Masters in Ageing & Public Policy – Irish Centre for Social Gerontology

Course Overview

Driven By Commitment

Driven by a commitment to research-informed interdisciplinary education, the MSc examines demographic ageing from a public policy perspective, critically assessing existing approaches and future directions to secure an effective and fair means of engaging older people in ageing societies.

Hosted at the internationally recognised Irish Centre for Social Gerontology, the course comprises of an applied project, and taught modules in the areas of: public policy and the economics of ageing; social exclusion and inequality; international policy; health systems and policy analysis; work, pensions and retirement; and diversity, ageing and the life course.

In completing this programme, students will be able to:

Analyze critical policy challenges relevant to demographic ageing and the lived experiences of a diverse older population;
Assess the role of public policy in the fair and effective allocation of resources and opportunities across the life course;
Evaluate the readiness and influence of existing policy structures and broader socio-political context on the success of policy implementation;
Assess to what degree the application of policy levers are supporting older people and boosting system sustainability, or creating new unintended inequalities and system sustainability issues.

Course Outline

List of modules:

Introduction to Ageing Studies and Policy
International Policy and Ageing
Social Exclusion and Inequalities in Later Life
Data Management and Survey Techniques
Dynamics of Ageing and Public Policy
Health Systems and Policy Analysis

Work, Pensions and Retirement
Environmental Gerontology and Ageing in Place Policy
Cost Benefit Analysis and Evaluation
Law and Policy on Independent Living
Legal Capacity Law and Policy
Applied Research Project

Why Choose This Course?

Career Opportunities

Graduates will have in-depth analytical skills sets which will enhance their employability in general and age-specific public policy organisations. Graduates are likely to find employment as policy analysts, managers and researchers in government and public bodies; policy and strategic planners in civil society organisations; service coordinators; senior staff in private age-related organisations. This course will serve as an excellent grounding to pursue a Ph D programme.

Unique Programme Internationally

Currently, there is no Master’s programme offering this specific topic in Ireland, and a lack of such programmes on ageing and policy in Europe. Typically, at a European level, existing programmes employ a general gerontological perspective and lack a public policy focus. This marks a substantial gap in programme development and one that the College of Business, Public Policy and Law (CBPPL) is committed to addressing through its leadership on scholarship and teaching in this area.

Ageing represents a significant research theme within the College of Business, Public Policy and Law. This is reflected both in research output and research income. The programme is distinctive in its positioning within a research informed ageing and public policy pedagogical environment. Hosted by the ICSG, the programme will be linked directly to state-of-the-art research programmes, led by international experts (Kieran Walsh; Aine Ni Leime; Eamon O’Shea) in ageing and policy, with findings and experiences from these studies informing module content and approaches. In addition the programme is delivered in collaboration with international policy experts, such as (Nena Georgantzi, AGE Platform Europe; Patricia Conboy, HelpAge International.

Who’s Suited to This Course

National, European and international students from public and social policy bachelor degree programmes from across commerce and economics, law, sociology, management, gender studies and psychology disciplines who wish to gain expertise and transferable skills in public policy, and in ageing.

Level 8 students from gerontological specific programmes in European universities, who wish to continue their ageing studies in an English-speaking and research-led interdisciplinary learning environment.

Policy stakeholders, civil servants and service practitioners from national, European and international public and third sector agencies in sectors relevant to ageing.

What policy experts and stakeholders say

Living a long, healthy and happy life is what most of us wish for. Yet as we age, we can lose independence, be treated differently and feel left behind and left out. We need to rethink how we look at the ageing process and how we respond to it. This course is an important one which will help those who undertake it to look at the challenge of a growing older adult population and find solutions which respect the dignity and rights of older people.

Mairead McGuinness MEP and Vice-President of the European Parliament
AGE Platform Europe welcomes the launch of NUI Galway new MSc programme on Ageing and Public Policy. In today’s context of rapid demographic ageing and increased digitalisation, policy makers need guidance to develop innovative policies to address the societal concerns interconnected with population ageing. This new Master programme is the first in Ireland to take a comprehensive approach to engage older people in societies and eradicate inequalities in old age

Anne-Sophie Parent Secretary General, AGE Platform Europe
Around the world, countries are responding in remarkably different ways to the opportunities and challenges associated with ageing populations. This type of academic programme is of great value to students who are keen to deepen their knowledge of the many ways in which public policy is able to address demographic change.

