Put your market-leading social data science skills into practice with optional work placements or industry-based research consultancy projects
You’ll gain an understanding of complex political and cultural issues, often in continually changing environments which will be relevant to both business and public sector careers or PhD study
Exeter is one of only 15 UK universities to host a Q Step Centre
Top 100 in the world for Political Sciences
Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS) or Shanghai Rankings 2025
Entry requirements
We will consider applicants with a 2:2 Honours degree or above (or equivalent). We welcome students from any academic background.
Please note, if we receive an application which we deem more suitable for one of our other data science programmes we may make an offer for that alternative programme.
Compulsory modules will explore the politics of the policy making process, evidence-based decision making, the use of data analysis at each of the policy and decision-making stages and the social complexities of policy making. You will discover how to turn data into graphical representations for describing and exploring data, analysing hypotheses and relationships and presenting evidence. We will provide you with the essential mathematical and programming skills needed to acquire and analyse data.
You will gain the technical understanding of a range of social data science techniques and the practical software and programming skills to implement these methods to address your research questions, allowing you to pursue other professional research activities.
You can further enhance your employability skills by undertaking either a work placement or industry-based research consultancy project. Previous students are now working for organisations such as the ONS Data Science camp, YouGov, the FCA and Defra.
The modules below provide examples of what you can expect to learn on this degree course based on recent academic teaching. The precise modules available to you in future years may vary depending on staff availability and research interests, new topics of study, timetabling and student demand.
Please note that the module information displayed here is subject to change.
120 compulsory credits and 60 optional credits.
In addition to the 120 credits of compulsory modules, you must take 60 credits of optional modules from Sociology, Philosophy and Anthropology (SPA) and Politics. Suggested relevant modules are listed below, or you may take any postgraduate optional modules from the department of Social and Political Sciences, Philosophy, and Anthropology. View option modules for SPA and for Politics .
Compulsory modules
Code
Module
Credits
Compulsory 1
Computational Social Science 1
15
Computational Social Science 2
15
Policy Analytics: Dissertation or Research Consultancy Project
60
Statistical Modelling
15
Data Visualisation
15
Optional modules
Code
Module
Credits
Optional 1
Qualitative Methods in Social Research
15
Qualitative Methods in Social Research
30
Data Governance and Ethics
15
Security, Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies
30
Mapping the Social World: Introduction to Spatial Analysis in the Social Sciences
15
Social Networks
15
Mapping the Social World: Introduction to Spatial Analysis in the Social Sciences
15
Fees
2026/27 entry
UK fees per year:
£12,650full-time; £6,325 part-time
International fees per year:
£25,550full-time; £12,775 part-time
Scholarships
The 樱花动漫 offers a wide range of scholarships to support your education, with ?7 million available for international students applying to study with us in the 2026/27 academic year, including our prestigious Exeter Excellence Scholarships. We also provide awards for sport, music and other achievements, as well as regional and partner scholarships with organisations such as Chevening, The Beacon Trust and the British Council. For more information on scholarships and other financial support, please visit our scholarships and bursaries page.
樱花动漫 Alumni Scholarship
We are pleased to offer the 樱花动漫 Alumni Scholarship, a scholarship for 樱花动漫 alumni beginning a standalone postgraduate programme in 2026/27 with us a scholarship worth 20% of the cost of your first year tuition fees.
Each module typically delivered by lectures interspersed with seminar discussion, presentations, group work, reading and essay assignments
We bring in various subject experts, including alumni, to expose you to the latest thinking in the field
You will learn a range of social data science skills and their application to policy making and learn how to evaluate the suitability of these methods and the rationale for using them
We place a strong emphasis on the practical skills associated with working with data using a range of statistical software, including R, Stata and Python
Independent study
A large component of the MSc programme will include guided and independent study. The dissertation/research consultancy project is the main opportunity for you to apply the skills you have learnt to a policy-related topic of your own interest. You will also develop the communication of the findings of your work to a range of audiences using effective data visualisation tools.
