External summary

• This programme provides students with a grounding in theories and methodological techniques appropriate to conducting robust comparative analysis of social and public policies.
• The programme helps develop substantive knowledge in a range of policy fields and of key concepts such as policy learning, policy transfer and welfare regime theory.
• As part of the programme you will study variation in national policy patterns with a view to understanding how and why nations differ in their social and public policies and what they can learn from each other???s experience in key contemporary policy concerns, including areas such as labour market policy, work-life balance, health, social care, education, inequality and social security policy and practice.
• Amid the ongoing debate on Scotland???s role within the UK, we offer the ideal environment in which to observe, compare and contrast contemporary public policy developments within and between nations.
• The programme offers the opportunity for students who meet the required academic performance threshold in semester one to apply to undertake a practice based placement, with accompanying research project report and diary, in place of a traditional research dissertation.

Educational aims of programme

The programme aims:

• to provide students with knowledge of key theoretical and methodological debates in comparative policy related research.
• to provide students with an advanced understanding of the political, economic and social contexts of policy making
• to equip students with the skills required to research and analyse policy decisions and outcomes within and between countries in a wide range of areas.
• to develop students ability to synthesise relevant information and engage in critical analysis and effective presentation of reasoned argument, orally and in writing,
• to foster an educational setting where students from diverse backgrounds engage in mutually beneficial discussion and debate, learning from a variety of different standpoints and experience.
• to enable students to undertake independent research.
• to enable students to develop the knowledge and skills that support progression to higher level academic study or professional work.

Programme outcomes: Knowledge and understanding

By the end of the programme, all students on this programme would be expected:

• to know and understand core explanatory theories, concepts, and issues in comparative policy analysis
• to have a firm grounding in a broad set of literatures on policy making and public policy
• to have in-depth knowledge about specific policy areas and/or policy settings
• to be able to analyse and evaluate policy decisions and outcomes in a range of policy areas within and/or between nations
• to be able to draw on a variety of disciplinary paradigms in the understanding of policy and policy making

Programme outcomes: Graduate attributes - Skills and abilities in research and enquiry

The MSc CPP degree seeks to enable students to develop their ability to conduct independent comparative research into policy problems to allow them to present - in written and verbal form ??? coherent, balanced arguments surrounding contemporary policy issues, actors, dynamics and outcomes. Students on this programme take a compulsory course in comparative social research that will help develop their analytical skills in systematic comparison to support evaluations of social and public policy developments in national and international context. Students will use these skills to plan and execute a comparative project of research on a major public policy decision, reform or problem, whether in the form of a traditional research dissertation or extended piece of work based on a placement, independently researched but under the supervision of an academic member of staff.

Programme outcomes: Graduate attributes - Skills and abilities in personal and intellectual autonomy

The programme, particularly the independent research project will foster the development of appropriate programme specific expertise and help attain the self-confidence to communicate to potential employers, or institutes for higher study to which they might be applying, their ability to autonomously plan and organise their work and convincingly advance and defend a given set of ideas/ body of research and/or their own view of a policy issue.

Programme outcomes: Graduate attributes - Skills and abilities in communication

Graduates of the MSc CPP degree are expected to have developed, refined and honed their communications skills, both orally and in writing, by the end of their degree. The opportunity for students to develop oral communication skills will be ensured through on-going coursework and seminar activities, including group work, class discussion and presentations. Assignments will help students develop skills in effective written communication on complex issues, particularly in the synthetic presentation of complicated policy structures, processes and outcomes in a national and/or regional and international context.

Programme outcomes: Graduate attributes - Skills and abilities in personal effectiveness

Graduates of the MSc CPP degree are expected to have developed skills that allow them to engage confidently and articulately in interpersonal relations. Students on this programme are encouraged to work independently both in their coursework and in their final project, but also to participate in class discussions and group work within the programme and to engage with Edinburgh???s rich intellectual environment through the various academic and policy related events organised outside of the programme.

Programme outcomes: Technical/practical skills

Graduates of the MSc CPP degree are expected to develop practical research skills in terms of being able to develop answers to complex questions put to them concerning public policy issues. Students will develop practical skills in the areas of information retrieval (especially that produced by national governments and International Governmental Organisations) and analysis, the delivery of effective presentations, how to organise and participate in group work, and (depending upon course selection) various research skills. The dissertation project and the alternative (competitive) placement based project are an opportunity for students to apply and refine particular practical skills, for example in interviewing, statistical analysis of pubic data sets in a comparative research context.

