Entry requirements
Access to HE Diploma
Pass Access with 30 Level 3 credits at Merit or equivalent. English (Language or Literature) and Maths GCSE required as separate qualifications at grades A* - C (9 -4).
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
UCAS Tariff
from at least two A Levels. Plus five GCSEs at grades A*–C (9 - 4) including English Language and Maths.
About this course
On the Politics BA at DMU you will learn about the theories and practices of power and governance, from local up to international level. As you progress through the course you will increasingly develop a range of skills that employers look for; skills such as communication, team working, the ability to critically analyse evidence, independent research and critical analysis.
The only university in the UK to hold both Congress to Campus and European Parliament to Campus
with former members of US Congress and former Members of European Parliament to enhance your study experience
**- A unique learning environment, with the opportunity to participate in real debates, attend conferences and learn from guest speakers**
which have included political figures such as the former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the House of Commons Speaker, Rt Hon John Bercow
**- Placement opportunities with local, national and global companies**
including Rolls Royce, GlaxoSmithKline, Heathrow Airport and the House of Commons
**- One of only three universities to be named a Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence in 2013**
In recognition of research and teaching excellence in European studies
**- Enjoy an international experience with #DMUglobal**
trips have included Hong Kong, Berlin, Brussels, Washington and New York
Modules
YEAR ONE: Introduction to Politics, Introduction to Contemporary International Relations, Global Comparative Politics, British Government and Politics
YEAR TWO: Political Theory, Political Analysis, Politics in Action, Plus options from the following: Politics of the European Union, Unity and Diversity in, Contemporary America, Government and Business, Governance, Corruption and its Avoidance, Comparative Local Government
YEAR THREE: Dissertation, Plus options from the following: Globalisation and Democracy, American Presidency, Public Policy Making, Power, Politics and Morality, Politics of Nationalism, Managing the Environment, Government and Politics of China
Assessment methods
You will be taught by a team whose work has achieved top scores in quality assessment exercises and by individuals who have National Teaching Fellow Status in recognition of their outstanding teaching. We are also active researchers and share our current work with you.
We use a variety of formats in our classes. In the first two years you attend weekly hour-long lectures and seminars in which you discuss the issues raised in lectures. In the third year teaching is in a two-hour workshop format where you often get to decide on the topics that are debated.
Throughout the course you will read around the areas being covered using course books and you must keep yourself up-to-date with developments in current affairs.
Assessment is through coursework (presentations, seminar contributions, your portfolio, essays and reports) and usually an exam or test. You will also be challenged through simulation games, problem solving exercises, online collaborative projects and policy papers. Assessment is typically weighted as follows in your first year:
Exam: 47%
Coursework: 53%
These assessment weightings are indicative only. The exact weighting may vary depending on option modules chosen by students and teaching methods deployed by the academic member of staff each year. Indicative assessment weighting and assessment type per module are shown as part of the module information. Again these are based on the current academic session.
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
The Uni
Leicester Campus
Business and Law
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
How do students rate their degree experience?
The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Politics
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Social sciences
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
The numbers of people taking politics degrees fell sharply last year and we'll keep an eye on this one - it can't really be because of graduates getting poor outcomes as politics grads do about as well as graduates on average. Most politics or international relations graduates don't actually go into politics - although many do, as activists, fundraisers and researchers. Jobs in local and central government are also important. Other popular jobs include marketing and PR, youth and community work, finance roles, HR and academic research (you usually need a postgraduate degree to get into research). Because so many graduates get jobs in the civil service, a lot of graduates find themselves in London after graduating. Politics is a very popular postgraduate subject, and so about one in five politics graduates go on to take another course - usually a one-year Masters - after they finish their degrees.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Politics
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£12k
£22k
£23k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).
You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.
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Post-six month graduation stats:
This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.
It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.
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Graduate field commentary:
The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show
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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
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