Masters in Social Policy

The Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) at Rhodes University will offer a one year
research based Social Policy Masters degree in 2011.
The Masters in Social Policy is aimed at providing a rigorous grounding in theories, concepts
and methodologies of social policy and their application to contemporary social problems.

The Masters will be of interest to students with a research interest in:
• critical social policy;
• the history and politics of social policy in South Africa;
• theories of social citizenship and its application to South Africa;
• the different objectives of social policy and how it relates to a middle-income developing
country such as South Africa;
• the normative underpinnings of different approaches to social policy; and
• how a social policy approach differs from a developmental perspective in the
identification of social problems and possible solutions to such problems.

Individual research case-studies will include amongst others health, education, income
maintenance and water as significant concerns of social policy in the post-apartheid era.

APPLICATIONS FOR 2011 ARE CLOSED. PLEASE LOOK OUT FOR NOTICES WITH REGARDS TO 2012 APPLICATIONS.

For more information contact Prof R. Van Niekerk, Professor of Social Policy. Email:
r.vanniekerk@ru.ac.za or Valance Wessels: v.wessels@ru.ac.za or (046) 603 8919.

Application forms can be downloaded from the Rhodes website at www.ru.ac.za

 Masters in Social Policy Application Form