Department of Social Policy and Intervention
The Department of Social Policy and Intervention is a multidisciplinary centre of excellence for research and teaching in social policy, and in the development and systematic evaluation of social interventions and policies.
Overview
It is home to a global community of academics and researchers from a range of disciplinary backgrounds.
Each year the department accepts a highly select group of graduate students from across the world to study on one of its master's courses. These courses explore topics including: the welfare systems and policy developments across a range of different countries; and the development and evaluation of interventions and policies across many regions of the world to address social and public health problems.
Several of the department's MSc courses are also part of the Oxford 1+1 MBA programme which allows high calibre students to spend one year studying the MSc and one year studying an MBA at the Saïd Business School.
The department has around 60 students across its DPhil programmes. Research students are fully involved in the research life of the department and have the opportunity to work with experts in the field. Alumni go onto appointments at global research universities or influential jobs in government, non-governmental and international organisations.
topCourses offered
The courses shown below are offered at postgraduate-level.
Social Science Division
The Social Sciences Division comprises the largest grouping of social sciences in the UK, home to fourteen outstanding departments, tackling some of the major challenges facing humanity in the 21st century.
Divisional overview
Oxford's Social Sciences departments are committed to research that develops a greater understanding of all aspects of our complex society, including cybercrime, economic and political turmoil, environmental change, inequality, legal systems, movement of people and social development.
This research is disseminated through a wide range of innovative graduate courses, many of which are recognised by the UK Research Councils and provide preparation for doctoral work, as well as being discrete programmes of advanced study in their own right; others provide a professional qualification.
The purpose-built Centre for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences, adjacent to the Faculty of Law houses the Department of Economics, the Department of Politics and International Relations and the Bodleian Social Science Library, providing exceptional facilities for master's and research students. All are rooted in research of international standing and students have access to a well-resourced, active research environment. The division also includes the Saïd Business School and the Blavatnik School of Government.
As one of the major providers of social science research in the UK, the University, in collaboration with Brunel University of London and The Open University, hosts the Grand Union Doctoral Training Partnership, one of fifteen Doctoral Training Partnerships accredited by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) as part of a Doctoral Training Network. ESRC DTP studentships are available in a wide variety of training pathways in the social sciences, for both DPhil and master's-to-DPhil programmes.