Course summary

The MSc in Policy Evaluation provides you with the skills required to contribute to evidence-based policy formation and Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) processes across a range of fields in the public sector, voluntary organisations and private service providers. Institutions and organizations are increasingly demanding evidence-based policy formation. However, there are few graduates with the necessary training to engage in policy evaluation and Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) techniques to provide that “evidence”. As a result, there is a high demand for graduates with the specialist social research methods for M&E, who can critically understand and evaluate policies and social interventions in areas such as health and social care, criminal justice, international development, and inequality and poverty. The MSc in Policy Evaluation meets this demand by equipping graduates with the skills necessary to provide effective policy evaluation and programme M&E for government and third sector organisations working in both domestic and international contexts. You will acquire advanced skills in quantitative methods and analysis and research design, along with the theoretical and conceptual understanding of policymaking and programme implementation required to put M&E into practice across a wide array of contexts. This programme will therefore provide you with a critical and informed understanding of policy evaluation to help you understand the need for specific M&E skills and how they might be best utilized across an array of work environments. For the thesis component, instead of completing a traditional dissertation, students have the option to work with a partner organization to produce a real M&E project with local government, a non-profit organisation, or within the University itself. The staff teaching on this programme are all research-active scholars with methodological expertise central to policy evaluation and M&E practice.