Science and Technology Policy (2014 entry)

MSc, 1 year full time/2 years part time

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SPRU – Science and Technology Policy Research was ranked 2nd science and policy think tank in the UK and 11th in the world (University of Pennsylvania: Global Go-To Think-Tanks Report 2012). 

SPRU has a student community of more than 90 doctoral and 100 Masters students, supported by about 50 research and teaching faculty.

Students come to SPRU with a strong first degree in the sciences and or in the social sciences. We provide systematic education and training for students interested in analysing and guiding policy, assessing the impact of policy, and managing scientific change and technological innovation within public-sector organisations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and companies. 

SPRU is recognised internationally as being at the forefront of research in the field of science and technology policy and innovation management. 

SPRU’s multidisciplinary and international orientation provides a unique perspective on policy and management issues in the UK and elsewhere in Europe, in North America and Japan, and also in the industrialising countries of Latin America, Asia and Africa. 

Our MSc and research degrees have extensive links with business and policy making organisations, and emphasis is given to strengthening students’ skills and competencies for employment. 

Programme outline

This degree offers you the opportunity to learn about the causes and consequences of change in science, technology and innovation. Central themes include: 

  • the social and economic drivers of innovation 
  • the evolving features of globalised and localised industrialisation 
  • problems and prospects for sustainable development 
  • the means by which innovation is stimulated and governed, with particular emphasis on public policy. 

Tools for analysing the rate and direction of change, for dealing with complexity and uncertainty, and for taking decisions about the promotion and regulation of scientific and technological change are developed through coursework, which prepares you for your dissertation research project. 

There is a common set of core modules but you will follow one of two pathways when choosing your options. This can be done in two related but distinct areas: 

  • the analysis of science, technology and innovation policy, with emphasis on the impact of the adoption of innovations on the economy and wider society, or 
  • the analysis of science and technology in relation to sustainability. Both positive and negative aspects of scientific and technological development are analysed, with sectoral emphasis on energy and the environment, and food and agriculture. 

These pathways are taught by world-leading researchers, and are international in focus, including the developing world. Within this framework, you deepen your knowledge and acquire relevant skills in specific areas of interest from the spring term onwards. 

A 20,000-word dissertation demonstrates your capabilities for independent research and the ability to reach conclusions on complex questions and issues. 

Assessment 

Modules are assessed by a combination of coursework, multiple-choice questions, essays, analysis assignments, take-away papers and a dissertation. 

We continue to develop and update our modules for 2014 entry to ensure you have the best student experience.In addition to the course structure below, you may find it helpful to refer to the 2012 modules tab.

Autumn term: all students take Science, Technology and Innovations: Markets, Firms and Policies. 

Additional modules are dependent on which pathway you are following: 

On the Science, Technology and Innovation Policy pathway, you also take Science, Institutions and Power. 

On the Science, Technology and Sustainability pathway you also take Sustainability: Introduction and Economic Perspectives. 

Spring term: all students take two modules from Energy Policy and Sustainability • Entrepreneurship • Information and Communication Policy and Strategy • Innovation for Sustainability • Managing Knowledge • Science and Policy Processes • Science, Knowledge and Politics of Development • Science, Technology and Innovation Studies: Perspectives, Methods and Skills• The Political Economy of Science Policy. (Not all options may be offered in the year and additional options may be available.) 

Students on the Science, Technology and Sustainability pathway take at least one option from Energy Policy and Sustainability • Innovation for Sustainability. 

In addition, in the spring term, all students take Introduction to Statistical Research Methods • Perspectives, Methods and Skills for Science, Technology and Innovation Studies. 

Summer term: all students carry out supervised work on a 20,000-word dissertation relevant to their degree. 

