Social Care, Social Work and Social Policy   

Overview

This pathway addresses real-world challenges including poverty, inequality, and social justice by supporting students to develop insights and knowledge to improve practice and policy. The pathway includes a whole range of activities in social care, social work, and social policy including (but not limited to) child and family social work, safeguarding and child protection, children's rights, working with diverse communities, older people, dementia, unpaid care work, community development, and intergenerationality.

The pathway includes four universities in Wales (Bangor, Cardiff, South Wales, and Swansea) as well as several leading research centres such as CASCADE (for children's social care), CARE (for adult social care), the Centre for Health Economics and Medicines, and the Centre for Social Change. The pathway will be of interest to all students from social care, social work, and social policy backgrounds, and those from other disciplines with an interest in the research themes outlined above.

Environment for doctoral research and training

Every student on this pathway will benefit from dynamic research cultures and supportive post-graduate settings at any of the four universities. Students will be able to access a wide range of training, development, and social opportunities across all the HEIs, including co-design and co-production of research, working with people who use services, carers, and other stakeholders, safeguarding, child protection, and children's rights, motivational interviewing, randomised controlled trials, and other evaluative methods and methodologies in relation to social care services and social policy, quantitative methods, how to work with linked data, interdisciplinary methodology, intervention development and piloting, and community development. In addition, students on this pathway will also have access to annual PGR dinners, doctoral student conferences, a student-run Postgraduate café, summer schools, reading groups, and formal and informal seminars and workshops.

Knowledge exchange and careers

Students on this pathway will have the opportunity to participate in frequent knowledge exchange activities with local authorities, central and Welsh governments, and third-sector partners. Students who complete this pathway to a PhD will be well-positioned to advance their careers as social work, social care, and social policy academics and researchers, as well as working for local, Welsh, and UK governments, and third sector and related organisations, in a range of different roles.