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Politics and International Relations

Entry requirements


A level

B,C,C-B,B,B

Minimum 60 credits, with at least 45 at level 3

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DMM

UCAS Tariff

104-120

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Politics

Are you interested in how global problems happen and what potential solutions there could be? Do you wonder why and how governments and international organisations make the decisions they do? Our politics and international relations course helps you understand these types of challenges.

Through critical reading and discussion, you will develop your knowledge of the contemporary world at local, regional and global levels. In addition, your studies will give you transferable skills in problem solving and the ability to think independently.

On graduation you will have practical research capabilities and knowledge that you can apply in a number of professional settings in the political sphere and beyond.

As a member of United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI), we are fully committed to supporting and contributing to UNAI's values by undertaking student-led activities related to the ten UNAI Principles.

On this Politics and international relations degree you will study in detail the workings of government and the realities of global geopolitics.

You will examine how political institutions interact with the societies they govern and how values and resources are allocated in various contexts, both nationally and internationally.

Over the course of your studies, you will gradually develop your critical reading and debating skills. Simulated diplomatic situations are a core element of the course, and by taking part, you will enhance your abilities to build arguments successfully and work as part of a team. These simulations also give you the opportunity to put what you have learnt in your theory-based modules into practice.

In the final year of your studies, you will produce a dissertation, in which you investigate an area of interest related to politics and international relations. This is your chance to demonstrate your practical research skills as well as your grasp of relevant theories and current issues.

Tuition fees

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

England
£9,250
per year
International
£16,250
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 locations:

Ruskin College

Main site - West London

Department:

School of Human and Social Sciences

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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?

75%
UK students
25%
International students
45%
Male students
55%
Female students
75%
2:1 or above
12%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
C
C

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.

£21,000
med
Average annual salary
96%
med
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

31%
Welfare professionals
9%
Welfare and housing associate professionals
7%
Protective service occupations

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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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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