Knowledge
- Employability is hard-wired into every aspect of this programme. Students use historical analysis as a tool to shape their thinking around problems that they will encounter in the workplace, this is facilitated via the use of case studies.
- There is practitioner involvement in all teaching. Practitioners are anchored by an academic chair in the room to facilitate the discussions. This provides students with an applied framework to understand how the decision-making process in government works beyond a theoretical understanding bringing together the three distinct strands of policy, processes and personality.
- The dissertation aspect of the programme is flexible in its design, allowing students to focus on a purely historical analysis whilst in-career public servants and others will be able to undertake a capstone project with a client.
- Knowledge of public-service ethos and the skills needed to pursue public sector career paths.
- Students understand decision making in government and local government, gain sector knowledge applicable to public affairs, journalism and the third sector.
Attributes
- Students are equipped to be resilient, persistent and open minded.
- Students discover how policy and politics processes are intertwined and how to make decisions under pressure with limited information available, a core skill in many areas of public service such as local government, the Civil Service, and other public sector management roles.
Skills
- Case study teaching with a focus on skills give students more practical skills that will be applicable in all workplaces. These include the ability to confidently take decisions, write clear and concise briefings, give presentations and learn soft skills essential for networking opportunities, structure and present arguments and propose different points of view with nuance and variation.
- Small group tutorials further enable formative assessment and help students develop the skills they need for future work.
- Ability to demonstrate interdisciplinary understanding and apply it to different contexts.
- The dissertation project gives students the ability to select, manage and synthesise large amounts of information.
Experience
- Through our contacts and support from industry and government we create an employability ecosystem around the programme.
- The programme features industry driven content reflecting governmental and political sectors.
- We bring in former students who have taken our modules and provide a system through which our alumni can provide formal and informal mentoring opportunities.