Back to module list

Building Innovation Systems for Development

15 credits
Spring teaching, year 1

Energy Policy and Sustainability

15 credits
Spring teaching, year 1

During this course you will analyse the conceptual and policy-related issues in energy policy and sustainability. Key approaches will include economics (including institutional and behavioural), political science, policy analysis and decision analysis. Particular focusses include theories of transition to sustainable energy futures, and analysing appropriate governance structures and appraisal methods.Key sustainability issues in the energy policy debate covered include: the trade-offs and synergies between sustainability and other policy objectives; technology choice issues, especially in relation to nuclear power and renewables; environmental and economic regulation and their interaction; the different levels of policy intervention (international, national, regional/local); problems in implementing energy efficiency policies and their relation to carbon emission reductions; and problems in policy approaches based on long-term scientific predictions of climate change. 

Governing energy transitions

15 credits
Spring teaching, year 1

This module will introduce you to a systems perspective on long-term, socio-technical change in the field of energy in order to explore the co-evolution of technologies with political, institutional, economic and social factors. This conceptual perspective will be illustratedwith historical case studies from the energy sector and explore the implications for governing transitions to a low carbon energy system in the developed world. The module will analyse and reflect on current policy approaches to governing low carbon transitions.

Substantive issues to be covered include:

  • the historic transition from horse-drawn carriages to automobility
  • low carbon innovation policy in the UK
  • the 'energy transition' approach in the Netherlands
  • the politics of governing transitions and the role interests play
  • bottom-up approaches to changing energy systems such as the 'transition towns' movement
  • the role of household practices
  • strategies of incumbent energy companies to respond to pressures for change towards a low carbon energy system.

Information and Communication Technology Policy and Strategy

15 credits
Spring teaching, year 1

The course provides you with an overview of the strategic management and policy issues raised by the production and use of advanced information and communication technologies and services. Perspectives are drawn from economics, management and organisation theory, as well as political science and sociology. The focus is on the evolution of a complex technical system in the wider contexts of emerging user requirements in the public and private sectors. Much of the course is centred around the implications of the internet, particularly in terms of media conversion, regulation, productivity and employment, intellectual property rights and electronic commerce.

Innovation for Sustainability

15 credits
Spring teaching, year 1

This course explores the role innovation can play in sustainable development in industrialised and developing countries, including (but not limited to) its importance in mitigating and adapting to climate change. Key ideas include past and current theory on sustainability, growth and competitiveness (with specific reference to the role of technology), understanding and influencing directions of innovation, and the governance of socio-technical transitions. You will explore specific topics within each key idea, such as social and technical innovations in energy and resource use efficiency; economic and other policy instruments to promote such innovations; barriers to the diffusion of sustainable innovations; the role of innovative green niches in systems transformations; and the challenges of international co-ordination. These will be illustrated with reference to real world cases in the manufacturing, housing, agriculture and energy sectors.

Introduction to Statistical Research Methods

15 credits
Spring teaching, year 1

The course aims to provide you with a basic understanding of descriptive statistics and statistical inference as they are used in the social sciences, and to develop your skill in the use of a leading statistical software package (SPSS) so that you are able to perform statistical analysis relevant for reaching social science research conclusions. This is done through extensive hands-on practice. The descriptive statistics you will cover includes methods that can also be used for exploratory qualitative analysis.

Managing Complex Projects, Products and Systems

15 credits
Spring teaching, year 1

During this module you will address three central issues:

Organisational capabilities: how organisational forms and capabilities in project management, systems integration and software engineering are essential in the design and production of CoPS. Special emphasis is given to project management capabilities.

Models of innovation: how industrial structures, product life cycles and innovation management in CoPS differ from the conventional model of innovation often based on the mass production of consumer goods.

Firm strategy: how firms are changing their strategic positions, building new service capabilities and creating customer-centric organisations to provide bundles of products and services as integrated solutions to their customer's needs.

Managing Knowledge

15 credits
Spring teaching, year 1

This course outlines the key institutional and organisational forms underpinning the emerging knowledge economy, looking closely at the pivotal role that knowledge workers play in the creation, application and diffusion of knowledge within and between firms.

