Politics, Religion and Philosophy
Entry requirements
A level
Accepted in place of A levels with the following grade equivalencies: D2 = A*; D3 = A; M2 = B. Combinations of A levels and Principle subjects are accepted. NB required subjects must be offered (see A level Section)
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
6,6,5 in Higher Level subjects.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
BTEC Extended Diploma: DDD. BTEC Diploma: DD, plus B at A-level. BTEC Subsidiary Diploma: D, plus AB at A-level.
Accepted in place of a non-required A level with the equivalent grade.
UCAS Tariff
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About this course
Explore significant dimensions of public and private life such as political thinking, contemporary issues in religion and critical philosophical enquiry on this distinctive undergraduate degree course.
Studying BA Politics, Religion and Philosophy at the University of Birmingham allows you to develop your intellectual curiosity and understanding of critical issues at the borderlands between politics, religion and philosophy to address some of the most important issues of our time. During your degree course, you will encounter different viewpoints regarding the place of religion in wider society, the political theories, powers and practices that have formed communities, and the philosophical thinking that continues to challenge private and public assumptions.
The undergraduate degree course is a partnership between three departments: Theology and Religion, Philosophy, and Politics and International Studies.
**Why study this course?**
**Taught by experts** – You will study alongside some of the finest minds in Politics, Religion and Philosophy. The Departments of Philosophy is ranked first in the country for their performance in the Research Excellence Framework exercise 2021 based on Grade Point Average (Times Higher Education) and the Department of Theology and Religion is ranked third in the Research Excellence Framework exercise 2021 based on 4* research.
**Excellent employability development** – Our academics have a long standing working relationship with policy makers and regularly advise governments and public bodies nationally and internationally on engagement with faith communities. A degree in Politics, Religion and Philosophy offers an excellent preparation for any kind of professional role that requires engagement with diverse communities and navigating their particular needs and challenges. You can also boost your employability skills by completing the optional second year placement module of the degree course, where you have the opportunity to spend time in a school, charity or even abroad.
**Culturally-diverse city** – All faiths are well-represented in Birmingham, with more than 650 churches, mosques, synagogues and temples across the city. Outside London, Birmingham has the UK’s largest Muslim, Sikh and Buddhist communities, the second largest Hindu community and the seventh largest Jewish community.
**Be a part of an exciting community** – You will have a variety of opportunities to enhance your undergraduate student experience including regular coffee mornings for staff and students, visiting speakers, specialist lectures, and a variety of trips.
**Leading the Discourse** - The Departments are at the forefront of discussion and debate. Our Centres for Global Ethics and Philosophical Religion collaborate across disciplines and borders. Our world leading research as part of Mental Health Humanities at Birmingham is pushing the boundaries of cross disciplinary dialogue in the universities dynamic mental health research agenda.
**Top 10 for Theology and Religious Studies in the Guardian Good University Guide 2023**
**Top 10 for Philosophy in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023**
**Top 35 for Theology, Divinity and Religious Studies in the QS World University Rankings 2022**
Modules
First-year modules cover a broad base of the subject and are designed to introduce you to ways of studying at university. By the final year the modules you take will become more specialised and reflect the research expertise of the academic staff. More detailed module information can be found on the ‘Course detail’ tab on the University of Birmingham’s coursefinder web pages.
Tuition fees
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The Uni
University of Birmingham
Department of Theology and Religion
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.
Philosophy
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)
Theology and religious studies
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)
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.
Philosophy
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
Although there aren't a lot of jobs around for professional philosophers, philosophy degrees are a relatively popular option, with more than 2,000 students graduating in a philosophy-related subject in 2015 - a little down on previous years, but still healthy. Nearly a quarter of philosophy graduates take a postgraduate qualification, and it's a relatively common subject at both Masters and doctorate level — so if you think academic life might be for you, think ahead about how you might fund further study. For those who go into work, philosophy grads tend to go into teaching, accountancy, consulting, journalism, PR, housing, marketing, human resources and the arts while a few go into the computer industry every year, where their logical training is highly rated.
Theology and religious studies
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
Theology can actually be a very vocational subject —by far the most common move for theology graduates is to go into the clergy and at the moment we have a serious shortage of people willing to go into what is one of the oldest graduate careers. If you want to study theology but don't want to follow a religious career, then there are plenty of options available. 2015 graduates went into all sorts of jobs requiring a degree, from education and community work, to marketing, HR and financial analysis. Postgraduate study is also popular — a lot of theology graduates train as teachers, or go into Masters or even doctoral study - where philosophy and law are very popular postgraduate subjects of study.
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.
Philosophy
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£20k
£26k
£31k
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.
Theology and religious studies
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£20k
£26k
£31k
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.
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.
£23k
£29k
£35k
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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Teaching Excellence Framework (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?
Have a question about this info? Learn more here