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The University of Manchester School of Social Sciences

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Proud, ambitious and friendly, we offer world-class learning with a strong sense of community.

We're a large School, but we have a strong sense of community and research-led teaching and learning. Students enjoy an inclusive, vibrant and exciting environment here. Our specialised Centres and Institutes carry out world-leading, empirical research, ensuring that our research is focused on addressing major social, economic and political challenges in the UK and globally. Our teaching and research are founded on a unique combination of eight disciplines: Criminology, Economics, Law, Philosophy, Politics, Sociology, Social Anthropology, Social Statistics.

08/10/2026

📢 Manchester researchers are co-leading the next chapter of the British Election Study

Researchers across Politics and Social Statistics in our School of Social Sciences are part of the team leading the next phase of the British Election Study (BES) — the UK’s longest-running study of voting behaviour, tracking British voters at every general election since 1964.

Maria Sobolewska, Jack Bailey, Alexandru Cernat and Robert Ford will work with colleagues at Royal Holloway, University of London and King's College London on a new study exploring ‘Representing Voters’.

The research will look at both voters and those who seek to represent them, bringing together expertise in electoral behaviour, survey methodology, AI, social media, candidate politics and public engagement.

A significant new chapter for a landmark study — and a great example of the research taking place across our School. 👏

🔗 Read the full story: https://www.manchester.ac.uk/about/news/university-of-manchester-involved-in-british-election-study/

02/10/2026

Imagine spending years in prison for a crime you did not commit.

Wrongful convictions happen in the UK and across the world. The consequences can be devastating: years of lost freedom, relationships, employment and opportunities that can never be returned.

Today marks the 13th Annual – a day to raise awareness of the causes and remedies of wrongful conviction, recognise their impact on innocent people and their families, and consider how we can work towards a fairer justice system.

Awareness. Reform. Impact.

At the Manchester Innocence Project, based in the UoM Justice Hub at The University of Manchester, students and academics work to investigate potential miscarriages of justice and support efforts to challenge wrongful convictions.

🎧 The Innocence Podcast, brought to you by the Manchester Innocence Project, hears from people who have spent years behind bars for crimes they did not commit, alongside conversations with those working to challenge miscarriages of justice.

The latest episode, Special: Children in Prison – Part 1, explores whether putting children behind bars works, whether it is right, and how the system could change.

Author Chris Daw KC discusses how he believes the system needs to change – and how it is currently failing children.

🎧 Listen to the latest episode:
https://www.innocence.fm/episodes/special-children-prison-part1

🔗 Find out more about the Manchester Innocence Project:
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/about/magazine/features/manchester-innocence-project/

🔗 Learn more about Wrongful Conviction Day:
https://wrongfulconvictionday.org

29/09/2026

How did China become a global leader in electric vehicles and green technologies?

We’re pleased to share two recent publications from James Jackson, Hallsworth Research Fellow in the School of Social Sciences and his co-author Mathias Larsen explore China’s green transition.

📖 In Environmental Politics Journal, their new research examines how China has built its significant position in the global EV industry. Looking beyond the role of subsidies, the article explores how political architecture, development priorities and state capacity have contributed to policy durability and the growth of China’s EV sector.

📝 In The BREAK—DOWN James and Mathias broaden the discussion by examining what China’s experience can tell us about climate and environmental policy more widely, including how different political systems can shape climate-policy outcomes.

Together, the two pieces offer complementary perspectives on China’s green transition and the political and institutional factors shaping it.

📖 Read the Environmental Politics article:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09644016.2026.2728362
📝 Read The BREAK—DOWN article:
https://www.break-down.org/the-inconvenient-case-of-china/

Image Attribution: X-SHLIED, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

24/09/2026

🏆 What can the way we spend our spare time tell us about crime?

It’s a question at the heart of award-winning research from The University of Manchester.

Dr David Buil-Gil, Senior Lecturer in Quantitative Criminology, has won the European Society of Criminology Young Criminologist Award 2026 for his research examining the relationship between unstructured spare time and crime.

His award-winning article, The Structure of Unstructured Time and Crime: A Spare Time Model, published in The British Journal of Criminology, explores an area that has received comparatively little attention in criminological theory and research: the role of unstructured spare time in understanding crime and deviance.

Using quantitative analysis, the research examines the relationship between unstructured spare time and crime among young people, as well as whether changes in spare time are associated with changes in crime trends over time.

The research also raises important questions for crime prevention. If the ways people spend their time are connected to patterns of offending, could structured activities and positive social engagement form part of approaches to reducing the risk of offending?

The European Society of Criminology judging committee recognised the article for its original contribution, conceptual development and careful empirical analysis, highlighting its contribution to debates around criminological theory and crime prevention.

👏 Congratulations to David on this fantastic achievement!

His research demonstrates the value of asking new questions about crime — and using evidence to explore what those questions might mean for prevention, policy and practice.

📖 Read the full story:
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/about/news/university-of-manchester-criminologist-wins-european-young-criminologist-award-2026/

09/09/2026

From Classroom Concepts to City Streets: Learning about Peace and Conflict in Manchester.

What stories are hidden in the places we walk past every day?
For Politics & International Relations student Sophie O'Donnell, a recent Peace & Conflict Tour transformed the way she saw Manchester.

Developed through a Diversifying the Curriculum project in partnership with Invisible Cities, the tour gave students on POLI30262: Dimensions of Peace and Conflict the opportunity to explore how conflict, memory, resilience and social change are reflected in Manchester's streets, memorials and public spaces.

