Politics and International Relations
Entry requirements
104-112 tariff points from a minimum of 2 A Levels.
Pass a named Access to HE Diploma with at least 33 credits at Merit/Distinction.
Considered in combination
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
English and Maths accepted within as GCSE equivalent
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
104-112 points from Irish Highers. English and Maths accepted within as GCSE equivalent
Considered in combination
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
In any subject
Considered in combination
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
In any subject
Considered in combination
104-112 tariff points including a minimum of 2 Advanced Highers.
In combination with Advanced Highers
T Level
UCAS Tariff
Considered in combination
About this course
This course has alternative study modes. Contact the university to find out how the information below might vary.
Understand the roles of democracy, freedom and security in the 21st century near the site of the 2021 G7 Summit. Our programme is not just about helping you understand politics and international relations; it's about building your critical thinking to empower you to be part of a change. Hone your skills with our unique practical assessments that immerse you in mock-ups of real-world scenarios. Our students have gone on to key policy and political roles locally and nationally.
- **Challenge and expand your world view.** Ask the difficult questions about environmental crises, war, or development in the global south. Debate contemporary worldwide issues, current affairs and major political events. Explore the evolution of democracy and the international system.
- **Learn from experts.** Be inspired by teaching rooted in research. Work closely with engaging and experienced staff that are leading experts in their fields; areas of expertise include popular protest in the Middle East, NATO and security studies, the politics of China, global environmental politics and the politics of the European Union.
- **Broaden your horizons.** Travel the world through our international student exchange programme. From the Czech Republic and Poland, to Canada and the USA, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to gain insights into international relations worldwide.
- **Design your degree.** Integrate innovative modules from across the School of Society and Culture, focussing your degree on areas that interest you and making your degree your own.
- **Connect with the political environment.** Our field trips and guest speakers will help you connect more directly with the world of politics at home and abroad.
- **Enhance your skills.** Build practical skills to take into your future through varied and innovative assessments.
Modules
In your first year you will investigate the most pressing issues facing our world, where they have come from and the international systems and political and economic ideas that shape our contemporary world. You’ll explore the evolution of politics, current affairs, climate crises and major political events in historical and regional contexts.
By the end of year one you will be equipped with the skills and knowledge to help you thrive in your degree programme, having gained vital research techniques and analysed the relationship between politics and international relations via innovative and engaging forms of assessment.
In your second year immerse yourself in the issues that you care about in the world and use your newfound knowledge and skills to analyse global systems. Learn how to do foreign policy analysis and explore concepts of national and human security, identity and global political economy. You will explore contemporary debates and develop a critical mindset, evaluating evidence and scrutinising arguments to take your knowledge further in ways that you can apply in your future career.
Or you can put your global mindset into practice, studying abroad with our international student exchange programme.
In your third year, you’ll do comprehensive research on a topic of your choice with expert supervision that helps bring together the skills developed on your journey so far. You’ll deepen your knowledge of politics and IR by studying topics including NATO, the media, understanding conspiracies and post-truth politics, environmental politics, the politics of the USA, the Middle East, the EU, or Africa. Or you can make your degree your own, choosing modules from across our school that interest you the most.
By the end of your degree, you will be making your mark, ready to be a part of the change.
The modules shown for this course or programme are those being studied by current students, or expected new modules. Modules are subject to change depending on year of entry and up to date information can be found on our website.
Assessment methods
For up to date details, please refer to our website or contact the institution directly.
The Uni
University of Plymouth
School of Society and Culture
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.
Politics
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.
£18k
£25k
£29k
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.
Explore these similar courses...
This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.
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This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.
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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.
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Course location and department:
This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.
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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):
We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.
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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).
This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.
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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.
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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