School of Social Sciences and Humanities

MA Applied Social Science

MA Full-time 1 year, Part-time 2 years

The MA has been developed to offer you the opportunity to engage with a number of subjects relevant to the voluntary and public sectors in the West Midlands area and beyond.  

The MA has been developed to offer you the opportunity to engage with a number of subjects relevant to the voluntary and public sectors in the West Midlands area and beyond.  

Award
MA
Start date(s)
16 September 2025
UCAS Code
Course specifications
Course length
Full-time (1 year),Part-time (2 years)
Campus location
Wolverhampton City Campus
School
School of Social Sciences and Humanities
UCAS points calculator

Why choose this course?

The MA has been developed to offer you the opportunity to engage with a number of subjects relevant to the voluntary and public sectors in the West Midlands area and beyond.  It therefore provides a base for direct employment entry or enrolment onto the university’s PhD programme – or both.  By way of example, one student on the MA is likely to move into full time employment in an addiction rehabilitation unit in Wolverhampton, whilst another has recently submitted a proposal for doctorate research on rural migration. 

The degree is delivered by a dedicated team of academics from Sociology and Social Policy at the university.  In addition, several of the modules involve practitioners and managers from local voluntary organisations.  The modules are delivered from teaching rooms in the central hub of City Campus at Wolverhampton University.  From September 2022, they are scheduled to run on Monday evenings and Wednesday afternoons and evenings.  Part time students taking the MA over two years will have the option of taking the various options through evening classes. 

What's unique about this course?

  • The degree is delivered by a dedicated team of academics from Sociology and Social Policy at the university.  
  • The MA has been developed to offer you the opportunity to engage with a number of subjects relevant to the voluntary and public sectors in the West Midlands area and beyond. 

What happens on the course?

7SA002 : In this module you will explore the challenges to policy making in contemporary society, from local to global. You will explore the relationship between the state and its citizens, looking at how “ordinary” people affect the policy environment, through formal processes such as voting, and informal processes, such as volunteering and community activism. 

You will engage in debate about the future of the welfare state in UK, and the political, economic, social and environmental challenges it faces. It will investigate how -and why - the state’s commitment to social citizenship and the welfare state has diminished and how this has impacted on the most vulnerable in our society.  

We will explore whether decision-making is best left to elected decision-makers, guided by ideology, or whether decision-making would be more responsive to local needs if more decision-making power was devolved down to local communities and those using the services.  

A central aim of this module is to connect academic understandings with practical - real life - experience. This will include going out into the community to meet local political and community leaders, and welcoming representatives from public and voluntary sector organisations into the classroom.  The module will be student-centred, drawing on your interests and career aspirations, allowing you to develop your preferred area of policy specialism. Therefore, you will work with an individual not-for-profit organisation of your choice, to gain insight into the services they provide to enhance the lives of local people, and this will be the basis of your summative assessments.  

7SA003: New Version: Economic factors play a major role in the lived experiences of the communities we live, work, and participate in.  In this module the way in which local, national and global economic events impact our lives will be analysed through the prism of case studies and crucially the subject areas you are passionate and experienced in.  

Within those case studies you will embark on a journey that takes in education, health, housing, work and more beyond.  Furthermore, you will consider how contemporary economic crises, from the surge in the cost of living to the conflict in Ukraine are mitigated by national and local government to reshape the allocation of resources in our community.  

Finally, as Wolverhampton sits at the heart of the government’s Levelling Up Strategy and falls within the West Midlands Combined Authority, we look at how communities in the West Midlands region are specifically impacted by economic factors and how policymakers can mitigate and create opportunity for the region we research in.

 

See our alumni Christine Jenkins talk about her time on the course.

 

Course Modules

Potential Career Paths

Additional Information

Everything you need to know about this course!

Location Mode Fee Year
Home Full-time £7995 per year 2022-23
Home Full-time £8395 per year 2023-24
Home Full-time £8395 per year 2023-24
Home Full-time £8815 per year 2024-25
Home Part-time £3998 per year 2022-23
Home Part-time £4198 per year 2023-24
Home Part-time £4198 per year 2023-24
Home Part-time £4408 per year 2024-25
International Full-time £14450 per year 2022-23
International Full-time £15450 per year 2023-24
International Full-time £15450 per year 2023-24
International Full-time £15950 per year 2024-25

These fees relate to new entrants only for the academic year indicated for entry onto the course, any subsequent years study may be subject to an annual increase, usually in line with inflation.

A Bachelor Honours degree (2.2 or above) in a Social Sciences-based subject from a UK University or overseas equivalent, or a professional qualification and/or experience considered to be equivalent; to be verified by the Course Leader.

International students will need IELTS 6.5 with a minimum score of 6.0 in every element (or equivalent).

Postgraduate Loan (Home Fee Status):

You may be able to get a postgraduate student loan from Student Finance England of up to £12,167 to help pay for a Master’s degree. Applications are made through Student Finance England and more information on the regulations and eligibility criteria can be found at Masters Loans gov.uk.

* Any RPL will invalidate your eligibility as you must study a minimum of 180 credits


Changes for EU students:

The UK government has confirmed that EU students starting courses from 1 August 2021 will normally be classified as Overseas (International) students for fee purposes. More information about the change is available at UKCISA:

EU citizens living in the UK with 'settled' status, and Irish nationals living in the UK or Ireland, will still be classified as Home students, providing they meet the usual residency requirements, for more information about EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) click here.


Postgraduate Loyalty Discount:

You can get 20% discount on a taught on-site postgraduate course if you’re a University of Wolverhampton Graduate.

The University offers a generous 20% Loyalty Discount to students progressing from an undergraduate programme to a taught postgraduate programme, where both courses are University of Wolverhampton Awards.

There is no time limit on how long ago you completed your degree as long as this is your first Masters level qualification.

The discount applies to the first year of enrolment only. Students who receive a loyalty discount are not entitled to any further tuition discount or bursary. For full terms and conditions click here.


Self-funded:

If you are paying for the fees yourself then the fees can be paid in 3 instalments: November, January and April. More information can be found by clicking here.


Sponsored - Your employer, embassy or organisation can pay for your Tuition fees:

Your employer, embassy or organisation agrees to pay all or part of your tuition fees; the University will refer to them as your sponsor and will invoice them for the appropriate amount.

We must receive notification of sponsorship in writing as soon as possible, and before enrolment, confirming that the sponsor will pay your tuition fees.


Financial Hardship:

Students can apply to the Dennis Turner Opportunity Fund for help with course related costs however this cannot be used for fees or to cover general living costs.


Charitable Funding:

You might also want to explore the possibility of funding from charitable trusts; please see the following websites Association of Charitable Foundations, Directory of Social Change or Family Action. Most charities and trust funds offer limited bursaries targeted to specific groups of students so you will need to research whether any of them are relevant to your situation.


You can find more information on the University’s Funding, cost, fee and support pages.

Telephone

01902 32 22 22

Email

enquiries@wlv.ac.uk

Online

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