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Politics and International Relations at UEA
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Find out moreMA Public Policy and Public Management with a Placement Year
Key details
- Attendance
- Full Time
- Award
- Degree of Master of Arts
- Course Length
- 2 years
- Course Start Date
- January 2027
Course options
Other Start Dates
Gain a competitive edge with a placement year
This course is also available with an integrated placement year, giving you the opportunity to gain valuable UK industry experience alongside your master's degree
Other Start Dates
14th
UEA is ranked 14th overall for research quality Politics and International Studies
Times Higher Education REF 2021 AnalysisTop 20
UEA is ranked top 20 in the UK for Research Quality
UEA is ranked top 20 in the UK for Research QualityTop 51-75
institutions in the world for Public Administration
Shanghai Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS) 2024Course Overview
Why MA Public Policy and Public Management with a Placement Year at UEA?
This MA will give you the analytical tools and practical frameworks to understand how public decisions are made and contested.
At UEA, you'll engage with pressing questions about climate governance, migration, digital transformation, and the future of public institutions.
Why Choose UEA
- Policy in practice: Connect theoretical frameworks to real-world governance challenges, from housing crises to environmental regulation
- Curate your specialisation: Tailor your degree through optional modules in areas ranging from electoral systems to international governance
- Built for impact: Develop the analytical, communication, and advisory skills valued across government, NGOs, and consultancy
What is MA Public Policy and Public Management with a Placement Year?
This two-year MA will equip you with the theoretical insights and practical skills to analyse and influence public policy and governance.
From foundational frameworks in public policy and management to specialist options in environmental, digital, and international governance, you can build a curriculum that reflects your own priorities. You’ll also gain valuable real-world experience through a placement year.
Open to graduates from any discipline and professionals from public and private sectors alike, the programme offers accessible entry points and the expert guidance to take your skills further.
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Placement Year
This course includes an integrated placement year, giving you the opportunity to gain valuable UK industry experience as part of your Master's degree.
You'll be supported through an employability programme designed to help you prepare for the UK workplace, build professional skills, and strengthen your applications.
During the placement year, you'll either undertake an industry placement or work on employer-led projects with UK organisations, applying your learning in a professional environment.
Throughout the process, you'll receive support through workshops, one-to-one coaching, and guidance from our specialist placement partner.
This additional year helps you build experience, expand your professional network, and enhance your career prospects after graduation.
Check out Postgraduate Placement Year(opens in a new window) for more.
Careers
Career Pathways
With a MA Public Policy and Public Management degree, you can become a:
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Policy analyst: Evaluate the design and impact of public policies across government departments, think tanks, and research institutions
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Civil servant: Shape and implement policy at local, national, or international levels across a wide range of public bodies
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NGO professional: Develop and advocate for policy solutions in areas such as human rights, environment, and international development
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Political consultant: Advise organisations, campaigns, and institutions navigating complex political and regulatory landscapes
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Researcher: Conduct policy-focused research for universities, think tanks, government bodies, and international organisations
Career Support
UEA's Career Central(opens in a new window) offers tailored support for students pursuing careers across the public, private, and third sectors. You'll have access to one-to-one guidance, skills workshops, and networking opportunities with practitioners and policymakers. Our popular speaker series brings leading academics, politicians, and policymakers directly into the programme, connecting you with professionals in your field. Internship and placement opportunities provide valuable real-world experience alongside your studies.
After the Course
Graduates have gone on to roles as policy analysts, civil servants, consultants, lobbyists, and advisers in government and beyond. Many have secured positions in media organisations, think tanks, NGOs, and international bodies across the UK and globally. The research and analytical capabilities developed on this programme also provide a strong foundation for doctoral study. Whichever path you choose, you'll be equipped with the expertise to navigate and influence complex policy landscapes.
Study and Modules
Structure
Our MA in Public Policy and Public Management with a Placement Year is designed to build your understanding of how public decisions are made, contested, and implemented. During this degree programme, you’ll also develop the expertise to influence such decisions.
You begin by building a sophisticated grasp of the theories and frameworks that underpin contemporary public policy and management. Core modules explore how political, economic, and social forces interact to shape governance, from policy formation and analysis to strategic leadership and organisational behaviour within public institutions. These foundations give you the conceptual vocabulary to engage critically with real-world policy challenges from the very start.
What makes this programme distinctive is the depth of choice available as your studies develop. Through a diverse range of optional modules, you can tailor your curriculum to your own interests and ambitions. You can choose to examine electoral management systems, environmental governance, the influence of policy elites, digital media and policymaking, or foreign policy development. This flexibility allows you to build genuine specialist knowledge alongside your core training.
Throughout the first year, teaching blends theoretical discussion with practical application. Seminars encourage critical debate. Workshops develop problem-solving capabilities. Our visiting speakers, including leading academics, policymakers, and politicians, bring contemporary perspectives directly into the classroom. This combination ensures you develop both intellectual depth and the practical skills that employers across sectors value.
You'll also take part in an employability programme designed to help you prepare for your placement year and future career. Through workshops, practical career activities, and personalised support, you'll build skills in CV writing, interview techniques, professional networking, and workplace readiness. Successful completion of the programme is required before progressing to the placement year.
