Policy Studies Study Guide 2025/26
What you can study
Our courses introduce you to the theories and practice of key policy areas, and are delivered by a friendly academic community at the forefront of their fields of research. The School also hosts seven interdisciplinary research centres dedicated to a range of key issues, including social justice, health, disability, and gender and violence.
You will find units on:
- childhood and youth studies
- crime, harm, and justice
- social policy and how societies identify, conceptualise, and respond to 'need'
- global political, economic, and social change
Pre-requisites
At UK universities, students specialise from their first year and rarely take units outside their degree subject. This means that:
- Year 1 units are suitable for all students.
- Year 2 units require some university study in a relevant discipline.
- Year 3 units require a strong background in a relevant discipline.
Subject pathway students
If you have been nominated to Bristol on the Study Abroad (Policy Studies pathway), you must take the majority of your credits from this guide.
Childhood Studies
Year 1
Pre-requisites: suitable for all students
Teaching Block 1
Teaching Block 2
Year 2
Pre-requisites: some university study in a relevant discipline
Teaching Block 1
- Child and Adolescent Psychology - SPOL20032
- Education Policy in International Perspective - SPOL20068
- Introduction to Child and Adolescent Health - SPOL20060
- Youth, Sexualities and Gendered Violence - SPOL22023
Teaching Block 2
Year 3
Pre-requisites: strong background of study in a relevant discipline
Teaching Block 1
Teaching Block 2
Criminology
Year 1
Pre-requisites: suitable for all students
Teaching Block 1
Teaching Block 2
Year 2
Pre-requisites: some university study in a relevant discipline
Teaching Block 1
- Activist Criminology and Social Policy - SPOL20069
- Colonialism, Sexual Offences and Law - SPOL20062
- Globalisation, Crime, Harm and Justice - SPOL20025
- Key Thinkers in Criminology - SPOL20036
- Youth, Sexualities and Gendered Violence - SPOL22023
Teaching Block 2
Year 3
Pre-requisites: strong background of study in a relevant discipline.
Teaching Block 2
Social & International Policy
Year 1
Pre-requisites: suitable for all students
Teaching Block 1
Teaching Block 2
- Collective Action and Policy Change - SPOL10040
- Comparative and International Social Policy - SPOL10035
- Global Challenges - SPOL10041
- Segregation and Inequality in International Perspective - SPOL10038
Year 2
Pre-requisites: some university study in a relevant discipline
Teaching Block 1
- Health Policy in a Global Context (SPS) - SPOL20061
- Poverty, Social Exclusion and Social Policy - SPOL20019
- Understanding Public Policy - SPOL20026
Teaching Block 2
- International Political Economy and Social Policy - SPOL20063
- Social Policy and Development - SPOL20050
- Theorising Social Welfare - SPOL20059
Year 3
Pre-requisites: strong background of study in a relevant discipline
Teaching Block 1
Application queries
Contact the Centre for Study Abroad inbound team if you have any queries about the application process for the study abroad programmes:
Phone: +44 117 39 40207
Email: cfsa-inbound@bristol.ac.uk
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Study Guides
Study Guides are updated every April for the following academic year.