You will consider new approaches to managing learning processes in the firm, including recent developments such as knowledge management and novel organisational structures. You will explore the role of labour mobility through different types of knowledge worker communities and networks. You will also consider the role of open-source innovation and knowledge transfer within and across epistemic communities, the role of new human resource management approaches, and network mapping techniques. You will go on to consider how certain skills are coming to play a critical role in the knowledge economy, such as knowledge brokering and gate-keeping. Finally, you will explore how labour market institutions that impact on careers shape different approaches to knowledge generation, and be introduced to key concepts associated with knowledge transfer, including social capital, knowledge exploration and exploitation, and the role of key actors in knowledge transfer.

Statistical Methods for Science, Technology and Innovation Studies

0 credits
Summer teaching, year 1

This course provides training and guidance in applied statistics for postgraduate students of various backgrounds who already have some acquaintance with elementary statistics. The course has two main components. The first provides you with basic training in the use and application of methods in your own research. This will cover multivariate analysis, including analysis of variance, factor analysis, discriminant analysis, principal components, and cluster analysis. The second is designed to strengthen your ability to interpret and assess statistical work undertaken by others in applications reported in the academic publications likely to be encountered while undertaking a SPRU course.

Perspectives, Methods and Skills for Science, Technology and Innovation Studies

15 credits
Spring teaching, year 1

This course initially provides an overview of the intellectual terrain covered by science and technology policy studies, with illustrations of some of the methodologies utilised in SPRU's work. The course then provides an introduction to, and basic training in, a range of some of those methods of inquiry and analysis, both qualitative and quantitative, which should enable you not just to recognise others' use of those methods, but also your own use to understand how and when those methods can be applied.

Science, Technology and Innovations: Markets, Firms and Policies

30 credits
Autumn teaching, year 1

The aim of this course is to introduce you to an ongoing tradition of research on innovation and the various analytical concepts and theories that are used in current academic, management and policy debates. It will explore the processes underlying knowledge accumulation and innovative activity within the global economy and review the historical and contemporary emergence of current innovation systems in both developed and developing country contexts. This includes analysis of the science system, technology, the management of innovation, the theory of the firm, the basis for public policy, environmental analysis, and innovation systems approaches.

The course has a key focus on developing understanding that contributes towards practical analysis of innovation policy and management problems, and therefore provides a range of analytical frameworks for understanding and exploring the nature of public policy and its influence on the operations of business firms and other organisations. These frameworks include economics, evolutionary economics, science and technology studies and history.

The economics part of the course aims to develop your understanding of the 'economic viewpoint' on issues of science and technology management and policy. This viewpoint is relevant for two reasons: first, it is widely believed that economics provides the rationale for the operation of market-based economies (the predominant form of economic organisation in the world today) and second, economic rationales are often the basis for policy decisions in business and government. It also aims to help you develop a set of specific skills in using economic measures and indicators that inform business and public policy.

Science, Institutions and Power

30 credits
Autumn teaching, year 1

The course starts with an examination of the social and institutional characteristics of communities of professional scientists and technologists. It then locates that discussion in the context of their changing relations with, and roles in, industry, academia and government. It will review the institutions and processes by which policies for science and technology are set and evaluated, including how resources are allocated, how research performance is evaluated and how scientific experts can and do influence policy-making. The discussion will draw on several literatures including the policy analysis and evaluation literatures, the sociology of the scientific community, the social construction of scientific knowledge and literature on the role of scientific experts in public policy-making.

Sustainability: Introduction and Economic Perspectives

30 credits
Autumn teaching, year 1

This course aims to provide an understanding of the science-technology-governance systems perspective on sustainable development in a way that complements what is learnt from other courses during the autumn term on innovation, science policy and governance. Competing conceptions of sustainable development, and means of achieving measures of the relative sustainability of policy options, will be introduced. This will be followed by a series of contemporary case studies to examine the systems that contribute towards addressing major challenges in sustainable development and the interactions between them. The course also aims to introduce you to the major orthodox economic perspectives on sustainability, with a particular emphasis on the economic analysis of environmental issues. It will give you a grounding in these perspectives, give you the rudiments of critiques of them from within the economics tradition and enable you to situate economic perspectives within the range of other disciplinary approaches to the subject.

