The course aims at presenting and discussing main theoretical and methodological issues in social policy research. Participants in this course will discuss ongoing PhD/ doctoral projects in social policy and/or discuss core texts in social policy research (building on classical texts or recent developments in the field).

Building on the study of selected theories and methodological approaches in social policy research, participants will

• deepen their understanding of different approaches to social policy research,
• improve their capacities in doing social policy research,
• learn how to present a research project / an academic paper in the field of social policy research,
• acquire the capacity to critically engage with academic material presented in written or oral ways.

The course applies a combination of:

• readings of relevant papers
• presentation and discussion of own research in social policy or of relevant area-specific papers

Grading is based on:

• active participation, feedback to other colleagues’ research (40%)
• presentation and defence of a paper / research project (30%)
• written paper (30%)