Politics and International Studies
By Zoe Flood
Published: 15 August 2004
What do you come out with? Generally a BA, although occasionally a BSc.
Why do it? Not to become an MP, but to hold your own in any intelligent forum. Because you have an innate interest in how the world works - why democracy works only sometimes and why people kill each other in Kosovo.
What's it about? The structures of governments here and abroad, and how they talk to and deal with one another. Political theory covers concepts of equality, justice, rights and liberty, as well as the key political thinkers such as Hobbes, Rousseau and Marx. Comparative politics assesses different governmental systems - such as parliamentary and presidential democracies. Topics include party politics, electoral behaviour, social and unconventional behaviour, and the politics of every corner of the globe, including military and ethnic dimensions. No lectures in "how to spin" anywhere but, after an introduction to the core ideas in the first year, there are extensive options available. Warwick places a strong focus on globalisation and international politics, as well as European politics. At Hull, politics can be combined with legislative studies, or with the increasingly popular war and security studies. Politics can be studied jointly with a number of subjects, such as with philosophy and economics at Oxford and York (PPE), or with philosophy and history at Birkbeck (PPH). At Warwick, politics and international studies, and politics and French are both popular joint honours degrees. Some institutions, such as Hull, offer the option to study electives outside the department.
How long is a degree? Three years; four years in Scotland. At Birkbeck, students are part-time, and thus take at least four years to complete a degree.
What are the students like? Generally fascinated by current affairs and what is going on in the world. Men and women are generally in equal numbers, most are keen to pitch in and get involved in activities relating to their subject, such as debating and student politics. Mature students at Birkbeck have often had some kind of political engagement as part of their career. Others there have chosen part-time study at Birkbeck to avoid the inevitable student debt.
How is it packaged? A mix of coursework and written exam. Students at Warwick can choose how they balance the two, but must do a minimum of 40 per cent written exam over the final two years. At Hull and Birkbeck, students are assessed by each module or unit, with a slight weighting towards the written exam. Many courses include an optional dissertation in the final year.
How cool is it? Increasingly cool, as more and more people develop opinions of the current issues facing our world. Globalisation is the buzz-word of the decade, so those who have an informed view on it are bound to be able to hold their own in any discussion.
What A-levels do you need? In most cases, simply subjects that demonstrate that students are bright and interested. Politics A-level is certainly not a must. For joint degrees, there are individual department requirements.
What grades? AAB for LSE and Oxford; ABB for Warwick, although most students achieve higher grades; BCC-BBB for Hull (BBB for British politics and legislative studies); two good A-levels for Westminster. Birkbeck assesses by interview, as candidates are mature students.
Will you be interviewed? Yes at Oxford, where you also do a task designed to show the way your mind works. Most places, such as Hull, want you to visit a department open day and ask questions so you make the right selection. Everyone is interviewed at Birkbeck.
Will it keep you off the dole? Depends on how good your degree is and where you got it. It's not an infallible passport, but does demonstrate the ability to think and to solve problems. The subject is useful for journalism and media, civil service or teaching, with many graduates working for think-tanks, NGO's or as political party researchers.
What do students say? Tim Snowball, 20, going into his second year of BA History and Politics at Warwick. "The core, introductory modules that you do in the first year are very useful, but are a bit broad. The range of options is excellent - I found both UK politics and world politics fascinating. There are some excellent, well-known lecturers at Warwick, and the whole teaching of politics is quite professional, compared to more academic and liberal way of teaching history."
Arnaud Vervoitte, 30, graduated 2003 in BA Politics and Society at Birkbeck. "I studied part-time for my degree over a period of four years. I was lucky that my employers were fairly flexible and the course was quite spread out, but it was still hard to do it alongside a full-time job. I had to spend a lot of time working in the evenings and at the weekend. However the whole structure was very flexible and the tutors were hugely supportive. The content of the course is very complete and looks at many different perspectives. The options available mean that you are able to cover a lot of your own interests. I found the mix of people fantastic - they come from all different walks of life, which is especially useful in politics."
Where's best for teaching? Coming top with 24 out of 24 were Birkbeck, De Montfort, King's, Birmingham, Bradford, East Anglia, Essex, Keele, Manchester, Nottingham, Oxford, Salford, Sheffield, Southampton, Warwick and York. Close behind with 23 were Brunel, Kingston, Loughborough, Queen Mary, Nottingham Trent, Queen's Belfast, Bristol, Cambridge, Coventry, Exeter, Huddersfield, Hull, Lancaster, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Portsmouth, Sussex and Wolverhampton. With 22 out of 24 were Liverpool John Moores, Guildhall, LSE, Middlesex, Open University, Oxford Brookes, SOAS, Manchester Metropolitan, UCL, Central Lancashire, Lincoln, Northampton, Plymouth, Reading, Ulster, Westminster and Goldsmiths. Edinburgh, St Andrews and Stirling were judged commendable, whilst Aberystwyth was rated excellent.
Where's best for research? At the top with 5* are Essex, King's College London (War Studies), LSE, Oxford. Reading and Aberystwyth. Birbeck, Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, De Montfort, Exeter, Hull, Keele, LSE, Manchester, Newcastle, Reading, Sussex (Science and Technology Policy Research), Warwick, York, Glasgow, St Andrews, Strathclyde and Queen's Belfast scored 5. Brunel, Cambridge, Coventry, Durham, East Anglia, Lancaster, Leeds, Liverpool, Nottingham, SOAS, Queen Mary London, Southampton, Sussex (Politics and International Studies), UWE, Aberdeen, Dundee and Edinburgh were all awarded 4.
Where's the cutting edge? Global terrorism, world trade and managing international financial systems at Hull; governance, regionalisation and globalisation at Warwick, with growing interests in China and the Asia-Pacific rim, and in international diplomacy and terrorism in the context of the Iraq war. The practical application of academic concepts.
Who are the stars? Professor Peter Hennessy at Queen Mary on civil service and cabinet government; Professor Patrick Dunleavy on British politics and administration, LSE; Professor Vernon Bognador on British constitution at Oxford; at Hull, Lord Norton of Louth, who is President of the Politics Association, and an expert on British Parliament, and Dr Eric Grove on naval policy. At Warwick, Wyn Grant is well known for his work on interest and pressure groups, Professor Susan Hurley researches the psychology and philosophy of the brain, whilst Dr David Baker works on the role of Britain in Europe. At Birkbeck, Dionyssis Dimitrakopoulosn and Hussien Kassim on the European Union and integration, Robert Singh on American politics, and Joni Lovenduski on gender and politics.
Added value: Students of British politics and legislative studies at Hull work with an MP for a year. Birkbeck offers the only part-time non-distance learning degree in the country.
