梅西大學(xué)

Work for social justice with a BA (Social Policy)

At Massey you’ll get the skills you need for a meaningful career in social policy.

If you are fascinated by how and why power, resources and opportunities are distributed within society, then Massey’s BA (Social Policy) is for you.

Gain an understanding of the political, economic, social and cultural factors that influence the development, implementation and evaluation of social policy in Aotearoa New Zealand.

You will study law, politics - and the roles of central and local government in a democratic society. This will give you insights into the relationships between the state, judiciary, legal system, political parties and public in shaping legislation and developing policy.

Apply your skills

Learn to apply your critical social policy analysis skills to a number of decision-making scenarios to result in better social outcomes. This could take many forms including a policy, project plan, submission or even the strategic direction of an organisation.

Careers

Your BA (Social Policy) will give you the knowledge and skills you need to start your career as a policy analyst and researcher. You will learn a range of intellectual and practical skills that will stand you in good stead in the job market.

This qualification opens up a world of opportunity to be involved in influencing a broad number of social issue outcomes (such as healthy housing, youth development, Māori wellbeing, health promotion, gender analysis of policy). That is not only from a Government-down position, but also from an individual-, community- and society-up perspective.

You’ll learn to apply your critical social policy analysis skills to a number of decision-making scenarios to result in better social outcomes. This decision-making can take many forms. That could include a policy, project plan, submission, or even the strategic direction of an organisation.

You could work in areas such as:

• Research
• Communications
• Project management
• Governance
• Charitable trusts
• Social marketing
• Journalism (critical analysis of social issues)
• Advocacy
• Teaching and lecturing
• Policy analysis - public, private and third sector (NGOs, PPPs, not-for-profit, voluntary and charity organizations)
• Youth development
• Community development
• Politics
• Government agencies - local, regional and central.
• NGOs - trusts etc (housing, Maori land trusts, health service providers, disability advocacy and support, youth development)

Requirements

One of the strengths of the Social Policy major is its interdisciplinary nature. You are able to choose courses from a variety of subjects to suit your interests. The 100-level introductory Social Policy course forms the foundation for the advanced theory and research courses at 200-level and 300-level. Social Policy offers a range of interesting and highly relevant courses, each taught by staff actively engaged in research.

Social Policy Major

A major consists of 135 credits (nine courses) in Social Policy.