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Politics and Contemporary History

Entry requirements


A level

B,B,B-B,C,C

Pass.

The University welcomes the Extended Project Qualification and this will be taken into account in offers (where presented by an applicant).

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

28

UCAS Tariff

104-120

A levels or combination with AS/EPQ/BTEC/Cambridge Technical

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Comparative politics

Our Politics and Contemporary History programme situates its analysis of international and domestic politics in terms of the historical development of global society. This programme allows you to specialise in the recent past and to be equipped as a political scientist. It includes British, European, American and African history and politics. With this degree, you will develop your awareness of how our contemporary society, culture and politics have been shaped by historical events and political processes. We draw on developments from the late-nineteenth century to analyse contemporary politics, as well as social, economic and cultural trends.

The course will allow you to choose your own area of interest and develop your knowledge and skills to take a critical perspective on political events and their outcomes for the modern world. You will learn from academics who are experts in their fields and use latest research to underline their teaching to ensure that you have access to the current debates within the study of politics. Our Politics and Contemporary History degree introduces you to the fundamentals of contemporary political and historical study, before allowing you to branch out to discover your interests and follow your passions to really make your degree unique to you.

Modules

Year One:
In your first year, you will receive a solid grounding in the theoretical approaches and research methods in the study of Politics and Contemporary History. The course introduces you to the political histories and contexts of Britain, Russia, China, and the United States.

Year Two:
In your second year, you will begin to mould your degree around your interests. You will explore papal political influences, the links between political ideologies, religion, and modern cultures, British post-war cultural attitudes, conflict in Russia and Eurasia, and much more.

Year Three:
By your final year, you will have a strong sense of what political area you would like to focus on for your final dissertation project. Alongside your thesis, you will have the opportunity to explore more specific aspects of Politics, including: 20th century European dictators, Pan-Africanism, the effects of globalisation, and the culture wars of Britain.

Assessment methods

Our BA (Hons) Politics and Contemporary History course uses a range of assessments methods, including:
-Essays
-Source evaluations and reviews
-Research projects
-Collaborative project work
-Examinations
-Dissertation.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£15,840
per year
International
£15,840
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

Bishop Otter Campus, Chichester

Department:

Humanities - History and Politics

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What students say


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

Sorry, no information to show

This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.


Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

99%
UK students
1%
International students
17%
Male students
83%
Female students
83%
2:1 or above
8%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
C
A*

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.

£16,200
low
Average annual salary
98%
high
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

41%
Childcare and related personal services
29%
Welfare professionals
11%
Teaching and educational professionals

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.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

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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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