As Sophie reflected:
“Learning about places in the city centre that I'd walked past countless times over the years without ever truly knowing their history gave me a completely different, deeper perspective on the city.”

From the Cathedral to historic pubs, memorials and statues, students explored how familiar places have been shaped by conflict, political movements and community responses.

For Sophie, learning more about events including the IRA bombing and Manchester Arena attack offered a deeper understanding of their impact, as well as Manchester's response and recovery.

Learning from a tour guide with lived experience and detailed knowledge of Manchester added another dimension, helping connect discussions about peace and conflict with the experiences of people within the city.

Most importantly, the tour helped bring ideas from the module into the real world. Seeing perspectives from anthropology and art in practice made them easier for Sophie to understand and gave her valuable insight when approaching her final essay.

“What I found most valuable was being able to apply content from our module to real places in real life.”

For Sophie, Manchester became more than a place to study — it became part of the learning experience.

📖 Want to discover more? Read Sophie’s full reflection on the Peace & Conflict Tour and how it changed the way she sees Manchester: https://sites.manchester.ac.uk/humanities-blog/2026/09/04/from-classroom-concepts-to-city-streets-learning-about-peace-and-conflict-in-manchester/

07/09/2026

We’re pleased to help promote an upcoming The British Academy Lecture hosted by The University of Manchester, featuring Professor Stefano Bartolini, Emeritus Professor at the European University Institute and one of Europe’s leading scholars of comparative politics and political theory.

📅 Wednesday 14 October 2026
🕔 17.00–19.00
📍 University of Manchester

Rule Making Rules: The Origins of Western Political Institutions and Why They Matter Today

In this thought-provoking lecture, Professor Bartolini will explore how Western political institutions developed through centuries of competition between different sources of rules, authority and legitimacy — from Roman law and medieval self-government to the evolving relationship between secular and religious authority.

He will consider how the coexistence of different normative traditions helped shape political pluralism and institutional diversity, and what this distinctive historical development can tell us about the strengths and limitations of Western political institutions today.

🎟️ Tickets and further information:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/british-academy-lecture-2026-professor-stefano-bartolini-tickets-1998949885919

A great opportunity for anyone interested in politics, political theory, history and the development of Western institutions.

04/09/2026

We’re delighted to celebrate two colleagues from our School, Professor Yaojun Li and Professor Andreja Zevnik, who have been elected Fellows of the Academy of Social Sciences.

The Academy recognises significant contributions to social science and highlights the important role of social science in understanding and addressing societal challenges facing the UK and the world today.

Professor Yaojun Li is an internationally recognised sociologist whose research focuses on social mobility, social stratification, ethnic integration, social capital, education and labour markets. He has conducted extensive research into social mobility and inequality, with a particular focus on class, education, employment, income and ethnic integration in Britain and China.

Professor Andreja Zevnik is an interdisciplinary scholar whose research explores political resistance, protest, race, identity and marginalisation. Her work draws on psychoanalysis, continental philosophy and postcolonial theory to examine how political identities and forms of resistance are produced

Their election as Fellows recognises their significant contributions to social science and the importance of research that helps us understand inequality, identity, political mobilisation and social change.

Congratulations to Yaojun and Andreja on this well-deserved recognition. We’re proud to see their work recognised by the Academy of Social Sciences.

https://www.manchester.ac.uk/about/news/four-manchester-academics/

20/08/2026

As the UK faces a summer of record-breaking heat and devastating wildfires, new analysis explores the links between climate policy, green technology and UK-China relations.

In their latest article for The Conversation UK researchers James Jackson, of The University of Manchester Department of Politics, and Mathias Larsen, of The London School of Economics and Political Science - LSE, argue that meeting the UK's climate goals may depend on greater cooperation with China, the world's leading producer of many green technologies.

The article highlights the challenges and opportunities facing policymakers as they navigate climate action, economic priorities and global relationships.

📖 Discover the research and explore what it could mean for the UK's climate future.

🔗 Read the article: https://theconversation.com/wildfires-and-a-summer-of-extreme-heat-mean-andy-burnham-cant-stay-quiet-on-climate-any-longer-288465
📄 Read the report:https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1369/0d1a83c3-321f-4ff5-9b11-a12b7ad0648b/china-uk_report_.pdf

Image Attribution: “Prime Minister Andy Burnham visits Stourbridge” by Number 10, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 https://www.flickr.com/photos/number10gov/55469194547/in/photostream/

14/08/2026

💭You've been accepted into the School of Social Sciences..... but what does that really mean?

We asked our recent graduates to summarise the School in one word to give you a flavour of what it's like here - another word we'd add is welcoming!

From our Student Hub to Academic Advisors, Lecturers to Professional Services staff, everyone is on hand to support you navigating this new chapter.

We can't wait to meet you during Welcome Week, but for now enjoy the summer🏖🍦

13/08/2026

Happy A-Level results day to everyone receiving their exam results today! 🎉

Congratulations to everyone who has been accepted to study with us at SoSS and The University of Manchester.

The School of Social Sciences (SoSS) will be your home School if you’ve picked to study any of the following subjects with us:

👉Criminology
👉Economics
👉Law
👉Politics
👉Philosophy
👉Anthropology
👉Social Statistics
👉Sociology

We can’t wait to see you on campus in September! 💜

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Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Website

https://www.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/

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