Master of Science in Social Inequalities and Research Methods

at University of Warwick United Kingdom

PPE is an ideal choice if you are fascinated by current affairs and want to gain a broad and rounded understanding of the world around you. Deepen your understanding of why and how governing institutions and big businesses make decisions, how the consequences of these actions influence our world and impact on our futures, and what would make for a better and more just society.

After building solid foundations in each of the three subjects in your first year, you then have the flexibility to tailor your module choices to suit your own interests. This allows you to graduate with either a BA or a BSc.

Your enthusiasm for the three interconnected disciplines will be rewarded with teaching from excellent lecturers who are equally enthusiastic about their topics. Our world-leading researchers will teach you a diverse range of modules from within our three large and highly-ranked departments.

We offer one of the largest and most international PPE programs in the UK. You will learn alongside students from many backgrounds and cultures. You can share different insights and perspectives on the topics you cover at the intersections of the three subjects.

You also have the opportunity to apply to spend a year abroad with one of our international partners. On certain pathways, you can also apply to take a work placement.

Study abroad

You have the opportunity to spend a year abroad. You could study at prestigious universities throughout Europe and in the US, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan and more as part of the course.

The BA Sociology degree will provide you with a strong base to understand how society and people have changed over time.

With the study of social life at its heart, the scope of sociology is almost limitless. This course will introduce you to its broad subject matter, which encompasses family life, education, crime, work, war, religion, capitalism, power, love, the self, the media, to name just a few. You will also gain skills in quantitative and qualitative research methods that can be applied across a range of different subject areas.

Sociology also has an abiding concern with the main markers of social difference in modern society – class, gender, race or ethnicity, age, sexuality and (dis)ability. You will explore how these often intersect in shaping the life chances and experiences of individuals. In addition to lectures, interactive seminars will add depth to your learning.

Study abroad

You have the option of studying abroad which will add one year to your degree, as you will spend your third year abroad.

Immerse yourself in life in another country and grow as a global citizen. Explore other cultures, languages, and understand global connections and inequalities.

French and Theatre Studies allows you to develop an in-depth knowledge of French language and culture while also exploring theatre and performance studies through practice and theory.

You will have access to the full range of expertise on offer in both departments. In the School of Modern Languages, this includes a wide variety of cultural and historical modules. Specialisms in the Department of Theatre and Performance Studies include theatre in the African context, contemporary European theatre, applied theatre and playwriting.

You will normally spend your second or third year abroad, consolidating and enhancing your learning.

Study abroad

We strongly recommend that you take a year abroad as part of your modern languages degree, if they are able to. If you are unable to take a year abroad you will move to a three-year degree. You will be required to complete further language reinforcement work. You will also be encouraged to spend time abroad in other ways, during vacation times.

You will usually spend your year abroad doing one of three things:

• Working as a language assistant teaching English in a primary or secondary school
• Studying full-time at a partner university in your chosen country
• On a work placement

This four-year course enables you to pursue your interest in the languages, literature and thought of Greece and Rome, while considering the broader cultural, social and political contexts of the classical world.

You will study a broad range of literary and non-literary sources, which are taught in innovative and dynamic ways by staff engaged in groundbreaking research.

You will study Ancient Greek alongside a modern European language (current options are Italian and German) and will spend your third year studying classical subjects at one of our partner universities in Europe.

Currently, placements are available in Bologna, Padua, Rome or Venice, with recent confirmation of new placements in Berlin and Tübingen, Germany. Confirmation of available placements will be made in your second year.

The programme is designed for opening up professional development pathways for diverse groups of educational practitioners, Muslim educators and faith leaders who work within the context of formal and informal Islamic and general educational settings. The programme is also open to religious education practitioners who wish to deepen their knowledge and understanding of Islam and be able to respond effectively to the educational and spiritual needs of Muslim children and young people under their care.

Islamic Education is a new exciting interdisciplinary field of scholarly study, empirical research professional development. It has growing national and international interest among Muslim and wider education practitioners.

The programme enables students to develop critical academic competence in theory and practice of Islamic Education facilitating reflective practice among a specialist community of educational practitioners and researchers. Students will explore diverse perceptions of education and pedagogic practice in historical and contemporary Muslim societies, engage with modern educational theories, pedagogic models and develop essential research skills necessary to be able to identify personal areas of further research in the field. The course adopts an integrative approach to teaching leaning which facilitates student engagement through strategies of self-organised learning and blended learning i.e. combining online resources, platforms as well as face to face workshops, seminars and lectures.

The emphasis on the course will be on the importance of contemporary educational research into Islamic Education, especially research springing from the Social Sciences directed towards pedagogy and curriculum development. The course will enable students to develop the competence to ‘think educationally’ about Islam and critically examine the theory and practice of Islamic Education in the modern Muslim world and across the Muslim communities in the West.

Students will have the opportunity of critically examining the existing Islamic Education textbooks, curriculum and the syllabuses. Furthermore, they will discuss the educational challenges facing Muslim communities in the Western Diaspora with special reference to exploring the educational needs of Muslim youth. The course will critically examine how best to develop appropriate educational strategies to tackle religious extremism and address issues concerning the faith development of Muslim young people in Britain.