Back to module list

Entry requirements

UK entrance requirements

A first- or upper second-class undergraduate honours degree in the social and natural sciences or engineering. Applicants with relevant professional experience will also be considered.

Overseas entrance requirements

Overseas qualifications

If your country is not listed below, please contact the University at E pg.enquiries@sussex.ac.uk

CountryOverseas qualification
Australia Bachelor (Honours) degree with second-class upper division
Brazil Bacharel, Licenciado or professional title with a final mark of at least 8
Canada Bachelor degree with CGPA 3.3/4.0 (grade B+)
China Bachelor degree from a leading university with overall mark of 75%-85% depending on your university
Cyprus Bachelor degree or Ptychion with a final mark of at least 7.5
France Licence with mention bien or Maîtrise with final mark of at least 13
Germany Bachelor degree or Magister Artium with a final mark of 2.4 or better
Ghana Bachelor degree from a public university with second-class upper division
Greece Ptychion from an AEI with a final mark of at least 7.5
Hong Kong Bachelor (Honours) degree with second-class upper division
India Bachelor degree from a leading institution with overall mark of at least 60% or equivalent
Iran Bachelor degree (Licence or Karshenasi) with a final mark of at least 15
Italy Diploma di Laurea with an overall mark of at least 105
Japan Bachelor degree from a leading university with a minumum average of B+ or equivalent
Malaysia Bachelor degree with class 2 division 1
Mexico Licenciado with a final mark of at least 8
Nigeria Bachelor degree with second-class upper division or CGPA of at least 3.0/4.0
Pakistan Four-year bachelor degree, normally with a GPA of at least 3.3
Russia Magistr or Specialist Diploma with a minimum average mark of at least 4
South Africa Bachelor (Honours) degree or Bachelor degree in Technology with an overall mark of at least 70%
Saudi Arabia Bachelor degree with an overall mark of at least 70% or CGPA 3.5/5.0 or equivalent
South Korea Bachelor degree from a leading university with CGPA of at least 3.5/4.0 or equivalent
Spain Licenciado with a final mark of at least 2/4
Taiwan Bachelor degree with overall mark of 70%-85% depending on your university
Thailand Bachelor degree with CGPA of at least 3.0/4.0 or equivalent
Turkey Lisans Diplomasi with CGPA of at least 3.0/4.0 depending on your university
United Arab Emirates Bachelor degree with CGPA of at least 3.5/4.0 or equivalent
USA Bachelor degree with CGPA 3.3-3.5/4.0 depending on your university
Vietnam Masters degree with CGPA 3.5/4.0 or equivalent

If you have any questions about your qualifications after consulting our overseas qualifications, contact the University at E pg.enquiries@sussex.ac.uk

English language requirements

IELTS 7.0, with not less than 6.5 in each section. Internet TOEFL with 95 overall, with at least 22 in Listening, 23 in Reading, 23 in Speaking and 24 in Writing.

For more information, refer to English language requirements.

Visas and immigration

Find out more about Visas and immigration.

For more information about the admissions process at Sussex

For pre-application enquiries:

Student Recruitment Services
T +44 (0)1273 876787
E pg.enquiries@sussex.ac.uk

For post-application enquiries:

Postgraduate Admissions,
University of Sussex,
Sussex House, Falmer,
Brighton BN1 9RH, UK
T +44 (0)1273 877773
F +44 (0)1273 678545
E pg.applicants@sussex.ac.uk 

Fees and funding

Fees

Home UK/EU students: £5,5001
Channel Island and Isle of Man students: £5,5002
Overseas students: £13,0003

1 The fee shown is for the academic year 2013.
2 The fee shown is for the academic year 2013.
3 The fee shown is for the academic year 2013.

To find out about your fee status, living expenses and other costs, visit further financial information.

Funding

The funding sources listed below are for the subject area you are viewing and may not apply to all degrees listed within it. Please check the description of the individual funding source to make sure it is relevant to your chosen degree.

To find out more about funding and part-time work, visit further financial information.

