The module seeks to provide a solid grounding in social science research methods, to develop skills in critiquing research methods used by other scholars, and...

Researching Politics and Society (SESS0034)

The module seeks to provide a solid grounding in social science research methods, to develop skills in critiquing research methods used by other scholars, and to help students design a research project and write a final-year dissertation. Following a session on the building blocks of research, students will be introduced to a range of quantitative and qualitative research methods, with opportunities to discuss their respective merits and to practise different skills (e.g. interviewing, conducting focus groups).

The course will introduce students to the Python programming language and to the fundamental concepts underlying programming in general. These concepts...

Programming for Crime Scientists (SECU0012)

The course will introduce students to the Python programming language and to the fundamental concepts underlying programming in general. These concepts include, but are not limited to: data structures, types, iteration, file input/output, and the use of mathematical and statistical packages. In addition to these underlying principles, students will also be exposed (via weekly labs) to computation methods that they can use in analysing real crime-related datasets, such as survey data, crime reports, and DNA data.

*This is a compulsory module for students registered on the Masters of Public Administration (MPA) programme and is not available as an optional module.

This...

Governance and Public Management (PUBL0063)

*This is a compulsory module for students registered on the Masters of Public Administration (MPA) programme and is not available as an optional module.

This module provides MPA students with an overview of the interdisciplinary fields of public management and governance. It is designed to equip students with the requisite foundational academic knowledge for public sector management careers. To do so, the module introduces students to key concepts and theories in public management, exposes students to basic public management techniques and provides them with an understanding of how broader governance contexts shape effective public management approaches. By blending foundational scholarship on public management with real-world case applications, the course also trains students in evidence-based approaches to addressing public management problems.

With this in mind, students should, at the end of this module, be able to:

1. Understand the core challenges in managing people and organisations in the public sector.

2. Appraise a range of institutional designs and management techniques for public sector management.

3. Evaluate how distinct governance contexts shape the effectiveness of public management techniques.

4. Critically reflect upon and apply public sector scholarship to address real-world public management problems.