MSc in Evidence-Based Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation

The MSc is designed for students with a specific interest in understanding the effectiveness of policies, such as regulations concerning alcohol and drug abuse or gun control, public health or poverty policies, and social interventions, such as cash transfers, parenting education, or violence prevention programs. It prepares students for a career in, for example, development, public policy, or policy and programme evaluation. Applicants with a professional background, such as those in evaluation, public health or policy consulting, will enhance their research skills and develop a major piece of research in a world-class environment.

This course aims to develop your critical analysis, problem solving and research skills in the field of evidence-based interventions and policies for social problems, which will allow you to be both a critical consumer of research and to carry out evaluations and other research designs. Your studies will consider evidence-based practice and policy in relation to, for example, children and families, poverty and inequality, mental health, refugees, drug use, violence and injury prevention, and offending.

Course structure

The MSc has the following major components:

• pathway course, either Social Intervention or Policy Evaluation
• research methods training (Evaluation Methods, Quantitative Analysis, Qualitative Methods, Systematic Reviews)
• specialist option, eg Children and Families, Social Policies and Health Inequalities, Understanding and Preventing Interpersonal Violence, or Community Analysis and Large-Scale Interventions
• MSc thesis.

During the first and second terms, the majority of learning is classroom-based, complemented by independent reading, tutorials, and formative and summative assessments. The third term involves largely self-directed study for remaining summative assessments, exam/assessment revision, and further development of the MSc thesis; additional lectures and question/answer are typically offered on an optional basis to support students in preparing for exams/assessments and using various methodologies for thesis projects.

Pathway course

You will select one of two available pathways, to be taken over two terms. Whichever pathway you take, you will write a thesis on a topic agreed with your supervisor. The thesis is undertaken throughout the duration of the course. 

The two pathways are:

• Social Intervention, covering evidence-based methods to evaluate social interventions, theories underlying interventions, ethical issues, and applying research in practice and policy, including the challenges of implementing programmes in the real world; or
• Policy Evaluation, introducing you to social policy analysis, policy formation, and the relationship between evidence and policy, and to different research methods for evaluating policies, eg quasi- experimental designs, natural experiments.

You may be able to change your choice of pathway in the first week of the course.

Core course on research methods training

Students following the social intervention or policy evaluation pathway take an evaluation methods course. This course, taken over two terms, trains students to critically consume and produce evaluation research for policies and social interventions, focusing on multiple methods, including randomised controlled trials and quasi-randomised methods, and field methods, ie managing, costing and running real-world evaluations. The course has a strong focus on ‘open science’ and research transparency.

In addition, all students in the MSc EBSIPE take the following methods courses: systematic reviews, quantitative analysis and qualitative methods

• systematic review ie finding, describing and synthesising the best available evidence, including meta-analysis and qualitative synthesis (2 terms)
• quantitative analysis ie key statistical concepts and learning statistical programming in the leading software, R (1 term)
• qualitative methods (including mixed methods) ie design, data collection, analysis and critical appraisal (1 term)

Specialist option

You will take a one-term specialist course from a list of options which may include Children and Families, Social Policies and Health Inequalities, Understanding and Preventing Interpersonal Violence, or Community Analysis and Large-Scale Interventions. The set of options offered each year will vary slightly depending on student interest and staff availability.

MSc students may attend advanced methods classes, such as Intermediate Statistics, in their second term.

MSc thesis

You will write a research thesis to acquire expert knowledge in your area of interest, to apply the research methods, and contribute to new scientific knowledge.

Attendance

Resources to support your study

The department provides a computer and workspace room for masters' students and has its own IT provision and specialist IT support staff. Students are able to book meeting spaces and lecture rooms to organise study groups.

MSc students have access to the world-leading Bodleian Social Science Library, in addition to other University libraries and centrally provided electronic resources that give access to the majority of academic journals published.

The department has a common room open to both staff and students. Barnett House Coffee Mornings are held fortnightly and these occasions provide excellent opportunities for talking to academics and research staff, and also fellow students.

Supervision

The allocation of graduate supervision for this course is the responsibility of the Department of Social Policy and Intervention  and it is not always possible to accommodate the preferences of incoming graduate students to work with a particular member of staff. Students are able to meet their potential supervisor in the first week of term. Under exceptional circumstances a supervisor may be found outside the Department of Social Policy and Intervention.

In the case of students who require specific help to adjust to an academic programme or to a new range of skills, the supervisor will work with them to ensure that they have additional support.

Assessment

Whichever pathway you take, you will write a thesis on a topic agreed with your supervisor. The thesis is undertaken throughout the duration of the course. You will also be assessed by a series of assessments throughout the year using a combination of examinations and/or submitted coursework assignments (summative assessments).

Graduate destinations

Recent graduates from the Master’s programme have gone on to study for doctorates in a range of high quality universities. Many graduates go on to pursue academic careers in world-leading research universities, while others hold influential positions in government, non-governmental and international organisations, such as the World Bank, J-PAL, World Health Organisation and UN agencies.

College preference

The following colleges accept students on the MSc in Evidence-based Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation: