School of Finance and Management

MSc Public Policy, Finance and Management (2021 entry)

Select year of entry: 2021 2020

Overview

Overview and entry requirements

MSc Public Policy, Finance and Management programme is designed for recent graduates with first degrees in political science, public administration, economics, accounting and finance, sociology, and other social science subjects.

The programme is also designed for individuals who already work in government or the public sector more generally, and who aim to strengthen their knowledge, capabilities and skills to improve career prospects.

See School of Finance and Management

Why study MSc Public Policy, Finance and Management at SOAS

We are 5th in UK for graduate employability (Guardian League Tables 2021).

This programme aims to provide:

deeper comprehensive knowledge set of theories on public policy, public management and public financial management
clear understanding of major contemporary issues in public policy, public management and public financial management across countries in the world
distinguishing capacity to analyse, assess and explain salient topics in public policy, public management and public financial management
enhanced capacity to argue and communicate effectively about choices in the domains of public policy, public management and public financial management

The programme aims to help students start a career in government and public sector agencies, or strengthen their prospects for an improved career trajectory.

The MSc Public Policy, Finance and Management can be also taken jointly with the Global Master of Public Administration at the Evans School of Public Policy & Governance of the University of Washington.

Students who apply and are admitted to the GMPA can spend year one at the Evans School of Public Policy & Governance and year two at School of Finance and Management of SOAS University of London, and then graduate with two Masters Degrees. Please refer to the GMPA web page for further information.

Explore

Venue: Russell Square: College Buildings

Start of programme: September

Mode of Attendance: Full-time or Part-time

Entry requirements

We will consider all applications with 2:ii (or international equivalent) or higher. In addition to degree classification we take into account other elements of the application including supporting statement and references.

Featured events

Fees 2021/22

UK fees:: £13,720

Overseas fees:: £21,880

Fees for 2021/22 entrants. This is a Band 6 fee. The fees are per academic year. Please note that fees go up each year. Further details can be found in the Fees and Funding tab on this page or in the Registry Postgraduate Tuition Fees page

Convenors

Dr Alberto Asquer Convenor

Structure

Students must take 180 credits. These are composed of 120 taught credits comprising core and optional modules and a 60 credit dissertation.

Not all option modules are offered every year; please check your preferences with the Programme Convenor. Also note that where 15 credit modules are selected, these should be balanced between term 1 and term 2.

Core Modules

Module	Code	Credits	Term
Dissertation in Public Policy, Finance and Management	15PFMC984	60	Full Year
Public Policy: Perspectives, Issues and Strategies	15PFMC094	15	Term 1
Fiscal Governance, Budgeting and Performance	15PFMC108	15	Term 1
Public Governance, Accountability and Transparency	15PFMC101	15	Term 1
Innovation and Organisational Change	15PFMC089	15	Term 2
Research methods in management	15PFMC062	15	Term 2
Emerging Market Finance	15PFMC105	15	Term 2

Optional Elective Modules

Students should choose one 15 credit module from List A and one 15 credit open option module from List B.

List A

Module	Code	Credits	Term
Managerial Accounting	15PFMC088	15	Term 1
Cultural Intelligence and Global Business Communication	15PFMC076	15	Term 2
International Corporate Finance	15PFMC070	15	Term 2
Macroeconomic Policy and Financial markets	15PFMC087	15	Term 1
Blockchain and Distributed Electronic Ledgers: Implications for Business, Finance, Government and Society	15PFMC099	15	Term 2

List B - Open Options

Students take one 15 credit module from the open option lists from the following departments and centres (subject to availability):

Programme Specification

MSc Public Policy, Finance and Management Programme Specification (pdf; 199kb)

Important notice

The information on the programme page reflects the intended programme structure against the given academic session. If you are a current student you can find structure information on the previous year link at the top of the page or through your Department. Please read the important notice regarding changes to programmes and modules.

Teaching and Learning

Teaching & Learning

Masters programmes (with the exception of two-year full-time MAs) consist of 180 credits, made up of taught modules of 30 or 15 credits, taught over 10 or 20 weeks, and a dissertation of 60 credits. The programme structure shows which modules are compulsory and which optional.

Contact hours

As a rough guide, 1 credit equals approximately 10 hours of work. Most of this will be independent study such as reading and research, preparing coursework, revising for examinations and so on. Also included is class time, for example lectures, seminars and other classes.

At SOAS, most postgraduate modules have a one-hour lecture and a one-hour seminar every week, but this does vary. More information can be found on individual module pages.

Find out more on our approaches to teaching and learning

Learning resources

SOAS Library is one of the world's most important academic libraries for the study of Africa, Asia and the Middle East, attracting scholars from all over the world. The Library houses over 1.2 million volumes, together with significant archival holdings, special collections and a growing network of electronic resources.

Fees and funding

Tuition Fees

Full details of postgraduate tuition fees can be found on the Registry's Postgraduate Tuition Fees page.

This is a Band 6 tuition fee.

Fees for 2021/22 entrants. The fees below are per academic year. Fees go up each year, therefore, your tuition fee in your second & subsequent years of study will be higher. Our continuing students, on the same degree programme, are protected from annual increases higher than 5%.

Full-time		Part-time 2 Years		Part-time 3 Years
UK Students	Overseas Students	UK Students	Overseas Students	UK Students	Overseas Students
£13,720	£21,880	£6,860	£10,940	£4,570	£7,290