Social Sciences Division Education Strategy 2025-2030

Our Aim

Our overall strategic aim is to support our departments and faculties to maintain the division’s world-leading status in undergraduate and postgraduate education. We will attract, recruit and retain students from all backgrounds who demonstrate outstanding academic potential. We will deliver intellectually stimulating and academically rigorous programmes, rooted in research of international standing, which develop a greater understanding of all aspects of our complex societies and train our students to tackle some of the major challenges facing humanity in the 21st century.  

Objective 1: Defining the size and shape of education provision

To keep the size and shape of the division’s education provision under active review. This will include making recommendations on the appropriate balance between UG, PGT and PGR programmes, full- and part-time delivery, distance-learning, online and executive education, and the academic priorities defined by division and underpinned by its strategic research priorities, to inform strategic educational priorities and student number planning at the University level. 

  • Oversight by Undergraduate Studies Committee, Graduate Studies Committee and Planning and Resources Committee 
  • Short, medium- and long-term student number planning exercises 
  • Periodic divisional review of strategic academic priorities 

Objective 2: Offering broad and diverse curricula

To design and deliver undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes with broad and diverse curricula which use appropriate methods of teaching and assessment to provide students with the skills and training necessary to progress to doctoral study or pursue another chosen career. 

  • Divisional office support, with oversight by Quality Assurance Committee, for developing proposals for major changes to programmes and/or new programmes and securing the necessary institutional approvals in a timely manner 
  • Close working with the Centre for Teaching and Learning, in particular the consultancy services  
  • Support for the expansion of part-time, distance-learning, online and executive education programmes 
  • Discussion and dissemination of innovative techniques in teaching and assessment and exemplars of best practice through the Course Directors’ Forum 
  • Recognition of excellence in teaching through the Teaching Excellence Awards scheme and dissemination of outputs from the division’s Teaching Development and Enhancement Project awards. 

Objective 3: Supporting researcher development

To design and deliver postgraduate research programmes which train students to undertake first class research using quantitative, qualitative and/or mixed methods, and in conjunction with ESRC funded Grand Union DTP, to provide training in personal and professional skills to doctoral students and early career research staff to support both academic and non-academic careers aspirations.    

  • Oversight by Graduate Studies Committee for graduate studies policy and the academic support and training provided for postgraduate research students 
  • Oversight by the Grand Union DTP Management Board to meet the expectations and requirements of the ESRC 
  • Development of training in advanced research methods and the provision of a comprehensive term card of personal/professional skills for postgraduate research students and early career research staff 

Objective 4: Enhancing digital education

To promote and embed developments in digital education technologies, and in particular policy and guidance on the effective use of generative AI, to enhance existing programmes and to develop innovative approaches to support high quality teaching and learning and the next generation of teachers. 

Oversight by the Education IT Subcommittee to provide strategic advice on departmental and divisional priorities for the planning and design of digital education services, and to provide a forum for the discussion and dissemination of exemplars of best practice in the use of Education IT 

Objective 5: Embracing equality, diversity, and inclusion

To ensure that the principles of equality, diversity and inclusion fully underpin all aspects of our student recruitment processes and education provision, by promoting global access and outreach at the undergraduate and graduate levels, delivering programmes which embrace inclusivity by design for teaching and assessment, and providing the environment in which students can maximise their potential regardless of their backgrounds.  

  • Oversight by Graduate Studies Committee and Undergraduate Studies Committee in close consultation with the division’s EDI Panel 
  • Support for the design of inclusive teaching (including where relevant engagement with colleges) and assessments, and work to understand and reduce attainments gaps between students with different protected characteristics 
  • Close working with the Centre for Teaching and Learning, in particular the consultancy services  
  • Close working with Admissions Executive and Graduate Admissions Committee and Implementation of the University’s Access and Participation Plan and Graduate Access and Recruitment Strategy. 
  • Implementation of the Grand Union DTP’s EDI strategy 
  • Divisional undergraduate and postgraduate student discussion fora to ensure that student voice is at the heart of decision-making 

Objective 6: Assuring investment in student funding

To assure the quality of the allocation of ESRC and certain University funded studentships, and encourage further internal and external investment in student funding, to expand the number and range of scholarships offered, and to create funds to support on-course students. 

  • Selection and award of funding by the Division’s Studentships Panel and the DTP Studentships Panel 
  • Monitoring of the student funding landscape and continued departmental investment in scholarships and on-course funding 
  • Exploration of philanthropic funding support in collaboration with the divisional Development team 

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