SOAS University of London

MSc Public Policy and Management

Mode of Attendance: Full-time or part-time

Our MSc Public Policy and Management programme will enable you with the conceptual understanding of the core principles of public policy and public management and with the tools to apply knowledge to solve problems in the public sector.

These competencies and skills are extremely important to cope with the challenges that governments, public sector agencies, NGOs and businesses face nowadays.

From migration to the eradication of poverty, from unemployment to the development of energy power, the many issues that societies encounter call for the capacity to analyse, understand, and formulate interventions to bring about improvements to the living conditions of the many. The core modules of this programme will provide you with the means to tackle issues of policy-making and implementation, strategy in the public sector, and managing organisational change.

Why study MSc Public Policy and Management at SOAS

• We're ranked 11 in the UK and 2 in London for Business and Management by the 2019 Guardian University league table.
• Programmes are delivered by a multicultural and international teaching body, who regularly publish in top international journals.
• You will develop an excellent understanding of key issues shaping international business strategy.
• We are specialists in the delivery of more than forty African and Asian languages. As the economies of the Global South continue to expand, knowledge of another language and other cultures will be a big asset in the world of commerce and international trade.
• You will be joining our thriving community of alumni and academics who have an impact on the world outside of academia.
• You will be able to flexibly structure your programme using our optional modules and/or optional modules from other departments, including the opportunity to learn a regional language.

Employment

Building on the distance learning version of the programme, the Department of Financial and Management Studies (DeFiMS) maintains close links with employers in both the United Kingdom and abroad. We expect that many of our graduates will be employed as civil servants in central government administrations, governmental agencies, local governments, NGOs, super-national organisations, and consulting firms.

Structure

Students must take 180 credits. These are composed of 120 taught credits comprising core and optional modules and a 60 credit dissertation.

The 10,000-word dissertation is worth 33% of your final mark. During term 2 you will submit your dissertation proposal and be allocated an academic supervisor. Over the ensuing months, you should meet with your supervisor at least three times before the end of term 3 for guidance. The bulk of your dissertation will be written over the summer to meet the mid-September deadline.

Dissertation

15PFMC989: Dissertation in Public Policy and Management - to the value of 60 credits.

Taught Component

Core Modules

• Public Policy and Management: Perspectives and Issues
• Public Policy and Strategy
• Managing Organisational Change
• Research methods in management

Plus

Choose modules to the value of 60 credits from the list below.

List of Modules (subject to availability)

• Public Financial Management: Planning and Performance
• Public Financial Management: Revenue
• Macroeconomic Policy and Financial markets
• Managerial Accounting
• International human resource management
• Cross-cultural management
• Blockchain and Distributed Electronic Ledgers

Important notice

The information on the programme page reflects the intended programme structure against the given academic session.

Admissions and Applications

You can apply for this course via the online application form.

We aim to assess a complete application and provide a decision within a 5-week time frame. Overseas students who require a Tier 4 visa and wish to join SOAS should bear in mind visa applications can take several weeks, so you should apply as soon as possible.

Consideration of Application

The whole application, including transcript and references, is considered before a decision is reached. You are therefore advised to submit a complete application including references and transcript (where required). An incomplete application will add considerable delays to the decision-making process.

Students will receive an acknowledgement of their application. Each application is carefully considered and although we try and respond as quickly as possible, we do ask that students should expect to receive a response within five weeks of receipt.

Candidates who are available in the United Kingdom may be called for an interview. The absence of academic members of staff (or instance on study leave) may affect the timing of decisions.

Entry Requirements

Minimum first degree with good grades in any subject equivalent to a UK upper second class honours.

English Language Entry Requirements

You must be able to show that your English is of a high enough standard to successfully engage with and complete your course at SOAS. Please note that we take our English language requirements seriously and failure to meet them exactly may well result in your application to SOAS being rejected. It is not possible to negotiate if your scores are below our required levels, with the expectation that because they are 'close enough' they will be accepted. It is important that you plan appropriately, well in advance, so that your English language test comes in good time and so that you have time to retake the test if necessary. We do not accept reasons of inconvenience or financial hardship for not submitting or retaking an English test.

International students

For EU and International students who need a visa, if unconditional entry scores are achieved we accept qualifications from several countries, as well as a range of international qualifications and tests.

If a Tier 4 entry visa is required then a SELT, such as UKVI IELTS may be needed. For this reason, we recommend all Tier 4 visa students to choose the UKVI IELTS Academic test as the test of first resort.