Housing Studies Oral History
houses

Our Timeline and Key Events

from 1980..

  • Postgraduate course in ‘Housing Administration’ established in the Dept of Sociology and Social Policy following extremely critical report to government about housing management competence.
  • Professional accreditation by Institute of Housing, requiring each student to undertake academic learning and complete four supervised practice placements over 2 years in diverse housing organisations.
  • Scottish Office funded bursaries for 8 full time students.
  • Two full time teaching staff with visiting specialists (construction, law, finance).

    • from 1990..

  • Expansion to 12 full time student bursaries boosted by additional employer-sponsored traineeships and ESRC grants.
  • New 3 year postgraduate part-time programme (mainly academic) established for students already in employment.
  • Programme renamed ‘Housing Studies’.
  • Joint initiative with Edinburgh College of Art / Heriot Watt.
  • Built from initial intake of approximately 20 students.
  • Fees funded by fee income from employers in Scotland, mostly east, central and north.
  • Three full time teaching staff, soon expanded to four organised into the Housing Policy and Practice Unit (HPPU).

    • from 2000..

  • Integration of timetables and learning for full and part time programmes.
  • Student group totalled around 70 with students from diverse backgrounds - urban and remote locations, varying gender, disability and ethnic profiles.
  • Four full time teaching staff, increasingly research active and supporting MSc and PhD students

    • by 2010..

  • Successful innovation in converting all housing teaching programmes into pedagogically designed, blended learning around a core online platform.
  • Investment started in 2003 enabled by support from European Social Fund (ESF) and collaboration with the asset management skills sector body.
  • Programme attracted students from wider area, as courses elsewhere in UK closed, especially in England.
  • And operating predominantly online facilitated participation by students in remote locations.

    • by 2020..

  • Expansion of student numbers to a regular annual intake, now around 40 mostly from UK and funded by employers and government studentships.
  • Students are primarily from UK including occasional students from the Caribbean, mainland Europe and Australasia.
  • Teaching programme already well established online before start of pandemic
  • Four full time teaching staff, all research active