School of Social Sciences & Global Studies

The School is home to a diverse range of teaching that spans core subjects in the Social Sciences and Arts: Social Policy & Criminology, Politics, Economics, Sociology, Development, Geography, Philosophy and Religious Studies. We offer outstanding undergraduate qualifications such as Environmental Studies, International Studies and Criminology, as well as joint degrees including Politics, Philosophy and Economics, Religion, Philosophy and Ethics, Economics and Mathematical Sciences and Geography and Environmental Science. We offer a number of equally highly-rated postgraduate courses in areas such as Global Development Management, Crime and Justice and Philosophy.
 

The School’s interdisciplinary approach to teaching, particularly at level 1, is complemented and informed by established and internationally acclaimed research activity. The School’s research record was recognised in the most recent Research Excellence Framework, REF2014, with the work of the Geography, Development and Philosophy disciplines achieving mainly 3* (internationally acknowledged) and 4* (world leading) rankings. The School hosts two University Strategic Research Areas in International Development and Inclusive Innovation, and Governance and Citizenship. The School also houses the Innogen Research Centre, OpenSpace Research Centre, the Harm and Evidence Research Collaborative, as well as research in the Philosophy discipline area.

As a School, we offer an intellectually-stimulating environment for a lively postgraduate research community. Several of the disciplines within the School are part of two prestigious Doctoral Training Partnerships: the Grand Union DTP, with Oxford and Brunel Universities, and OOC DTP, with Oxford and Cambridge.

Head of School: Professor Shonil Bhagwat
Email: FASS-SSGS-HoS@open.ac.uk

Banner image: Adrian Sherratt / Alamy; Inset image: Photo by Adam Nieścioruk on Unsplash