Chancellor's International Scholarship (2014)

Region: International (Non UK/EU)
Level: PG (taught)
Application deadline: 1 May 2014

25 scholarships of a 50% tuition fee waiver

Fulbright-Sussex University Award (2014)

Region: International (Non UK/EU)
Level: PG (taught)
Application deadline: 15 October 2013

Each year, one award is offered to a US citizen for the first year of a postgraduate degree in any field at the University of Sussex.

Geoff Lockwood Scholarship (2014)

Region: UK
Level: PG (taught)
Application deadline: 18 July 2014

Established in 1996 upon the retirement of the University's long-serving Registrar, to encourage high-calibre graduate Msc applications.

Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust for Postgraduate Study (2014)

Region: UK
Level: PG (taught), PG (research)
Application deadline: 1 October 2013

The Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust are offering bursaries to Postgraduate students following any postgraduate degree courses in any subject.

Santander Scholarship (2014)

Region: International (Non UK/EU)
Level: PG (taught)
Application deadline: 1 May 2014

Two scholarships of £5000 fee waiver for students studying any postgraduate taught course.

Sussex ESRC 1+3 and +3 Scholarships (2014)

Region: UK, Europe (Non UK)
Level: PG (taught), PG (research)
Application deadline: 28 February 2014

Up to 22 1+3 and +3 awards across the social sciences

USA Friends Scholarships (2014)

Region: International (Non UK/EU)
Level: PG (taught)
Application deadline: 3 April 2014

Two scholarships of an amount equivalent to $10,000 are available to nationals or residents of the USA on a one year taught Master's degree course.

Faculty interests

The research interests of selected SPRU faculty are briefly described below. For more detailed information, visit SPRU – Science and Technology Policy Research: People and contacts.

Dr Allam Ahmed Technology management, technology transfer, sustainable development, international business. 

Dr Martin Binder Subjective well-being (happiness) and how it is impacted by health, occupation and forms of work organisation. 

Dr Rob Byrne Socio-technical change in developing countries that promotes equitable and sustainable development. 

Dr Rose Cairns Environmental politics and policy processes, the politics of expert advice, governance of emerging technologies. 

Dr Tommaso Ciarli Understanding changes in technology and institutions in processes of global development, growth and societal change. 

Dr Alex Coad Firm growth, industrial dynamics, small business sector, happiness economics, quantile regression, vector autoregressions. 

Dr Adrian Ely Innovation policies for sustainability and the international governance of biotechnology. Head of impact and engagement at the STEPS Centre. 

Dr Rumy Hasan Economist focusing on international strategic alliances, transitional economies, east Asia. 

Dr Sabine Hielscher Grassroots innovations in the context of community energy in the UK. Sustainable consumption and design. 

Dr Michael Hopkins Firm strategy and industrial competitiveness in biotechnology, genetic testing services in NHS/industry, DNA patenting. 

Dr Florian Kern Policies for and politics of socio-technical transitions, low-carbon innovation policy, energy and climate policy. 

Professor Mariana Mazzucato The relationship between innovation and economic growth at a firm and sectoral level. 

Dr Caitriona McLeish Harvard Sussex Program on Chemical and Biological Warfare (CBW) Armament and Arms Limitation. 

Professor Fiona Marshall Science and international development, food safety policy and livelihoods in the developing world. 

Professor Ben Martin Technology foresight, comparisons of national scientific performance, university-industry links. 

Mari Martiskainen Consumer behaviour and energy demand, the governance of nuclear power and local stakeholder engagement. 

Professor Erik Millstone Public and environmental health protection policies, agriculture and development. 

Dr Jordi Molas-Gallart Defence industrial policy, evaluation and impact assessment of public policies in support of science and technology. 

Dr Piera Morlacchi Innovation of medical technologies, entrepreneurship and technology strategy in biomedical fields. 

Dr Paul Nightingale Chemist, Complex Product Systems Innovation Centre; genetics technologies in the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors. 

Pari Patel National systems of innovation and uneven development, technological strategies of the world’s largest firms. 

