MSc Equality Studies
Graduate Taught (level 9 nfq, credits 90)
The MSc in Equality Studies is the only masters of its kind in Europe and offers a unique opportunity to examine global equality issues from a range of perspectives.
The MSc in Equality Studies was designed for those who wish to develop an interdisciplinary understanding of global social justice issues and explore strategies for change. Drawing students from across the globe, the course emphasises the relationship between theory and practice with a view to bringing about positive social change. You learn about and develop your own ideas on a wide range of equality, human rights and global justice issues. You will benefit from the opportunity to specialize in areas of particular interest such as capitalism and social justice, gender justice and feminism, global inequalities, human rights law and practice, and minorities and discrimination.
The learning environment is student-centred and participatory with students from a wide range of backgrounds with diverse experience and interests including community activists, development practitioners, educators, healthcare professionals, civil servants and journalists.
Vision and Values Statement
The purpose of the M.Sc. in Equality Studies is to cultivate an interdisciplinary appreciation of equality issues of both national and international significance, informed by extensive reading, critical analysis, advanced conceptualisation and independent research across social, political, cultural, economic and legal fields of enquiry. In addition to training across the 5 core disciplinary areas, the programme enables students to specialise further, either by completing a research-based dissertation that allows the student to achieve greater depth of knowledge in a particular area of study, or by selecting three further optional modules for assessment, that allows the student to achieve greater breadth of knowledge across the field of equality studies taken as a whole. The programme is aimed at students who wish to develop a career or further studies in the field of equality, or who wish to become advocates or activists for equality in civil society or politics. The School adopts a student-centred approach and promotes a critical, emancipatory and feminist pedagogy that is carried through all aspects of the teaching and learning process. Teaching is dialogical and operates on the principle that students have much to bring to the learning experience, that students can learn from each other and that staff can learn from students. Assessment takes a variety of forms, spanning the traditional essay, public scholarship, collaborative work and project work, including an elective minor dissertation. Extensive student feedback is sought for all modules and this is used to review and revise subsequent courses, assignments and assessments.
Programme Outcomes
Demonstrate specialized, detailed and advanced theoretical and conceptual knowledge and understanding of the issues and theories that constitute the interdisciplinary field of Equality Studies
Explain current debates and controversies animating equality studies, in fields including egalitarian theory, feminist theory, legal studies, the economics of inequality, the sociology of inequality and international development
Develop and/or apply their ideas in the field of equality studies in an original way, either through research (as evidenced in a research paper prepared for assessment) or in a practical context
Apply their knowledge and understanding of the component areas of Equality Studies to new, unfamiliar, multi-disciplinary contexts
Demonstrate an ability to integrate knowledge from a range of disciplines and in relation to a range of equality issues, and to handle the complexities involved in the analysis of inequality and the development of equality-related policies
Communicate their conclusions within the area of Equality Studies, and the knowledge and rationale underpinning these, to specialist and non-specialist audiences clearly and unambiguously
Develop research design skills and work with established, feminist and emancipatory research methods in the investigation and analysis of research problems relevant to the field of equality studies
Make use of the insights and findings of both published and student-produced research to inform students own understandings of the field of equality studies and how they operate within it
Evince a sophisticated, critical and justice-oriented perspective on a range of social issues in order to promote equality as a collective social good, and be able to articulate and defend this position in public for a