Social policy is a diverse subject which examines the formation and implementation of policy across a broad range of fields, including health care, education, housing, criminal justice, international development, social security and personal social services (such as child protection and care for the elderly and people with disabilities). It also covers issues that affect society in more general ways, including race and diversity, social exclusion, families, crime and deviance and urban regeneration. As part of the programme you will study social policy from an international and comparative perspective, looking at the influence of globalisation as well as national and local context. The skills you will develop by studying social policy are attractive to a range of employers, though they do not prepare you for a specific career. Many students go on to take our higher level MSc programmes including Social Policy and Planning, Health Policy, Social Policy and Development and Criminal Justice Policy. Others have entered professional fields such as law, accountancy and personnel management or gone into the civil service, local government, health policy and planning, education, the voluntary sector as well as the international community, journalism, politics and pressure group activities.

Social policy is a vibrant subject at LSE, taught by many leading experts in the field. People in the Department are broadly interested in what we should do to ensure the wellbeing of ourselves and others. How far do we have a responsibility as individuals to provide for ourselves? What should governments, employers, voluntary organisations and families do? Who gets what in our society and in other societies, why and what issues does it raise? You will study policies and measures at many different levels: local, national and international, and in many different kinds of organisation: central government agencies; international organisations; local authorities and health authorities; non-profit bodies like housing associations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and charities; private businesses which have contracts to supply services; and informal networks of mutual aid such as those based on families and neighbourhoods. We examine the making of legislation, such as Acts of Parliament, European Union Directives and international instruments, and the taking of public expenditure decisions, for example, in UK central government and local authorities. Another concern is how members of different groups within society - such as those defined by gender, social class and ethnicity - are affected by policies and measures. There is a strong critical and evaluative component in the degree, and you will examine ethical considerations and the effectiveness of social provision. The programme includes a comparative dimension, which includes, but moves beyond, the traditional focus on Europe and other industrialised societies to consider developing and transitional contexts.