Dr Ismael Rafols Emergence of hybrid scientific fields such as bionanotechnology and systems biology. 

Dr Matias Ramirez Relationship between labour mobility, networks of knowledge workers, communities of practice, and knowledge flows. 

Dr James Revill The interplay between science and security, particularly in relation to politics of biological arms control and disarmament. 

Dr Daniele Rotolo Network dynamics in the emergence of novel science and technology, scientometric mapping techniques. 

Dr Suriya Ruangpattana Development of mathematical methods to support decision making under uncertainty in energy modelling. 

Dr Carlos Sato Interplay of management, innovation and projects. Interdisciplinary approach to project management. 

Dr Maria Savona Economics of innovation and technological change in services and low-tech sectors, technical change in developing countries. 

Dr Josh Siepel Venture capital and entrepreneurial finance, strategic management of high growth ventures, firm growth. 

Dr Adrian Smith Civil society and technology, environmental policy process. 

Dr Steve Sorrell Energy and climate policy, emissions trading, energy efficiency, economics, transport modelling and policy. 

Professor Ed Steinmueller Economics of information, networks, and knowledge; science and technology policy. 

Professor Andy Stirling Management of technological risk, science and precaution in the governance of innovation, technological diversity. 

Dr Puay Tang International relations, socio-economic analysis of electronic service innovations, ICTs, IP rights in a digital environment. 

Professor Joe Tidd Innovation strategy and firm organisation, measurement of innovation and market performance. 

Professor Jim Watson Development and deployment of cleaner energy technologies, energy and environment in developing countries. 

Professor James Wilsdon UK and international science policy, the politics of expert advice, governance of new technologies. 

Careers and profiles

Our graduates have gained employment in a wide range of public- and private-sector institutions all over the world. Many have gained employment and promotion in government departments such as science and technology, development, industry, trade, education, employment and environment ministries. Some have gained employment in non-ministerial public-sector bodies. 

Employers of our graduates include the UK’s Government Office for Science; the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills; the Environment Agency; the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; the European Commission; the European Environment Agency; the Royal Society of London; the Council of Canadian Academies; and the Chinese Academy of Engineering. 

Many graduates have become teachers and professors in universities and research institutes in countries including the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Italy, Spain, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Japan, Australia, India and China. A significant proportion of our graduates has also gained employment in private-sector, third-sector and charitable organisations. Some are also employed in commercial research and consultancies organisations. 

For more information, visit Careers and alumni.

School and contacts

School of Business, Management and Economics

The School of School of Business, Management and Economics is a unique, research-focused business school, which takes a strong policy-directed view on business practices while also developing the underlying core disciplines.

School of Business, Management and Economics, 
SPRU – Science and Technology Policy Research,
Jubilee Building,
University of Sussex, Falmer,
Brighton BN1 9SL, UK
T +44 (0)1273 872717
E pgbmec@sussex.ac.uk
SPRU – Science and Technology Policy Research

Postgraduate Open Day 2013

4 December 2013, 1pm-4pm
Bramber House, University of Sussex

  • talk to academic faculty and current postgraduate students
  • subject talks and presentations on postgraduate study, research and funding
  • choose from our exciting range of taught Masters and research degrees
  • find out how postgraduate study can improve your career prospects
  • get details of our excellent funding schemes for taught postgraduate study.

To register your interest in attending, visit Postgraduate Open Day.

Can’t make it to our Postgraduate Open Day? You might be interested in attending one of our Discover Postgraduate Study information sessions.

Discover Postgraduate Study information sessions

If you can’t make it to our Postgraduate Open Day, you’re welcome to attend one of our Discover Postgraduate Study information sessions. These are held in the spring and summer terms and enable you to find out more about postgraduate study and the opportunities Sussex has to offer.

Visit Discover Postgraduate study to book your place.

Other ways to visit Sussex

We run weekly guided campus tours every Wednesday afternoon, year round. Book a place online at Visit us and Open Days.

You are also welcome to visit the University independently without any pre-arrangement.

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