BSc International Social and Public Policy with Politics

As a society, social policies enable us to tackle big global issues such as poverty, welfare, equality and pay. Political thinking and decision-making from government, external agencies and even citizens all have a role to play in policy making.

This BSc International Social and Public Policy with Politics programme looks at the principles behind current and past social policies – such as the nature of private-public partnerships in health service provision and social security benefits. You’ll explore how different governments, politicians, organisations and voters propose, implement and sometimes block social policies.

Drawing on LSE’s interdisciplinary strengths across the social sciences, you’ll study each topic from social, political demographic and economic perspectives – enabling you to develop a well-rounded understanding of these complex issues.

This degree provides you with all the skills you’ll need for many different careers, such as parliamentary researcher, policy advisor, social worker or charity case worker.

This is a major/minor degree programme – with the main focus on social policy and politics as the minor component.

Social policy

• H Dean Social Policy (2nd edition, Polity, 2012)
• D Garland The Welfare State: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2016)
• M Daly Welfare (Polity, 2011)
• P Alcock, M May and S Wright (eds) The Student's Companion to Social Policy (4th edition, Oxford: Blackwell, 2012)
• R Surender & R Walker (eds) Social Policy in a Developing World (Elgar, 2013)

Government

The general character of politics:

• J Colomer The Science of Politics: an introduction (Oxford University Press, 2011)
• R Goodin The Oxford Handbook of Political Science (Oxford University Press, 2009)
• I Katznelson and H Milner (eds.) Political Science: state of the discipline (New York: Wiley, 2002)

Political thought

Many classic texts of political thought are readily available in a variety of editions:

• Machiavelli The Prince
• J S Mill Considerations on Representative Government
• M Wollstonecraft A Vindication of the Rights of Women

Political analysis and political institutions

• W R Clark, M Golder and S Nadenichek Golder Principles of Comparative Politics (CQ Press, 2009)
• P Dunleavy and J Dryzek Theories of the Democratic State (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009)
• R Morton Analyzing Elections (Norton, 2006)
• E Ostrom, Governing the Commons: the evolution of institutions for collective action (Cambridge University Press, 1990/2015)