MA Governance, Politics and Policy (Research)

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Our MA Governance, Politics and Policy course explores the fundamental political, governance, and policy-related issues shaping societies in the 21st century.

On this course, you will investigate how policies are both made and supplemented drawing from a range of conceptual approaches and underpinned by empirically informed examples. Such approaches seek to uncover the competing interests, power dynamics, institutional constraints, and real-world pressures that shape decisions at every level of government. You’ll examine how governing systems influence policymaking, how political authority operates from to global to the local level, and how ideas, evidence, and public debate feed into policy outcomes. Alongside this, you will develop the analytical and research skills needed to navigate and make sense of today’s most pressing political challenges.

If you’re aiming for a research-intensive career, our Research Route gives you deeper training in qualitative and quantitative methods, and more hands-on experience designing your own research projects.

There are two Streams on the course, including a Policy Stream and an Elections Stream, allowing you to tailor your course to fit your interests. You’ll explore topics such as:

• Political Parties in Contemporary Britain;
• Multi-level Governance;
• European Politics and Policy Making;
• Understanding Political Change;
• Politics and Data Science.

Our streams have been designed to especially enhance your learning experience. They offer a highly specialised set of course units which aim to develop your skills in public policy and decision-making.

Our Policy Stream equips you to understand how ideas become action, and why some never do. Through a set of innovative, analytically rich course units, you’ll explore the full journey of policymaking: from the emergence of an issue, to agenda setting, decision making, implementation, and impact. Along the way, you’ll learn how governments, organisations, activists and citizens compete to shape the world around us. By interrogating how and why these actors behave as they do, you’ll gain powerful insight into the political, economic and social forces driving many of the defining challenges of the 21st century. It’s a course designed not just to study policy, but to understand and question the power behind it.

In a world of surprising electoral outcomes, our Elections Stream puts evidence and theory at the centre of political analysis. You will learn by doing, developing practical skills to study democracy, political parties, elections, and voting behaviour. Our course units are taught by world leading experts on elections in the UK, Europe, and beyond.

See a full list of mandatory and optional course units below.

You will benefit from studying at an internationally renowned centre for policy research. In addition, our Policy@Manchester institute , will give you the opportunity to engage with public policy and governance in deeper, hands-on ways by attending regular talks and seminars, meeting with politicians and policy makers, or finding a professional experience placement in the field.

Throughout your studies, you will develop subject area expertise as well as highly transferrable skills such as research design, critical inquiry, and writing and communication skills, setting you up for multiple career paths in the public, private, or third sectors. You will also be well-placed to continue developing and using your research expertise, either professionally or in further PhD study in Politics.

You will also be well-placed to continue developing and using your research expertise, either professionally or in PhD study as this course is eligible for the 1+3 studentship offered by the Economic and Social Sciences Research Council (ESRC) North West Social Sciences Doctoral Training Partnership (NWSSDTP), offering a unique, fully-funded route into postgraduate research. If your application is successful, you’ll be able to seamlessly transition from Master's-level study to a PhD. Find out more on our 1+3 ESRC NWSSDTP webpage.

Research Route

On the Research Route, in addition to your dissertation, you will take six core course units and two optional course units. Core course units on this route are:

• POLI60301 Comparative Political Analysis;
• POLI60341 Tools and Techniques of Applied Quantitative Methods;
• Qualitative Research Methods;
• POLI70892 Governance and the State;
• POLI60312 Research Design Skills;
• POLI71042 Understanding Political Change.

This course aims to:

• Provide an advanced and critical understanding of contemporary issues at the intersection of politics, policy, and governance, including their theoretical foundations, empirical complexities, and real-world applications.
• Develop a critical understanding of the role of political science, policy analysis, and governance theory within the broader social sciences, including their key theoretical frameworks, methodological approaches, and their relevance for real-world work settings.
• Provide professionals in the humanities and social sciences with a strong foundation to deepen and broaden their expertise in political processes, governance frameworks, and evidence-based policy-making aligned with their career trajectories.
• Facilitate interdisciplinary study across politics, public policy, administration, and governance, encouraging students to explore and integrate multiple perspectives and disciplinary approaches.
• Deliver rigorous training in applied and theoretical research, culminating in a dissertation that engages with complex political, policy, or governance issues under the supervision of active researchers, with transferrable skills to professional settings and continuing an academic career.

Prestigious department

The University of Manchester boasts one of the largest and best-known politics departments in the UK. We are home to some of the world’s leading experts and academics in the subject, and co-hosts (with Oxford) of the British Election Study, one of the longest-running election studies in the world and the longest-running social science survey in the UK.

The University is home to Policy@Manchester , connecting the implications of academic research to real world policy insights.

Unique city

In our biased opinion, there’s no better place to study politics than Manchester. Politics and history, revolutionary ideas and radical reform, are etched into the city’s streets and character, from workers' rights to feminism, Marxism to devolution.

Our MA Governance, Politics and Policy is taught by an interdisciplinary team using a variety of delivery methods:

• lectures;
• workshops;
• student-led presentations and debate;
• practical exercises;
• group work;
• individual research.

Most course units are assessed by written assignments and essays. Some course units may differ and may be assessed by methods relevant to the units’ contents, such as short presentations, peer-reviews, or product assessment.

Part-time students

Part-time students complete the full-time course over two years. There are no evening or weekend course units available on the part-time course.

The University of Manchester is one of the most targeted universities by the UK’s top graduate employers (High Fliers, The Graduate Market Report 2026).

Our MA Governance, Politics and Policy gives you the specialist knowledge and skills required for a range of careers across the public, private, and third sectors, such as in:

• local and central government;
• the Civil Service;
• international and supranational institutions, such as the UN and the EU;
• research, policy, think-tanks, institutes, and NGOs;
• academia.

You will also acquire vital skills relevant to many different sectors and roles, such as data analysis, qualitative and quantitative research design, academic writing, and communication and teamwork. Recent graduates from our Politics department have succeeded in organisations such as:

• British Red Cross;
• Home Office;
• The House of Commons;
• National Health Service;
• KPMG;
• BNY Mellon;
• Boeing;
• Princeton University.

Another popular option is to continue specialising for a career in research and universities through a PhD in Politics or in another related field.

The University has its own dedicated, award-winning Careers Service where you can benefit from tailored careers support, practice interviews, CV and application support, job listings for Manchester students, and much more. Better yet, you will have access to our Careers Service both during your course and for two years after you graduate, so we know you’re on the right path.