Prof. Thomas Scharf Professor of Social Gerontology, Newcastle University
To reap the dividends of population ageing we must reduce social exclusion of older persons. This masters programme in Ageing and Public Policy will build much-needed capacity in policy development and analysis toward leaving no one behind.

Prof. Norah Keating Director, Global Social Issues on Ageing, International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics
Adjusting to ageing society envisages translating the research findings, international policy frameworks and national programmes into concrete actions. There are too few professionals who can lead such efforts, and it is a major gap in national and international capacity on ageing. The Irish Centre for Social Gerontology of NUI Galway is well positioned to fill this gap. It is high time to do it

Dr. Alexandre Sidorenko Senior Advisor, European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research, and former Head of UN Programme on Ageing
Eurofound is an EU Agency providing knowledge on living and working conditions to policy makers, specifically at EU level. Our work programmes consistently emphasise the importance of demographic change and the life course perspective; and the links between ageing of the workforce and ageing of the general population. There is a growing need for people skilled in relating results of research on ageing to diverse policy themes. Therefore, I welcome the MSc in Ageing and Public Policy.

Robert Anderson Head of Unit, Social Policies, Eurofound

Prof. Kieran Walsh Director
Kieran Walsh is Professor of Ageing & Public Policy and Director of the Irish Centre for Social Gerontology (ICSG).
Dr. Áine Ní Léime Deputy Director
Dr. Áine Ní Léime is Deputy Director of the Irish Centre for Social Gerontology.
Eamon O’Shea Lecturer
Eamon O’Shea is a Personal Professor in the School of Business & Economics and was inaugural Director of the Irish Centre for Social Gerontology (ICSG) at the National University of Ireland, Galway. He is currently Director of the National Centre for Social Research on Dementia at NUI Galway. He holds an M.A. from University College Dublin, an M.Sc. from the University of York and a Ph.D from the University of Leicester. He has published over 100 scientific papers in refereed journals, including publications in top-ranked journals such as the Journal of Health Economics, Social Science and Medicine, Age and Ageing, Ageing and Society, Health Policy and the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. Professor O’Shea has authored/co-authored 15 books and monographs, mainly in the field of ageing, dementia and social policy. His work has been influential in setting the agenda for the reform of services and policies for people with dementia in Ireland. He was Chair of the National Economic and Social Forum Expert Group on Care of the Elderly in 2005/06 and co-authored the influential Creating Excellence in Dementia Care report in 2012. He is currently a member of the Implementation Group for the Irish National Dementia Strategy.

Patricia Conboy Lecturer
Patricia Conboy is Head of Global Ageing, Advocacy and Campaigns with HelpAge International, the secretariat to a global network of organisations advancing the right of all older people to lead dignified, healthy and secure lives. Patricia leads a team promoting age-inclusive policy and practice through providing thought leadership, technical advice, advocacy and campaigning tools and including the voices of older people in our work. Prior to joining HelpAge in 2016, Patricia was director of Older & Bolder, a national alliance of NGOs campaigning for older people’s rights in Ireland.
Nena Georgantzi Lecturer
Nena Georgantzi, Policy Coordinator Human Rights & Non-Discrimination, AGE Platform Europe and PhD Fellow, National University of Ireland Galway. Nena has been working for 10 years for AGE Platform Europe (AGE), the largest EU network of older people’s organisations, where she leads policy and advocacy on human rights at EU and international level. She has been involved in the drafting of the 2014 Council of Europe recommendation on the rights of older persons and in the ongoing political process around a new UN convention on the rights of older persons. She is member of the Steering Group of the Global Alliance of the Rights of Older Persons and has acted as a consultant for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, covering issues of ageing and of disability. As PhD fellow with the National University of Ireland in Galway (NUIG) Nena is finalizing the first empirical study on the meaning of human rights for older persons and the added value of a new treaty. She has authored several articles and chapters on human rights and ageing and speaks regularly in expert meetings and conferences. Nena is a law graduate with postgraduate degrees in human rights (MA, Université de Strasbourg, France) and social protection (MA, KU Leuven, Belgium). She is also a registered lawyer under the Thessaloniki Bar in Greece.