MPhil courses is the attention we give to interactions between policy and research.

What is the difference between the MSc and the MPhil?

The MSc is a one year programme and the MPhil is a two year programme.

MSc students take two core papers, one in Comparative Social Policy and the other in Research Design and Methods. They also select an option paper that focuses on a specific policy area or issue, and they design and complete a 10,000 word thesis. MPhil students take the two core papers and an option paper in their first year. In their first year they also begin designing and carrying out a research project that will lead to the writing of a 30,000 word thesis due at the end of their second year. Due to time contraints, the MSc thesis often has to make use of secondary analysis of existing literature or data but MPhil students have more time and scope to conduct primary research that might include their own survey or interview research. In their second year MPhil students also take a further option paper.

Many MSc and MPhil students go onto DPhil study. MPhil students are also allowed to incorporate their MPhil thesis into the DPhil write up.

Diversity of the staff and student body

The MSc and MPhil degrees are taught by a number of different members of staff in the department with different research interests and orientations. The course director is Professor Martin Seeleib-Kaiser.  Other members of the teaching team include: Fran Bennett, Dr Erzsebet Bukodi, Dr Paola Mattei, Professor Peter Kemp, Dr Georg Picot, Dr Rebecca Surender and Professor Robert Walker.

Each year we usually admit around 35/36 new students. This year we have students from 16 different countries including Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, China, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Russian Federation, Swaziland, Turkey, the UK and the USA.

What do students gain from the degrees?

The MSc and MPhil degrees are designed to provide a thorough exploration of the interdisciplinary literature on comparative social policy, the current issues in the field, a range of conceptual and theoretical approaches, and a details understanding of policy-making, implementation, evaluation and outcomes in particular fields of social policy.

Students who have completed the MSc or MPhil in Comparative Social Policy will have a solid basis for further independent research or for work in, for example, central or local government, voluntary agencies or 'not for profit' organisations, international agencies or high level journalism. The one year MSc is formally recognised by the ESRC to provide the required one year research training programme for the doctoral degree and a substantial number of MSc and MPhil students proceed to doctoral work in Oxford or elsewhere.

Students from previous years have gone on to posts including:

• Policy associate for the New York AIDS Coalition
• Deputy Director of DSD in South Africa
• State Senator in the USA
• Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia
• Working for the Canadian Government
• Consultant on a housing regeneration project in New York
• Project co-ordinator at the National Public Health Institute in Estonia
• Public policy work in Melbourne, Australia
• Law School in the USA (6 students)
• Doctorates in Oxford, Cambridge, London and Finland
• A post in the Cabinet Office
• Research Officer at the University of Bath
• Health practice of McKinsey & Co in New York
• Medical school in the USA

Further information

More information about the different papers making up the MSc and MPhil degrees can be found in the syllabus.

You may also contact our Courses Administrator Bryony Groves , Graduate Assistant Gemma Roche or the Admissions Tutor Dr Rebecca Surender.

What else do MSc students have the opportunity to do?

The Department and the University have excellent IT and Library facilities. Language training is also available. Full lecture lists for all disciplines are made available at the beginning of each term and you may attend any of these. The Department runs lunch-time seminars and at least one specialist research seminar series in social policy each year. All other social science departments in Oxford also run specialist research seminars that may be of interest to those studying social policy. Oxford also attracts a wide variety of visiting academics and public figures to lecture every academic years.

Who should apply

First and foremost, we are looking for students who display strong intellectual abilities with the capacity for creative and original thought. Ideally, applicants will have a good first degree in the social sciences but we also welcome people who have other degrees if they put forward a strong rationale for choosing the course they are applying for.

Applicants must have a high level of English. If your first language is not English, you must supply evidence that you have reached the required standard. Our minimum entry requirement is an overall IELTS score of 7.5 with at least 7.0 in each component; an overall TOEFL score of 630 with a Test of Written English score of 5. Applicants who have taken the computer-based TOEFL test must achieve an overall score of 267 with an essay-writing score of 5. Applicants who have taken the new internet-based TOEFL test must achieve an overall score of 109. Applicants who have taken the Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE) must achieve Grade B.

How to apply

To download an application form or to apply on line, please see http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/postgraduate/apply

For entry in Autumn 2012, the university has three application deadlines.

These are:-

• 18 November 2011
• 20 January 2012
• 9 March 2012

If you require any more specific information about the course you are welcome to contact the course administrator, Bryony Groves bryony.groves@spi.ox.ac.uk Tel (44) (0)-1865 270326, or Gemma Roche gemma.roche@spi.ox.ac.uk Tel (44) (0) - 1865 280734. Department of Social Policy & Intervention, Barnett House, Wellington Square, Oxford, OX1 2ER, UK. Tel: (44) (0)-1865 270325