MSc Public Policy
- MSc
Overview
Public policy shapes how governments, organisations and communities respond to major challenges from poverty and migration to climate change and economic insecurity. How should policymakers tackle complex global problems? Who makes policy, and how? How are policies designed, implemented and contested across different settings?
We engage with contemporary policy concerns and the complexity of policymaking environments. You will learn to understand, evaluate and develop policy alternatives, while considering the role of government, business, voluntary organisations, and international institutions in shaping policy choices and their impacts. The Policy Analysis Capstone Project (an alternative to a dissertation) supports you in developing practical analytical skills in policy appraisal methods such as cost-benefit analysis, systems mapping, and communicating with policy audiences.
The University of Bristol is a top 10 UK university and is ranked 57th globally. We are 18th in the world for Social Policy and Administration (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2027).
The programme will help you acquire a range of knowledge and skills:
- policy analysis and the evaluation of policy problems, options and impacts
- social research methods and data analysis
- policy debates and theoretical approaches for understanding economics, public management, corruption, environmental policy, and more
- comparative and international perspectives on politics and policy processes.
You will be taught by world-leading experts across disciplines such as Public Policy, Economics, and Political Science, all of whom are engaged in cutting-edge research in diverse policy environments (see, for example, Positive Public Policy project). You can join a global body of students with varied professional and academic backgrounds. Their perspectives and professional experiences of real-world policymaking and tackling global challenges contribute to a vibrant learning environment. With 94% of our postgraduate Policy Studies students reporting overall satisfaction with their education (PTES 2026).
The programme will help you gain skills to work in policymaking, consultancy, research, and public affairs roles. Graduates frequently progress into local or national government, NGOs, international organisations, consultancies and research bodies. We offer mentoring opportunities and career support involving strategy, policy development, implementation and evaluation, while also providing the foundations for doctoral study. We have an established global alumni community (University of Bristol MSc in Public Policy Alumni Group) via LinkedIn. Moreover, find out more about our students' experiences in these videos.
Programme structure
The programme comprises six taught units plus either a Dissertation or a Policy Analysis Capstone Project, giving you a balance of structured breadth and independent depth. Four units are mandatory, and three optional units allow you to focus on policy areas that connect with your interests, experience and career plans.
Teaching Block 1
Through three mandatory units (20 credit points each), you develop core analytical approaches for understanding how policy is made, implemented, evaluated, and contested:
- Policy Analysis
- Researching Public Policy
- Power, Politics and the Policy Process.
This shared foundation introduces key debates around policy process, governance, institutions, evidence and methods, helping students from different backgrounds build common knowledge, confidence, and analytical language together from the outset.
Teaching Block 2
You choose three units (20 credit points each) from a list of elective units, and explore specialist policy areas including economics, environment, or public management (subject to availability). These options allow you to connect broad policy analysis skills with substantive issues relevant to your future goals after graduation.
Final Project (60 credit points)
For a dissertation, you conduct an extended piece of independent research on a topic of your choice. Alternatively, you can choose the Policy Analysis Capstone to assess a contemporary policy problem and produce an extended report, executive summary and recommendations for policy and professional audiences.
Visit our programme catalogue for full details of the MSc Public Policy structure and unit content.
Entry requirements
You will typically need a strong second-class honours degree (55% or higher) or an international equivalent in any subject.
We will consider your application if your interim grades are currently slightly lower than the programme's entry requirements and may make you an aspirational offer. This offer would be at the standard level, so you would need to achieve the standard entry requirements by the end of your degree.
We will also consider your application if your final overall achieved grade is slightly lower than the programme's entry requirement.
If your achieved grade is lower than our entry requirements, your application may be more likely to receive an offer if you have additional relevant postgraduate qualification/s. Please upload your postgraduate degree documents and include your CV (curriculum vitae / résumé) when you apply.
See international equivalent qualifications on the International Office website.
Read the programme admissions statement for important information on entry requirements, the application process and supporting documents required.
If English is not your first language, you will need to reach the requirements outlined in our profile level C.
Further information about English language requirements and profile levels.
Fees and funding
- Home: full-time
- £18,200 per year
- Home: part-time (two years)
- £9,100 per year
- Overseas: full-time
- £32,700 per year
Fees are subject to an annual review. For programmes that last longer than one year, please budget for up to an 8% increase in fees each year.
More about tuition fees, living costs and financial support.
Alumni discount
University of Bristol students and graduates can benefit from a 25% reduction in tuition fees for postgraduate study. Check your eligibility for an alumni discount.
Funding and scholarships
Further information on funding for prospective UK and international postgraduate students.
Career prospects
The programme will enhance your future career prospects by providing you with policy analysis tools and research methods to apply in real-world settings. You will build strong methodological foundations and combine this with rigorous approaches to understanding policy processes and problems. The programme will equip you to analyse, develop and critique policy in a rigorous, evidence-based way. You will also undertake an extended project in the form of a dissertation or a Policy Analysis Capstone, according to your career aspirations.
You will graduate with a unique skill set, making you highly employable in many sectors. Our graduates have progressed into a range of policy-related roles:
- Senior adviser and Public Policy Analyst (e.g. Welsh Assembly, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Economic Council, Ministry of Finance)
- Politics and policymaking (e.g. Member of parliament, councillor)
- Policy officer and project manager in NGOs and international organisations (e.g. UNICEN, ILO, UNICEF)
- Consultant in policy and evaluation firms
- Policy & Academic research (e.g. PhD, academic posts).
This programme equips students with new skills, complementing their prior experience, and strengthening their professional credibility.
The University of Bristol has a dedicated Careers Service to support you in exploring your career options throughout your time at Bristol and for up to three years after graduation.
We also offer tailored career support, a mentoring scheme, and career-related events, inviting our programme alumni to talk about their experiences, career journeys and practical advice. The programme provides opportunities for you to develop professional networks and be part of our global alumni community (University of Bristol MSc in Public Policy Alumni | Groups | LinkedIn).
Contact us
- Contact
- Enquiries Team
- Phone
- +44 (0) 117 394 1649
- choosebristol-pg@bristol.ac.uk