Overview

At the Social Policy and Practice program from Trinity College Dublin Students will consider the role of social policy in addressing some of the ‘wicked problems’ that contemporary societies face.  Wicked problems are complex interdependent problems such as crime and poverty, which are often resistant to the policy solutions put in place by governments. Students will be exposed to the arguments for developing policy interventions in areas such as social security, health and housing, and the challenges of implementing and changing policy in these areas at a national and global level.

Career opportunities

The programm attracts individuals from the public, private and community and voluntary sectors who want a sound grasp of the principles that underpin social policy and social service provision. This includes those:

• delivering and managing social service provision e.g. housing, health, child and family and disability services

• designing, developing or funding social policy

• advocating for social policy change

• who require an understanding of social problems and social policy responses to fulfil their organisation’s corporate social responsibility commitments

• seeking career change – e.g. the programmes acts as a conversion course for those without a social science degree who want to be a social worker and must apply for a Master in Social Work

• seeking career development -  e.g. promotion in social services delivery or management

• interested in further study – graduates have progressed to the one year online M.Sc. in Social Policy and Practice, the Masters in Applied Social Research, Master in Social Work within Trinity and to other programmes in Ireland and the UK.