1. Welcome to the
School of Social Sciences
Dr Jason Hughes, Deputy Head, External
Postgraduate Programmes
2 July 2012

2. School overview
• A vibrant, multi-disciplinary School with an
international outlook
• One of Brunel’s largest Schools. Five
Departments with approximately 2,300
undergraduate students, 250 postgraduate
taught students and 165 PhD students
• All Departments scored highly in the last
Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) and were
ranked excellent by the Quality Assurance
Agency for Higher Education (QAA) for
teaching.
• NSS rankings are strong across the School
• 15 research centres deliver influential and
innovative research

3. Head of School
Professor Justin Fisher, Head of School
• Professor of Political Science
• Director of the Magna Carta Institute, an international think tank
bringing together leaders in politics, law, business, media and academia
• Consultant to several key authorities including, the Electoral Commission,
the Committee on Standards in Public Life and the Council of Europe
Professor Clare Williams, Deputy Head of School
• Joined the School of Social Sciences in June 2011 from King’s College
London
• Professor of Medical Sociology and Director of the Centre for
Biomedicine and Society (CBAS)
• Secured grants worth £2.4m for multi-disciplinary research on clinical,
ethical and social issues associated with innovative medical technologies

4. Our areas of expertise
• The School consists of the following major disciplines:
 Anthropology
 Economics & Finance
 Politics
 History
 Psychology
 Sociology
 Communications

5. What’s different about us?
• Strong, well established programmes and expertise in several disciplines
• World-class research centres, many academics are leaders in their
disciplines e.g. BCISS, CBAS
• Inter-disciplinarity, provides a broader perspective to inform research and
enriches the student experience
• Five excellent Departments
• Policy-making research, regularly covered in the media
• Many of our courses are specialist, unique and innovative e.g. Medical
Anthropology, Cross-Cultural Psychology, Intelligence & Security Studies;
Public Affairs & Lobbying
• A School which inspires and develops its students for success

6. What will you experience?
• Academically rigorous and taught by subject experts, focused on the
needs of students, and informed by the latest research
• Career enhancing courses that develop the range of skills and attributes
increasingly required by employers
• Structured, so that students achieve the required disciplinary expertise
• Flexible, through part-time study, choice of modular options, and cross
disciplinary
• Access to leading-edge technology, on-line services and excellent learning
facilities
• Excellent services and support from the Graduate School

7. Brunel Graduate School
• All postgraduate students become a member of the Graduate School
when commencing their studies
• The Graduate School supports all postgraduate students throughout their
time at Brunel offering a range of development services and activities:
– Skills training
– Workshops and seminars
– Social and networking events
– Excellent facilities
– Provides a voice for PG students

8. Training Opportunities
• Master’s skills training programme – develops
transferable skills necessary to succeed in your
chosen course of study, improve your
employability and engage in personal and
professional development
• Researcher development programme – engage
in personal, professional and career develop via
our continually evolving training programme
• Online courses – improve your skills anytime,
anywhere with our Research Skills Online
courses

12. We’re here to help
• This session is designed to help you with
any queries you may have about starting
in September
• We can provide you with more
information today and put you in touch
with other staff if required