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Manchester hosts social science training centre for students

04 Oct 2013

University one of 15 centres in £19.5 million programme to improve employability

Jackie Carter and Mark Brown

The University has been chosen to host one of 15 Q-step centres to train social science students in techniques which help them understand, analyse and criticise data.

Q-Step is a £19.5 million programme designed to promote a step-change in quantitative social science training.

Developed as a response to the shortage of quantitatively-skilled social science graduates, it will help employers to recruit people with the right skills needed to work critically with data. It is funded by the Nuffield Foundation, the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).

The Manchester Q-step centre will promote the development of these skills through an integrated set of new courses and work placement opportunities, providing Manchester students with a boost in a highly competitive graduate jobs market.

Co-directed by Dr Mark Brown and Dr Jackie Carter from Social Statistics, it pulls together a diverse team, involving colleagues from Sociology, Politics, Social Anthropology, Philosophy, Criminology and Linguistics.

Interim Head of the School of Social Sciences, Professor Chris Orme said: “The School of Social Sciences is delighted to host the Q-Step centre, which gives us the opportunity to realise our strategy of bringing the success of our postgraduate training in quantitative social science to a new, and much larger, undergraduate population across all three years of their study at Manchester.

“It’s a huge boost for our students and will give them sought after skills to make them highly attractive to their future employers.”