109 Full-time PhD programmes in Social Policy

Welcome! The University of Vermont's Ph.D. program in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies is a multidisciplinary program that seeks to examine complex educational and social problems through the integration of multiple theoretical, methodological, and disciplinary lenses.

With an emphasis on student-faculty mentoring and applied learning, our Education Policy Ph.D. program at University of Virginia prepares graduates to directly impact educational policy through careers in academia or research organizations.

The Department of Social Policy and Intervention at University of Oxford offers a DPhil in Social Policy and welcomes students from across the world. Research students are an important part of the department’s community, and you will be fully involved and immersed in the life of the department.

The Educational Leadership and Policy Studies - Leadership for Learning program (Ed.D.) at the University of Washington is dedicated to producing innovative, equity-focused leaders who have the ability to transform educational systems to help realize ambitious learning goals for all students.

The Social Policy and Criminology discipline at The Open University UK has interests in the research field of Children and Young People and is engaged in a number of lived experience, social policy and welfare-related research projects.

This interdisciplinary Health Policy and Health Economics programme at the London School of Economics and Political Science covers the choice, design, analysis and evaluation of health and social care policies, institutions and practice.

One of the core values held by the University of New York in Prague is excellence in research. Offered at their partner, New York College Athens, in coordination with the University of Bolton, students will be able to earn their Ph.D. in Sport Sociology and Policy.

Taking your research in social policy to the next level. Research in Social Work and Social Policy at University of Chichester makes a fundamental contribution to social justice and building inclusive societies. 

Now more than ever, economics is grappling with the meanings of progress and what the economy and policy are aiming for. This Economics of Health, Social Policy and Wellbeing research group offers a PhD programme at The Open University UK.

The PhD in Health Services Research and Health Policy is offered through Emory University’s Laney Graduate School.

The PhD in Criminology and Social Justice at Ontario Tech University combines disciplinary and specialized study in Criminology, study in qualitative research methods and statistics, and applied learning experiences to prepare students to work in a variety of settings.

The Social Policy program from Princeton University is designed to appeal to students who want to pursue academic careers in a traditional discipline but who see themselves as committed to the study of social issues of public importance.

The mission of the Social Welfare degree at University of Wisconsin Madison is to enhance human well-being and promote social and economic justice for people who are disadvantaged to achieve an equitable, healthy, and productive society.

The PhD in Policy Studies at Toronto Metropolitan University is the first and only interdisciplinary doctoral programme of its kind in Canada.

A graduate from Law and Social Sciences at Middlesex University will have developed advanced skills in research, analysis and writing, public presentations and, in many cases, teaching at university level. 

The Literacy and Social Justice research area at The Open University UK is located in the School of Education, Childhood, Youth and Sport.

The Social Work and Social Policy program at Trinity College Dublin  is both challenging and rewarding. It is a chance to make new discoveries about the world - and about yourself. The outcome of postgraduate research is not just the product (the thesis that is produced); it is also about the process of research training that you undergo.  

The Welfare Law programme offered by Linköping University develops advanced research expertise in legal frameworks shaping welfare systems, social rights, and institutional practices.

Committed to teaching and research excellence, the School of Sociology and Social Policy programme  at University of Nottingham is a dynamic centre for collaborative and interdisciplinary PhD study.  

Politics is inextricable from human society and our teaching in this Social and Political Thought programme at the University of Sussex reflects this.