Programme structure and features

The full-time MSc programme is taken over 12 months of full-time study (September to August). The part-time MSc programme lasts for 24 months. Successful completion of 180 credits is required for an award of MSc: 120 taught credits (level 11) plus 60 credits for the dissertation.  Students completing only 120 taught credits may be eligible for a degree of Postgraduate Diploma.

Courses normally consist of 2 class-contact hours per week where regular attendance is expected and necessary for good progress. Candidates for the Diploma are required to pass all taught courses. MSc students are required to pass the coursework (minimum 50%) before undertaking a dissertation between April and August. The MSc degree may be awarded with distinction.  To achieve a distinction, a student must be awarded at least 70% on the University???s Common Marking Scheme for the dissertation, and must pass all other courses with an average of at least 70%.

In the full-time programme, the normal expectation is that students will take 60 course credits per semester (e.g. three 20-credit courses each semester). In the part-time programme, these requirements are spread out over 4 semesters. Students are encouraged to discuss an effective structure of their part-time study with the Programme Director before deciding how many courses to do in each semester of their part-time study.

The programme is structured as follows.

A.    One core course (20 credits)

• Comparative Analysis of Social and Public Policy (PGSP11104).

B. A choice of two from the following three ???semi- core??? courses (i.e. at least 40 credits)

• Economic Issues in Public Policy (PGSP11246)
• European Social Policy (PGSP11203)
• Political Issues in Public Policy (PGSP11247)

C. Up to 60 optional credits (usually this means a selection of 3 courses) chosen from a list of ???recommended electives??? oriented to the study of various issues in a global and international perspective, or selected from a broader list of ???additional elective??? courses, mainly from within the School of Social and Political Science.

D. 60 credits: Dissertation

The dissertation is the point at which students progress from the structured study of courses to independent, self-structured study.  In preparation, students benefit from the experience and guidance of staff members as well as a dissertation workshop (usually scheduled in late January). The dissertation is a maximum 15,000 words. Students select the topic of their dissertation. They are expected to demonstrate the ability to engage critically and analytically in literature in the field, building upon relevant concepts and theory covered in the taught element of the degree.  There is usually expected to be a balance of empirical and theoretical work.  However, students are not required to conduct primary empirical research.  The dissertation may vary in breadth of coverage, depending on the interests of the student. For the MSc CPP it is a requirement that the dissertation is ???comparative??? in nature.

Teaching and learning methods and strategies

The course that students may take as part of the MSc CPP programme include a broad range of teaching and learning methods.  Most courses included a lecture component and a seminar discussion including interactive methods including student debate, individual or group presentations, and small group discussions. An important part of learning takes place through individual reading and reflection, which then feed into group discussions, presentations and individual interventions.  Students are therefore expected to read extensively and deeply in preparation for all seminars, and to participate fully in class. From the outset, students must cultivate the study skills required for scholarship at an advanced, truly postgraduate level ??? with full use of library, effective note taking, critical analysis, class participation and writing.

Assessment methods and strategies

Assessment is based on a diverse range of assignment, ranging from essays, research reviews, book reviews and policy briefs to seminar participation and presentations, depending on the course. Feedback is provided on written work, and most assessed presentations will also receive written or verbal feedback. Feedback is provided in line with the Graduate school policy on second-marking and moderation. Teaching staff also offer ???guidance and feedback hours??? where students can discuss their assessment and learning practice. Courses may also include possibilities for formative assessment. The dissertation is a 15,000 analysis of a major public policy decision, reform or problem.

Career opportunities

The MSc CPP is designed to prepare students for careers in public service and research and policy work and in private and non-governmental and international organisations, as well as further academic study. The MSc Comparative Public Policy opens up a variety of career opportunities and scope for further study. Recent graduates have gone on to employment within government at international, national and sub-national levels in research and policy related roles in public, private and third sector organisations. Others have progressed to doctoral study at the University of Edinburgh and other leading research Universities in a number of countries.