Politics and International Relations
University of Brighton
UCAS Code: L290 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
University of Brighton
UCAS Code: L290 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
Access to HE Diploma
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
3 HL subjects
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
UCAS Tariff
About this course
On this Politics and International Relations degree course, you will examine major contemporary issues such as Brexit, the rise of China and great power rivalries, as well as the changing role of the UN and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The course has the flexibility for you to explore your specific interests – you might want to explore anarchism, international political economy, political research methods, or human rights and humanitarian intervention.
You will develop skills in negotiation, critical analysis and debate, vital if you are keen to pursue a career in politics, the civil service, diplomacy or foreign affairs.
The Politics in Practice module provides opportunities to interact with community activists and the non-profit sector in Brighton.
**We also offer three other politics degrees:**
- Politics BA(Hons)
- Politics, Sexuality and Gender BA(Hons)
- Politics and Social Change BA(Hons)
**TOP REASONS TO CHOOSE THIS COURSE**
- Learn in a vibrant, progressive city with a reputation for radical, environmental, and LGBTQI+ activism.
- Your lecturers are internationally recognised on issues including populism, gender studies, the Middle East, environmentalism, migration, housing and political theory.
- Apply to spend a semester studying abroad at a partner university in your second year.
- You can work with the Centre for Applied Philosophy, Politics and Ethics which hosts talks, seminars, workshops and conferences, as well as offering research internships and an annual undergraduate research prize.
- Guest speakers have included Caroline Lucas and Sue Shanks (Green Party), Yousef Eldin (BBC documentary producer), Nancy Hawker (Amnesty International) and Prof Angie Wilson (ex-Chair of the Political Studies Association, researching sexuality and politics), as well as representatives from Make the Shift, The Free West Papua Campaign and Brighton and Hove Community Land Trust.
- Assignments don’t just mean essays, you'll be assessed in lots of different ways including films, podcasts, data visualisations, political speeches, social media campaigns; the types of projects that will be valued by employers.
- Graduate with both theoretical and practical knowledge. Our courses offer practical skills and real-world experiences to prepare you for your future careers, with opportunities to undertake placements, design a campaign for a political organisation and learn digital communication skills.
- The university’s commitment to addressing global challenges is the lens through which you will learn and issues such as climate change, equality and inclusivity, and sustainability are embedded in all teaching on our politics courses.
- Our decolonised approach to teaching and learning emphasises lived experience, recognising that knowledge is held in communities not only in academic institutions.
- You will be studying in a thriving community alongside students taking related degrees which informs our delivery.
Modules
Year 1
Introduction to the Global Challenges Lab
Political Ideas
Foundations in World Politics
Globalisation, Conflict and the Environment
Politics in Practice
Comparative Political Systems
Year 2
Colonialism in the Contemporary Global Order
Researching Politics
Debating Contemporary International Relations
International Institutions
Options*
Authority, Justice and Democracy
UK Politics
Gender, Race and the Environment
Global Challenges Lab: Research Communication
Nations and Nationalism
Experiencing the Workplace: Practices and the Community
Global Challenges Lab: Policy Solutions
Final Year
Race and International Relations
Politics Dissertation
Options*
Radical Political Economy and Anarchist Politics
Global Social Policy
Politics in the Middle East
Race and International Relations
Human Rights and Humanitarian Intervention
Sexual Utopias: Imagining Radical Futures
*Option modules are indicative and may change, depending on timetabling and staff availability.
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
The Uni
Brighton
School of Humanities and Social Science
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if the overall teaching satisfaction score here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
How do students rate their degree experience?
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Politics
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Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
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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.
International relations
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£32k
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.
£32k
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 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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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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