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 has Covid had 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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Inaugural Lectures

Newly appointed or promoted professors introduce their work, and themselves, to the University community.

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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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11/04/2024
Social Policy

SPS part of major UKRI-funded research project to improve population health in the UK

Dr Nason Maani from the School of Social and Political Science (SPS) will serve as deputy director of a major research project funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), aiming to understand how the commercial sector affects population health and find effective interventions.

BRIDGES logo, alongside headshots of Christina Boswell and Saskia Smellie
04/04/2024
Politics and International Relations (PIR)

SPS academics’ new research examines migration narratives in political debate and policymaking

School of Social and Political Science (SPS) academics Professor Christina Boswell and Dr Saskia Smellie have released a study on how migration narratives – the stories people tell about the causes and impacts of migration – shape and are deployed in political debate and policymaking.
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21/03/2024
Politics and International Relations (PIR)

SPS academic’s book on utopian visions’ relationship with tackling climate change shortlisted for Political Studies Association Book Prize

No Other Planet – a book exploring how utopias in fiction can help understand real-world climate challenges – by Professor Mathias Thaler has been shortlisted for the Political Studies Association (PSA) Mackenzie Book Prize.

Image of the Unissued Diplomas exhibition in the Chrystal Macmillan Building foyer
07/03/2024

Unissued Diplomas exhibition at SPS highlighted plight of Ukraine’s students

Last month, the School of Social and Political Science (SPS) became the temporary home of a worldwide exhibition honouring 36 Ukrainian students who were killed in the war that has ravaged the country.

Upcoming events

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Poster_Except_Palestine
19 April 2024
14:00 - 17:00
Centre of African Studies

Speaking out against Imperialism, Settler-Colonialism and Epistemic Violence: The University of Edinburgh's role in Dispossession & Genocide in Palestine

Speaking out against Imperialism,Settler-Colonialism and Epistemic Violence: The University of Edinburgh's role in Dispossession & Genocide in Palestine.

The event is co-badged with the Edinburgh Staff-Student Solidarity Network
A drawing of the Chamonix region by John Ruskin
22 April 2024
15:30 - 17:00
Science, Technology and Innovation Studies

John Ruskin's Flora of Chamonix: An Interdisciplinary Odyssey

Image of Dr Johan Nordensvard and the European Union Flag, along with an outline map of the European Union. Contains the same event details as in the main body of the text.
24 April 2024
13:00 - 14:00

Behind the Curtains of the Recast Energy Performance of Buildings Directive

Join Dr. Johan Nordensvärd for a unique look behind the curtains of the roles of the European Council and member state governments within a deliberative intergovernmental framework.

24 April 2024
16:30 - 18:00

Leaky realities of waste management: notes on containment as a spatio-temporal technology

Taking its cues from ongoing joint empirical work on the leaky realities of waste management, the talk develops the contours of a ‘containerology’, interrogating containment as a spatio-temporal technology that makes waste manageable and shapes human and more-than-human relations.