Social Policy
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
16th
IN THE UK
Joint 7th
IN THE UK
FOR RESEARCH INTENSITY FOR SOCIAL POLICY
What is Social Policy?
Dr Gemma Carney, Queen's University Belfast, asks the question 'What is Social Policy?'
KEY THEMES
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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.
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.
Academic Staff
| Name | Area of Expertise | Telephone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
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| 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 |
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.