The course attracts a wider range of practitioners within the field of faith-based and religion-related practitioner education by explicitly identifying and responding to the professional development needs of practitioners engaged in Islamic Education. As such the programme, in a distinctive way, opens professional development pathways for diverse groups of Muslim educators, faith leaders and those who wish to engage with Islamic Education as an area of further academic development.

Skills from this degree

• Critically analyse and explain the origins and sources of Muslim Educational thought and practice as well as evaluate critically current theory, literature, research, advanced scholarship and methodologies in Islamic Education, Islamic Pedagogy and Education Studies
• Identify and critically analyse the contemporary educational issues and challenges facing diverse Muslim communities in contemporary Muslim majority and minority communities
• Application of research skills in developing and evaluating scholarly and empirical research in Islamic Education
• Develop competence to identify areas of research and structure personal research interests and projects in the field
• Deal with complex issues both systematically and creatively, make sound judgements in the absence of complete data, and communicate their conclusions clearly to specialist and non-specialist audiences
• By adopting a learner-centred, inquiry-based delivery strategy, students will develop competence for reflective practice
• Demonstrate self-direction and originality in tackling and solving problems, and act autonomously in planning and implementing tasks at a professional or equivalent level

Our MSc will appeal to you if you have a strong background in the subject and wish to gain advanced and rigorous training in modern economics, as preparation for a career as a professional economist or analyst.

You will receive advanced teaching in the core areas of macroeconomic and microeconomic theory, econometrics and research methods, and you will also be able to choose from a wide portfolio of optional modules.

An 8,000-word dissertation provides an opportunity to explore your own interests across these fields of study. You will be automatically enrolled on a pre-sessional Mathematics and Statistics programme to equip you with the relevant methodological skills you need to succeed.

By the end of the course, you will be able to read and understand research papers and articles in academic journals, build theoretical models, and initiate empirical research and evaluate its findings.

Skills from this degree

• Rigorous advanced training in economic analysis and techniques, which includes opportunities to contribute to current economic research and debates
• Analytical approach to thinking about national and international economic problems, policies and decision-making
• Research skills; use of library and internet as information sources; locating, extracting, analysing, and presenting material
• Numeracy and quantitative skills; use of mathematics and diagrams, understanding data, statistical analysis
• IT skills; word processing and spreadsheets; specialist econometric or statistical software; internet applications
• Written and oral communication skills

On this joint degree, you will be a member of both the Politics and Sociology departments. Both departments are in the same building on campus and are closely associated.

This joint honours degree explores theoretical and empirical approaches to political and social ideas and issues, and the impact of these on our everyday lives. An interdisciplinary approach encourages you to consider the world from different political and sociological perspectives.

It enables you to think critically about contemporary society in the UK and beyond. It also encourages you to explore sub-fields such as gender and sexuality, race and difference, international relations, international political economy, sociology of media and culture, and international development.

Study abroad

There are two options to apply for study abroad in the Department of Politics and International Studies: Integrated or Intercalated. Students can also choose to apply for an intercalated year through the Sociology department.

Political Theory, Comparative Politics and the study of Political Systems provide the core of this degree, then you can choose options across the full range of modules or focus on specific pathways.

You will tackle questions relating to the nature and distribution of power, the advantages and disadvantages of different political systems, gendered and racialized aspects of politics, and the role of ideology in determining political outcomes. You will critique how politics works in a number of different nations and question the appropriate level to analyze politics from the individual to the global system.

You will also consider how the work of political theorists can help explain the ways in which politicians intervene in questions of economy, law-making, conflict and the regulation of our daily lives. You will apply these ideas to everyday political problems such as immigration, poverty, war and climate change.

Warwick's Language, Culture and Communication degree is a globally unique interdisciplinary program that prepares students to forge careers in the international marketplace. The degree combines elements of linguistics, intercultural communication, social psychology and public relations.

You will develop a unique combination of intellectual, analytical, research and communication skills, and apply them in a range of authentic situations. You will also develop your expertise in communicating effectively in different contexts, cultures and languages, and acquire first-hand experience of living abroad and working in multicultural contexts.

Study abroad

• If you wish to spend a year abroad (which we thoroughly recommend), this will take place in your third year, meaning that you will complete your degree in four years instead of three. All students have the opportunity to apply for an intercalated year abroad at one of our partner universities.
• The Student Mobility Team offers support for these activities, and the Department's dedicated Study Abroad Co-ordinator can provide more specific information and assistance. Students who elect not to complete the year abroad, or who do not academically qualify for it, may complete the course without a year abroad.

Theatre has the power to question and challenge ideas and beliefs. It helps people consider the way they live their lives and how their actions affect others. It brings into sharp focus our impact upon the world and how we might affect changes for the better.

On this course, you will explore the radical and revolutionary artistic power of theatre and entertainment, linking this to today’s global challenges. You will think creatively and embrace new opinions, and you will develop your experience by completing professional skills certificates as part of your course.

Warwick's vibrant student drama scene also gives you opportunities to get involved with many different kinds of products through our theatre student societies, with projects at Warwick Arts Centre (a core partner of the Theatre and Performance Studies Department), the National Student Drama Festival, and the Edinburgh Festival.

You can enhance your skills and studies through optional work placements, study abroad, and certificates.