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  • Social Policy

Social Policy

PHOTO: climate change demonstration placards

Social Policy is an academic subject and field of study, but the term ‘policy’ also refers to programmes and interventions put in place to address human needs and to improve social welfare. Originally social policy has tried to address inequalities in health and education and has been concerned with the improvement of social care, social work and housing. However, more recently social policy as a subject area has diversified and expanded to include areas such as citizenship and participation, sustainability, globalisation and migration or social justice.

If you come to Queen’s University to study Social Policy you will be taught by a small team of social policy experts who punch above their weight in terms of research activity, actual engagement with policy makers and internationalisation.

Top 100

IN THE WORLD
FOR SOCIAL POLICY AND ADMINISTRATION

(QS WORLD UNIVERSITY RANKINGS 2021)
16th

IN THE UK

(TIMES AND SUNDAY TIMES GOOD UNIVERSITY GUIDE 2020)
Joint 7th

IN THE UK
FOR RESEARCH INTENSITY FOR SOCIAL POLICY

(COMPLETE UNIVERSITY GUIDE 2021)

What is Social Policy?

Dr Gemma Carney, Queen's University Belfast, asks the question 'What is Social Policy?'

KEY THEMES

  • Gender
  • Disability
  • Ageing and Gerontology
  • Children and Young People
  • Citizenship and Participation
  • Sexual Health and Sexuality

 

KEY RESEARCH PROJECTS

Developing and monitoring social policy
ARK - Northern Ireland’s Social Policy Hub

ARK is a joint initiative of Queen’s University and Ulster University with the primary goal to increase the accessibility and use of academic policy data and research. ARK runs three annual attitude surveys that help to develop and monitor social policy indicators as well as social policy roundtables and the ARK Ageing project.

Visit the ARK Website


two children using laptops
Researching advancing children’s rights
Centre for Children’s Rights

Our Centre for Children’s Rights is an inter-disciplinary collaboration that focusses on rights-based research and the implementation of children’s rights-based policy. The Centre is well-known for its development of a rights-based participatory research model (‘The Lundy model’) and has won international awards for its impactful research engagement on children’s rights.

Visit the Centre for Children's Rights website


Academic Staff

NameArea of ExpertiseEmailTelephone
Dr Bronagh Byrne 

Disability rights and policy; Children's rights and policy; Inclusive education; Rights based and participatory research methods.

 
b.byrne@qub.ac.uk email only
Dr Gemma Carney

Social policy and ageing; Social gerontology; Gender; Cultural gerontology.

 
g.carney@qub.ac.uk +44 (0)28 9097 3749
Dr Elizabeth Martin

Ageing; Domestic violence; Qualitative research methods.

e.a.martin@qub.ac.uk  
Dr Dirk Schubotz

Children and young people; Sexual health and mental health; Sexual and gender identity; Participatory research methods; Biographical narrative research; Good relations and divided societies.

d.schubotz@qub.ac.uk +44 (0)28 9097 3947
Dr Sirin Sung

Comparative perspectives of gender and social policy; Gender; Work and Family; Qualitative research relating to the issue of gender.

 
s.sung@qub.ac.uk +44 (0)28 9097 3469

Research Staff

     
Dr Aoibheann Brennan-Wilson Early childhood development, bilingualism, education and child maltreatment, and how each of these factors impacts academic outcomes and social and emotional wellbeing.   a.brennan-wilson@qub.ac.uk  +44 (0)28 9097 3484 
Dr Paula Devine ARK: social gerontology, men's health, public attitudes, quantitative methods, and the dissemination of social science information.   p.devine@qub.ac.uk +44 (0)28 9097 3034

 

pD5_Sociology_Social_people_2V_15
STUDY

We offer an array of course choices in social policy at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Criminology and Social Policy | BA
Social Policy and Sociology BA
Social Science Research | MRes
Social Policy Integrated PhD


ENGAGEMENT

Social Policy staff at QUB have a number of active partnerships with voluntary sector organisations in the UK. We are involved in national and international networks in areas such as social gerontology, disability, children’s and young people’s rights and gender.


Latest News

  • Lanyon Building aerial view with winter evening sun rays
    Book Review
    Jan 8, 2021
  • Lanyon Building aerial view with winter evening sun rays
    Developing Inclusive Research Spaces for Disabled Researchers
    Jan 27, 2021
In This Section
Subject Area
  • Subject Area
  • Criminology
  • Education
  • Social Policy
  • Social Work
  • Sociology

Latest News

  • Lanyon Building aerial view with winter evening sun rays
    Book Review
    Jan 8, 2021
  • Lanyon Building aerial view with winter evening sun rays
    Developing Inclusive Research Spaces for Disabled Researchers
    Jan 27, 2021
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