School of Social and Political Science

School of Social and Political Science

The connections that bind society together are under increasing strain as the planet deals with new challenges. What impact is Covid having on our relationships? What’s the long-term impact to society? Learn how we’re working to understand the effect of a changing world on its people and structures.

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Study with us

At the School of Social and Political Science, students are encouraged to question the social, political and technological systems and structures that surround us. Learn more about our programmes of undergraduate and postgraduate study, and how we’ll give you the platform to understand the world and be part of positive change.

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Message from the Head of School

The School of Social and Political Science is working hard to address the challenges for our learning and teaching activities and research in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. Covid-19 has generated challenges for individuals, societies across the world, and for work and wellbeing. Recognising the everyday realities of physical distancing, our teaching will be accessible, adapted and updated due to the ongoing impact of Covid-19...

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Research

Our researchers are tackling some of the biggest issues facing society today, aiming to understand a world that’s changing more rapidly than ever.

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Subject areas

Our subject areas are the heartbeat of our School, with communities of staff and students working together across the social sciences to explore, challenge and identify how to create better societies.
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Students

Whether you’re a current student or you want to join us, you’ll find all the information you need about studying, academic life, and all our support and services here.

Latest news

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13/04/2021

Professor McEwen named as 2021 Royal Society of Edinburgh fellow

The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) has announced its newly elected 2021 fellows, including Professor Nicola McEwen from the School of Social and Political Science (SPS).
07/04/2021

Investigating the societal challenges of building facial recognition datasets

A student at the School of Social and Political Science has received funding from Edinburgh Futures Institute to investigate the cultural and societal challenges involved in the curation of facial recognition datasets.
07/04/2021

Understanding financial vulnerability in older workers

Dr Lynne Robertson-Rose at Edinburgh's School of Social and Political Science is leading a research project to investigate the long-term impact of financial vulnerability amongst older workers.

01/04/2021

SPS alumna picks up British Council award in Kazakhstan

Dr Saltanat Janenova, who studied her PhD in Social Policy at the School of Social of Political Science in 2010, has won the Professional Achievement Award in the British Council Alumni Awards 2021 for Kazakhstan.

Upcoming events

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01 - 30 April 2021
09:00 - 17:00

Computational Text Analysis

This asynchronous workshop will provide hands-on experience in the use of R for conducting computational text analyses.
21 April 2021
15:30 - 17:00

RACE.ED and CAS Seminar: How to Write about Race When You’re White? Shifting Blind Spots, Changing Audiences

Join us on Wednesday 21 April for the next event in our RACE.ED Seminar Series.
28 April 2021
11:30 - 12:30

Ethical Scandals and Foundational Myths: A search for ethical principles in political science

On 28 April, we welcome Rebecca Tapscott (Visiting Scholar, PIR, Edinburgh) to SKAPE as part of our annual seminar series.
04 May 2021
13:00 - 16:00

Restorative justice and the criminal courts: Developments and possibilities in Scotland, Belgium and Beyond

The Scottish Network of Restorative Justice Researchers, with the support of the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research, are running an international online seminar on Restorative Justice and the Criminal Courts.