Masters applications for 2025 entry are now closed.
Applications for September 2026 will open on Wednesday 24 September. Applications are now open for programmes with a January 2026 start. View our programmes »
Overview
- Explore ways to apply data analysis techniques to a range of substantive policy related questions and develop skills in evidence-based decision making
- Choose to specialise within a policy subfield such as social and family policy, economic and public policy, environment, criminal justice and security
- Delivered by the University's Centre for Computational Social Science (C2S2) providing you with the essential mathematical and programming skills to acquire and analyse data
- 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
Top 15 in the UK for Politics
Top 100 in the world for Politics
Exeter is one of only 15 UK universities to host a Q Step Centre
Top 150 in the world for Political Sciences
Top 15 in the UK for Politics
Top 100 in the world for Politics
Exeter is one of only 15 UK universities to host a Q Step Centre
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.
Please also see our guidance on essential documentation required for an initial decision on taught programme applications.
Entry requirements for international students
English language requirements
International students need to show they have the required level of English language to study this course. The required test scores for this course fall under Profile B1. Please visit our English language requirements page to view the required test scores and equivalencies from your country.
Course content
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 we outline here 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.
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 |
|---|
| SSIM915 |
Statistical Modelling | 15 |
| SPAM004 |
Computational Social Science 2 | 15 |
| SPAM003 |
Computational Social Science 1 | 15 |
| SSIM918 |
Data Visualisation | 15 |
| SSIM907 |
Policy Analytics: Dissertation or Research Consultancy Project | 60 |
Optional modules
| Code | Module |
Credits |
|---|
|
MSc Social Data Science Optional Modules 2025-26 |
| POLM897 |
Surveys and Experiments: Design, Implementation and Analysis |
15 |
| SOCM033 |
Data Governance and Ethics |
15 |
| SSI3021 |
Mapping the Social World: Introduction to Spatial Analysis in the Social Sciences |
15 |
| SSIM916 |
Machine learning for social data science |
15 |
| SSIM912 |
Introduction to Social Network Analysis |
15 |
| SPAM002 |
Security, Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies |
30 |
| POLM063 |
Qualitative Methods in Social Research |
15 |
| POLM140 |
Qualitative Methods in Social Research |
30 |
| SPAM007 |
Which Policies Work? Causal Methods for Policy Evaluation |
15 |
Fees
2026/27 entry
UK fees per year:
£12,650 full-time; £6,325 part-time
International fees per year:
£25,550 full-time; £12,775 part-time
Scholarships
The University of Exeter 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.
University of Exeter Alumni Scholarship
We are pleased to offer University of Exeter alumni beginning a standalone postgraduate programme in 2026/27 with us a scholarship towards the cost of your tuition fees. Full details can be found here.
*Terms and conditions, including deadlines, apply. See our website for details..
Teaching and research
Learning and Teaching
- 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.
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Dr Chris Playford
Programme Director
Professor Duncan Russel
Professor in Environmental Policy
Professor Susan Banducci
Professor and Director of the Exeter Q-Step Centre, Director of Research
Dr Chris Playford
Programme Director
Chris is a sociologist working in the fields of social stratification and the sociology of education. His work has focused on modelling the role of family background on educational attainment with a substantive interest in inequality and disadvantage. He specialises in the secondary analysis of large-scale survey and administrative data. He has methodological interests in a range of quantitative techniques including generalised linear and mixed models, latent class analysis and multiple imputation of missing data.
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Professor Duncan Russel
Professor in Environmental Policy
Duncan Russel is a Professor in Environmental Policy. His research and teaching interests include UK and European climate, climate and public policy, policy appraisal and coordination, evidence and policy interactions and budgetary politics.
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Professor Susan Banducci
Professor and Director of the Exeter Q-Step Centre, Director of Research
Susan teaches on the core module Data Visualisation and her research interests are in the areas of comparative political behaviour, media and political communication.
She is the director of the Exeter Q-Step Centre working, along with a £1.44million investment from Nuffield, ESRC and Hefce and four new lecturers, toward advancing quantitative methods in the social sciences.
Susan is also a Turing Fellow and a deputy director of Exeter's Insitute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence.
In the Department of Politics, she is the Director of Research and a member of the Centre for Elections, Media and Participation.
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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
University of Exeter 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.
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Top 150 in the world for Political Sciences
