Politics & International Studies
Entry requirements
A level
Applicants can satisfy the requirement for the third A-Level Grade by substituting a combination of alternative qualifications recognised by the University.
Access to HE Diploma
Pass Access Course (120 credits) with an overall mark of 60%.
GCSE/National 4/National 5
GCSE Profile to include CGSE English Language grade C or above (or equivalent). Essential Skills Level 2 Communication is an acceptable alternative.
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
Overall International Baccalaureate profile minimum of 24 points (12 at higher level). Grade 4 in Higher or Subsidiary Level English Language is also required.
104 UCAS Tariff points to include a minimum of four subjects at Higher Level and one subject at Ordinary Level. English Grade H6 or above (HL) or Grade 04 or above (Ordinary Level) if not sitting at Higher Level.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
BTEC RQF National Extended Diploma - DMM We will also accept smaller BTEC/OCR qualifications (i.e. Diploma or Extended Certificate/Introductory Diploma / Subsidiary Diploma) in combination with A Levels or other acceptable level 3 qualifications. Note: BTEC Level 3 RQF Foundation Diploma, Diploma and Extended Diplomas in Children's Play, Learning and Development are not accepted. BTEC Level 3 RQF National Extended Certificate in Children's Play, Learning and Development is accepted To find out if the qualification you are applying with is a qualification we accept for entry, please check our Qualification Checker - https://www.ulster.ac.uk/study/entrance-requirements/equivalence We will also continue to accept QCF versions of these qualifications although grades asked for may differ. Check what grades you will be asked for by comparing the requirements above with the information under QCF in the Applied General and Tech Level Qualifications section of our Entry Requirements - https://www.ulster.ac.uk/study/entrance-requirements/undergraduate-entry-requirements
Scottish Advanced Higher
Scottish Higher
UCAS Tariff
We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.
About this course
Among other aims, our Politics and International Studies degree provides:
A detailed knowledge and understanding of contemporary political analysis;
An excellent training in social research methods;
The ability to apply theoretical perspectives and concepts to real-life problems, and;
An appreciation of the complexity and diversity of political problems in society.
The degree equips graduates for employment in a range of careers in the statutory, voluntary and private sectors.
Our curriculum is based upon the research and scholarship of the staff team. We aim to encourage students to become research literate and have a strong understanding and appreciation of the research carried out within their discipline.
Students are introduced to central questions driving political change across the world today and discover how academics, including their own lecturers, are trying to address them.
Modules
The course has been commended in internal and external review for its well-structured and relevant curriculum, which is underpinned by the original research and scholarship undertaken by staff teaching on the course. Our research has a well-established record of impressive achievements through:- first, the authorship of books and articles of acknowledged international excellence, second, demonstrable practical impacts on the policy-making process, and, third, winning against strong competition the support of prestigious sources of external funding including the Economic and Social Research Council, the Leverhulme Trust and the British Academy. Our research influences our teaching through the content of the curriculum, and through developing research awareness and literacy among our students.
Tuition fees
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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.
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Course location and department:
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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?
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