Staff in the Department includes social policy specialists, those with social work and probation backgrounds, sociologists, demographers and psychologists. The graduate teaching programme comprises doctoral research students, the MSc and MPhil in Comparative Social Policy, and the MSc in Applied Social Studies leading to a professional qualification in social work. An active research programme includes work on social exclusion, poverty and deprivation, family policy, health policy, demography, ageing, social security, social work and probation as well as more theoretical interests in social welfare and social policy. A particular strength of the department is its analytical, empirical and comparative orientation. The main part of the work for this degree is research resulting in a thesis of up to 100,000 words, which must be 'a significant and substantial contribution in the particular field of learning'.
Students undertake their research under the supervision of one or occasionally two senior members.
Potential DPhil students are encouraged to choose topics which are related to ongoing research projects in the Department and are invited to contact potential supervisors as early as possible in the planning of their research. Research students are accepted on probation. Their continuation to full DPhil status depends on an assessment of their work and progress, usually at the end of the first year. A more detailed prospectus outlining the teaching, research and facilities of the Department is available from the Department. Students from either of the taught masters courses are eligible to apply to continue their studies towards a research degree.