MA in Social Policy
Budapest, Hungary
DURATION
2 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
31 May 2025
EARLIEST START DATE
01 Sep 2025
TUITION FEES
EUR 3,500 / per semester *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* for non-EU/EEA students| EU/EEA students: EUR 1550 per semester
Introduction
As we understand it, social policy is an interdisciplinary social science discipline whose primary aim is to analyse social responses to social needs. As a problem-oriented discipline and activity, social policy combines sociological, economic, legal and social work knowledge.
Our MA programme aims to train social policy practitioners who, based on their theoretical and methodological knowledge, can participate in policymaking in the field of social policy, manage and contribute to the operation of the care system, represent social interests, and theorize, research, and teach social and social policy. The programme focuses on the European Union and the European social model, embedding it in a global context.
Admissions
Curriculum
Strength of program
The programme has been running successfully in Hungarian for over thirty years and has always been among the most popular at the Faculty of Social Sciences. Its founder was Zsuzsa Ferge, Professor Emerita, a full Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and former President of the Union of the Social Professionals Organizations.
The programme's popularity is due to the curriculum's continuous development and incorporation of student feedback into the education organization.
The ideal social policy expert has multidisciplinary knowledge and skills. They should be familiar with many policy fields in and outside social policy itself; they should understand human nature and behaviour and the rules and constraints of the surrounding economic and political world. Practising the profession requires thematic and analytical knowledge as well as presentation skills. Social policy analysis and planning are value-driven activities centred on a commitment to the values of equality and solidarity between people and unconditional respect for human dignity.
Tracks/Specializations:
There are no specializations, but students can tailor their learning path to their interests as they have a choice to take seven out of the eleven courses of the electives: Health Policy, Pension Policy, Employment Policy, Family Policy, Social Assistance, Welfare Services and Administrative Systems, Education Policy, Child Protection, Child Well-being, Social Gerontology, Disability Policy, Housing Policy.
Career Opportunities
Graduates can find employment in central government and its background research institutions, independent research centres, local authorities, public administration offices, international organisations, and service providers, in the for- and non-profit sectors, and in the field of human resource management, as well as in higher education and research.
Job examples
- Research fellow in public and private social research institutes
- Manager/head of department in regional/municipal office for social welfare
- Head of various social care institutions
- Őroject manager in social development agencies
- Policy advisor for MPs, MEPs