Q-Step Centre
In addition to module based teaching we offer a variety of additional training including Applied Data Analysis workshops?which seek to provide additional support to students interested in Quantitative Methods for the Social Sciences. These aspire to raise interest in Applied Data Analysis amongst both undergraduates and postgraduates, and embed quantitative literacy in wider University practice.
Lecturer in Quantitative Methods for Political Science
Dr Lorien Jasny
Lecturer
Dr Lizzie Simon
Programme Director / Lecturer in Politics
Lizzie's areas of expertise include electoral politics, voting behaviour and public opinion. Her key research interests are: political socialisation, attitudes and identity formation, aging, generations and life course trajectories (and how these link to political behaviour), the educational divide in politics, political geography and why 'place' matters in politics, and quantitative methods and causal inference techniques. While much of her research focusses on the British context, she has also undertaken some comparative work.
Dr Simge Andi
Lecturer in Quantitative Methods for Political Science
I am a Lecturer in Quantitative Methods for Political Science. My research focuses on misinformation. More specifically, I work on 1) why people consume, believe, and share misleading information and on 2) how behavioral interventions can help reduce people’s belief in and consumption of false or misleading information. I also work on electoral behaviour in authoritarian regimes.
Dr Lorien Jasny
Lecturer
I am a computational social scientist. My work focuses on questions of public involvement and engagement in environmental decision making. In my research I explore two related themes – how the structure and dynamics of inter-organizational networks affect policy change, and how the structure and dynamics of belief networks affect behavioral change. Substantively, I study how people try to bring about societal change in response to political and environmental concerns. Methodologically, the need to grapple with these often complex phenomena requires the use and development of techniques for handling large, dynamic, and relational datasets.
Careers
Policy making in all sectors has become more data driven. Advanced training in issues of data use, data sharing, transparency, and accountability are important for both the public and private sectors.
Unlocking the potential of collecting, sharing and analysing massive amounts of administrative and economic, social and political information to bring economic and social benefits requires individuals trained in both evidence-based decision-making and social data science.
Employer valued skills
You will develop a variety of skills that are valued in professional and managerial careers: the ability to research and analyse information from a variety of sources along with written and verbal skills needed to present and discuss your opinions. The understanding you will gain of complex political and cultural issues, often in continually changing environments, can also be relevant to both business and public sector appointments.
Graduate careers
樱花动漫 Politics postgraduates have been highly successful in securing interesting career opportunities and progressing to?PhD level study. Previous students are now working for organisations such as The World Bank, The Bank of England, Department of Health and Social Care, Department of Work and Pensions, HMRC, Office for National Statistics, Youth Endowment Fund, Accenture, PWC, and a range of data science companies in the private sector. The course is also ideal if you are thinking of doing a PhD.
Employment and professional development
Our excellent Career Zone service provides invaluable support, advice and access to graduate employers. Visit the?website for more information, including podcasts and profiles,?about the range of support available.
Work placement
A?work placement?enables you to get hands-on analysis experience for a period of typically three to six weeks. There are a wide variety of placements to choose from locally, nationally and in Europe working in public sector organisations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and industry.
Industry-based research consultancy project
Industry-based research consultancy projects?are a variant to a more traditional style dissertation. These provide you with the opportunity to partner with an external organisation to examine a research question of mutual interest. This option is designed to integrate the applied nature of the course with direct workplace experience as you work on your project.
The majority of students are based at our Streatham Campus in Exeter. The campus is one of the most beautiful in the country and offers a unique environment in which to study, with lakes, parkland, woodland and gardens as well as modern and historical buildings.
Located on the eastern edge of the city centre, St Luke's is home to Sport and Health Sciences, the Medical School, the Academy of Nursing, the Department of Allied Health Professions, and PGCE students.
Our Penryn Campus is located near Falmouth in Cornwall. It is consistently ranked highly for satisfaction: students report having a highly personal experience that is intellectually stretching but great fun, providing plenty of opportunities to quickly get to know everyone.
