The “Social Policy” area of concentration addresses those with an interest in theorising and analysing global and international dimensions of social policy and social administration, but also regional and local social policies in their interrelationship with global and international developments. The area of concentration deals both with specific topical areas such as poverty, social exclusion, migration, health or ageing as well as with institutional and governance issues such as economic integration and social welfare, the interrelationship of international, national and regional governance or the welfare mix.

After completion of this course, students will be able to

• discuss the institutional and socio-economic context for particular social challenges,
• articulate alternative approaches to analysing these challenges,
• apply alternative theories and concepts to specific analytical questions,
• apply methods from the first year of the Master Program in these analytical tasks,
• draw policy conclusions from the analysis.

 In addition, students will have

• the know-how to obtain and analyze information which will aid decision making,
• the ability to conduct a strategic analysis in a global or international setting,
• the ability to take a multi-disciplinary approach to the application of analytical templates and other techniques,
• extensive experience in working in multi-cultural teams.

The course is based on (a)an introductory discussion of readings and lectures and (b) students’ work on selected case studies. Groups of students will work on selected topics towards (i) a final paper in the format of a scientific article and (ii) an output addressing the broader public, the media or specific stakeholder groups ("going public" project). Apart from regular active participation in class and in group discussions, students are required to work in international teams, to provide presentations on their work and to deliver written papers.

• Readings
• Lectures
• Class discussion
• Case analysis

Globalisation and Social Policy I

Prerequisites for Incoming Exchange Studentsnominated by WU partner universities:

Minimum requirements to attend this course:

•    Economics (accumulated minimum of 16 ECTS credits) OR

•    Social sciences(accumulated minimum of 16 ECTS credits) OR

•    Mathematics / statistics /quantitative methods (accumulated minimum of 16 ECTS credits)

Proficiency in English is required. If you do not meet this requirement, we reserve the right to withdraw students from the course.