Social Network Analysis MSc

Year of entry: 2025

Course length: 12 months Full-time | 24 months Part-time

About the course

There is increasing national and international demand for experts in social network analysis, both academically and in commercial environments such as market research, crime analysis and public health.

This course will teach you the theoretical foundations of social network analysis, the constitutive elements of research design, techniques for data collection, advanced methods for social network data analysis and visualization, statistical modelling of social networks and mixed methods. With an interdisciplinary combination of lecturers from the Mitchell Centre for Social Network Analysis, who specialise in mathematics, social statistics, sociology and criminology, the teaching team will guide and supervise students in all the aspects related to social network research. We revise our fees each academic year. For up-to-date fees information for 2025 entry, please visit our website.

Be part of a Sociology department ranked Top 5 in the UK and Top 30 worldwide

(Times Higher Education Rankings 2024)

Benefit from research-led teaching at one of the UK's Top 3 universities for Sociology research

(Research Excellence Framework 2021)

Our graduates are among the most targeted by top UK employers

(High Fliers 2024)

Compulsory Units

Theories of social relations, networks, and social structure
Social Network Analysis: Concepts and Measures
Doing Research with Social Network Data and Visualisations
Statistical Models for Social Networks
Data Analysis with R and RStudio
MSc Dissertation

Optional Units

Crime and Networks
Social capital and Social Change
Qualitative Research Methods
Urban Sociology
Philosophical and Methodological Foundations of Social Research
Sociology of Consumption
Theories of Gender and Sexuality

These are examples of units offered in 2023/24 and are subject to change.

See the full list of units and find out more on the full course profile >

Where will your degree take you?

This degree is designed to ensure highly numerate, research-oriented and employable graduates, and will provide you with the skills necessary for roles within:

academia
government departments
research institutes
commercial research

Our graduates can find career opportunities as consultants or analysts in organisational development to help companies optimise their work structure; as data scientists with specialised skills in network analysis in areas like social media analytics; and as data scientists/data analysts in governmental agencies like the Home Office and Trading Standards.

Dr Elisa Bellotti

Senior Lecturer in Sociology

“We designed this master's programme thinking of all the topics, skills and information we would have liked to receive when we were students but there were no programmes offering them.

You will gain a unique set of theoretical, methodological, technical and practical skills that will provide you with confidence and expertise in data analysis and problem-solving. The training we offer will be a valuable asset for jobs within and outside academia, and you will join a thriving and inclusive scientific community you will always feel part of.“