Inequalities and Social Science MSc

Course overview

At a local, national and global level, we are witnessing an intense period of social transformation and fragmentation. Within this context, there is growing political and policy recognition of the need to better understand and address social inequalities.

The social sciences have an important role to play in mapping and understanding how inequalities arise and in tackling their causes and consequences. Innovative developments are offering new methodological, theoretical and empirical insights into entrenched and emerging inequalities of status, resource, outcome and opportunity.

This interdisciplinary course explores all forms of inequality, as well as the social, political and economic implications. It will equip you with the necessary knowledge and skills to understand, research and analyse complex inequalities.

Capitalising on expertise in the School of Sociology and Social Policy and the Leeds Inequalities Research Network, you’ll harness leading analytical approaches combining qualitative, quantitative and data analytic methods.

In addition to offering an advanced understanding of rising material inequality, this course encourages an intersectional approach to understanding socio-economic stratification and how this links with physical (dis)ability, race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexuality, class and age.

You’ll benefit from a stimulating intellectual environment and cutting-edge methodological approaches to comparing the formation and consequences of inequalities across a range of national and international contexts. Through an examination of geopolitical and socioeconomic shifts, such as urbanisation and globalisation, you are actively supported to critically interrogate the contemporary character and extent of social inequality.

The course offers an Applied Research Project (ARP) option as an alternative to the standard dissertation. The ARP is a dissertation run in partnership with a non-academic organisation and enables you to undertake research with direct policy and practice relevancies. We have a range of projects arranged in partnership with Voluntary Action Leeds, Leeds City Council and the University of Leeds Sustainability Service amongst others.

Course highlights

You’ll join a vibrant and dynamic research-led teaching and learning environment in the School of Sociology and Social Policy.

You’ll benefit from the interdisciplinary expertise and extra-curricular activities hosted by the School and its research centres including those in Disability Studies, Ethnicity and Racism Studies, Interdisciplinary Gender Studies and Research into Families, the Life Course and Generations.

You’ll also access events through the Leeds Social Sciences Institute (LSSI), which fosters cross-departmental collaboration, learning and impact. You can benefit from workshops on global inequalities by academic leaders from across campus and research seminars with external speakers; along with career development opportunities and events. As such, you can take advantage of academic and applied expertise both within and beyond the University whilst also developing specialist knowledge and transferable skills for your future career development in the public, private or third sector.

Applying

Entry requirements

A bachelor degree with a 2:1 (hons) or equivalent in a social science, or related subject.

We accept a range of international equivalent qualifications..

English language requirements

IELTS 6.5 overall, with no less than 6.0 in any component. For other English qualifications, read English language equivalent qualifications.

Improve your English

International students who do not meet the English language requirements for this programme may be able to study our postgraduate pre-sessional English course, to help improve your English language level.

This pre-sessional course is designed with a progression route to your degree programme and you’ll learn academic English in the context of your subject area. To find out more, read Language for Politics and Society (6 weeks) and Language for Social Sciences and Arts: Politics and Society (10 weeks).

We also offer online pre-sessionals alongside our on-campus pre-sessionals. Find out more about our six week online pre-sessional and our 10 week online pre-sessional.

You can also study pre-sessionals for longer periods – read about our postgraduate pre-sessional English courses.

Career opportunities

This course prepares you for policy, research and applied careers across the private, public and third sectors.

The interdisciplinary and dynamic nature of the course equips you with the critical, analytical and methodological skills to deploy your specialist expertise in a clear, efficient and effective manner.

You’ll develop transferable skills in research, analysis and communication, as well as in-depth knowledge that can be applied across a range of domains and contexts.

Due to the rigorous and applied nature of our teaching, graduates might pursue careers across a diverse range of organisational settings such as in government, NGOs, charities, think tanks, social enterprises and business.

The course also offers excellent development opportunities to pursue a career in social research or undertake research at PhD level.