Year one culminates in a dissertation on a topic of your choosing, supervised by an academic whose expertise aligns with your research interests. This substantial independent project is your opportunity to apply theoretical frameworks to real-world policy challenges and to demonstrate the research, analytical, and project management capabilities that will serve you well beyond graduation.
Compulsory Modules
Optional A Modules
(Credits: 60)Optional B Modules
(Credits: 20)Important Information
Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.
Structure
In your second year, you'll complete a 60-credit placement module, giving you the opportunity to gain professional experience relevant to your discipline. During the first semester, you'll focus on securing a placement with support from dedicated employability specialists and a series of in-person workshops designed to help you develop your career planning and reflect on your progress. If you're unable to secure a placement, you'll complete three employer-led industry projects with different organisations.
The module is assessed on a pass/fail basis through a portfolio documenting your placement search and a reflective report on your placement or industry project experience. By the end of the year, you'll have developed valuable professional skills, increased your understanding of your chosen sector, strengthened your CV and professional network, and enhanced your confidence for the next stage of your career.
Compulsory Modules
Important Information
Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.
Teaching and Learning, and Assessment
Teaching and Learning
This MA in Public Policy and Public Management takes contemporary governance challenges as being the key to your learning experience. Our teaching connects you directly to cutting-edge debates in political philosophy, communications, media studies, and global governance. A thoughtful mix of lectures, interactive seminars, and small-group teaching develops both conceptual understanding and practical analytical skills. Our diverse postgraduate community, drawing students from across the globe, enriches discussion with international perspectives and varied approaches to policy questions.
In your first semester, structured teaching introduces core frameworks while seminars and workshops build your capacity for critical analysis and evidence-based arguments. As the year progresses, the balance shifts toward independent research, with supervision oriented around your dissertation questions and specialist interests.
Assessment
Assessment on this MA is varied and designed to mirror the diverse communication demands of policy careers. Across the year, you'll complete analytical essays, policy briefings, project reports, and presentations, developing both written and oral professional skills. Group work builds collaborative abilities, while independent projects develop the research capabilities central to policy-focused careers.
In your first semester, module assessments build progressively, combining individual and collaborative formats to develop a broad professional skillset. The dissertation, on a policy question of your choosing, is where your independent research capabilities come fully into their own. Your final degree classification will reflect your performance across all modules and your dissertation, providing a comprehensive picture of your academic and professional development.
Entry Requirements
- This course is open to
This course is open to UK and International applicants. The annual intake for this course is in September each year.
- Typical UK Entry Requirements
Degree classification
Bachelors degree - 2.2
Degree Subject
Any subject area
- Admissions Policy
Our Admissions Policy applies to the admissions of all postgraduate applicants.
- This course is open to
This course is open to UK and International applicants. The annual intake for this course is in September each year.
- Typical International Entry Requirements
Degree classification
UK Bachelors degree - 2.2 or equivalent
Degree Subject
Any subject area
- English Foreign Language
Applications from students whose first language is not English are welcome. We require evidence of proficiency in English (including writing, speaking, listening and reading):
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IELTS: 6.0 overall with minimum 5.5 in each component
Test dates should be within 2 years of the course start date.
We also accept a number of other English language tests. Review our English Language Equivalencies(opens in a new window) for a list of qualifications that we may accept to meet this requirement.
If you do not meet the English language requirements for this course, our UEA International Study Centre offers a variety of English language programmes which are designed to help you develop the required English skills.
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- UEA International Study Centre
If you do not meet the academic requirements for this course, you may be able to study the International Pre-Masters programme offered by our partner UEA International Study Centre. This programme guarantees progression to selected Master's degrees if students achieve the appropriate grade. For more details, please click here:
International Pre-Masters in Business, Economics and Social Sciences
- Admissions Policy
Our Admissions Policy applies to the admissions of all postgraduate applicants.
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Fees and Funding
Tuition fees for the Academic Year 2027/28 are:
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UK Students: £11,200
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International Students: £23,580
If you choose to study part-time, the fee per annum will be half the annual fee for that year, or a pro-rata fee for the module credit you are taking (only available for Home students).
If you choose to take this course with a placement year, your tuition fees for the first year will be as shown above. An additional fee of £3,500 will apply for the placement year (see our FAQs page for further details).
We estimate living expenses at £1,171 per month.
Further Information on tuition fees can be found here(opens in a new window).
Scholarships and Bursaries
The University of East Anglia offers a range of Scholarships(opens in a new window); please click the link for eligibility, details of how to apply and closing dates.
Course Related Costs
Please see Additional Course Fees(opens in a new window) for details of course-related costs.
How to Apply
How to apply
Applications for Postgraduate Taught programmes at the University of East Anglia should be made directly to the University.
To apply please use our online application form(opens in a new window).
Further information
If you would like to discuss your individual circumstances prior to applying, please do contact us:
Postgraduate Admissions Office
Tel: +44 (0)1603 591515
Email: admissions@uea.ac.uk(opens in a new window)
International candidates are also encouraged to access the International Students(opens in a new window) section of our website.