The University of York is one of the UK’s leading social science research centres, as demonstrated by its performance in the 2008 Research assessment Exercise

A number of our Departments are currently ranked top in the UK, including Sociology and the department of Health Sciences. This is matched by similarly high quality teaching provision across the postgraduate and undergraduate levels, reflected in our receiving the Times University of the Year Award in 2010.

There are 11 Social Science Departments at York – including Social Policy and Social Work, Education, Economics, The York Law School, Health Sciences, Politics, Sociology, The York Management School as well as a number of world class centres, such as the Centre for Health Economics, the Centre for Housing Policy, the Social Policy Research Unit, the Science and Technology Studies Unit, and the Post-war Reconstruction and Development Unit. Our annual social science research income is of the order of £30m per annum.

The Department-based excellence is complemented by the resources and facilities of the Research Centre for the Social Sciences (RCSS) which provides a central location for research and training in the social sciences, fostering interdisciplinary programmes that have regional, national and international impact. RCSS provides:

  • accommodation for groups of PhD students
  • a range of specialist venues for conferences and workshops, and for data collection (such as focus group rooms and interview rooms)
  • access to specialist labs/equipment
  • space for short-term visiting researchers

The social sciences at York have extensive links with external partners across the private, public and third sectors, particularly in the areas of business and management (with many SMEs in the greater Yorkshire area), social policy (such as with Housing Associations), sustainability (such as the Food and Environment Research Agency) and health sciences (with patient groups, Trusts, and the Department of Health).

Information about scholarships for prospective students can be found at http://www.york.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/fees-funding/postgraduate/esrc/.