Leadership and Management in Public Services MSc

About the course

This course provides a contemporary, critical and applied programme of study in the field of leadership and management of public services. Our students come from a wide range of public services, including the emergency services such as fire, ambulance and police, the probation service, hospital trusts, adult social care, as well as housing, community and corporate services.

Most course participants work for public sector organisations but there is a growing number of students from private and third sector providers who participate in this course. This provides a rich context for study as we draw on the day to day experience of our students in the taught element of the programme. Almost all of the assessments are coursework based and designed in ways which encourages students to apply theory discussed in class to their own work situation.

The modular structure of the course provides flexibility both in the number of modules that are studied in any one year and the topics students wish to focus on. Each module is lead by a senior member of staff in the Business School and we also collaborate with other faculty, such as the School of Education and the School of Health and Human Sciences, to provide focused inputs on particular modules. We also frequently invite practitioners as guest speakers to illustrate how particular policies, theories or techniques play out in practice.

The expertise and research interests of our staff on this course is wide ranging and includes human resource management, project management, finance and performance management, complexity theory, leadership and personal development, quality assurance systems, UK and European policy analysis, collaborative strategy, social enterprise and the management of third sector organisations. For more details on our staff and their research interests please open the staff profiles below.

Who is the course aimed at?

This course is aimed at managers who are responsible for the delivery of public services. This includes staff working for charities or social enterprises, private companies, public utilities, social and health care services, housing providers, local and national government agencies and quasi public bodies. Typically our students come from middle to senior management positions and have responsibility for teams, services or departments.

Why choose this course?

This popular course focuses on the contemporary challenges encountered by managers of publicly funded services. Course content is constantly updated to reflect current government policy and the latest conceptual developments with regard to the application of management ideas in organisations which provide publicly funded services. By combining the study of management theory with the critical analysis of contemporary practice our students develop the skills and capabilities required to progress a managerial career in public, private and third sector organisations.

Study routes

• Part Time, 3 Years

Locations

• University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield

Careers

The course is aimed at developing the careers of managers in public service organisations.

Teaching methods

We are constantly developing and refining our class room techniques. Class sizes are typically between 12 – 16 students which allows us to use a wide range of teaching and learning methods. These range from experiential learning techniques where delivery of content responds to student’s experience and class discussion, for example in our leadership and coaching skills modules. In other subjects, such as project management or performance management there is an emphasis on learning particular techniques or concepts and applying these to case studies. Whatever the topic, all our modules are delivered in an interactive way and based on contemporary approaches to teaching and learning as promoted by the Higher Education Academy.

In addition to group based learning in the classroom our students receive detailed one-to-one supervision during their individual research project. An academic member of staff supports the student in the development of research questions, the development of appropriate data collection and data analysis tools and the identification of relevant literature on the chosen topic.

Professional Accreditations

General Social Care Council qualification available, dependent on module choice.

Structure

Year 1

Core Modules

• Delivering Public Services

• Leading and Managing Strategically

• Performance Measurement & Accountability

• The Public Service Context

Optional

Fees & funding

Fees 2013

UK/EU Students

Full time: £5,250 for the 2013 academic year

International Students

Discounts are available for International students if payment is made in full at registration

View detailed information about tuition fees

Additional course costs

There are no additional costs for this course, but please note:

The overall amount stated above is for the MSc as a whole. Alternatively, students can pick individual modules and these are paid for individually (i.e. students can decide to complete a PgDip or a PgCert, not the full MSc).

Other financial support

Find out more about other financial support available to UK and EU students

Living costs / accommodation

The University of Hertfordshire offers a great choice of student accommodation, on campus or nearby in the local area, to suit every student budget.

View detailed information about our accommodation

How to apply