BSc Econ International Relations and Politics
Cardiff, United Kingdom
BSc
DURATION
3 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
TUITION FEES
GBP 22,700 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* for overseas | for home year two and three: £9,250 / year one: £9,000
Key Summary
About: BSc Econ International Relations and Politics at Cardiff University covers states, alliances, NGOs. You take core modules in year one, then choose options in years two and three on cyber security, climate politics and international law. The programme has a lecture series with NATO and UN speakers, links to Westminster and Senedd Cymru, a module taught with House of Commons clerks and placements.
Career Outcomes: Graduates enter diplomacy, development, intelligence, journalism, policy research, NGOs, international business or postgraduate study. Typical roles include diplomat, policy analyst, intelligence analyst, NGO programme manager, journalist, using skills in foreign policy, governance, security, research.
International Relations is a branch of Political Science that examines the role of states, international alliances, non-governmental organisations and multinational companies in an increasingly globalised world.
As part of this degree programme, you will have the opportunity to focus on global politics and world affairs as well as having the opportunity to attend a lecture series hosted by the University on International Relations & International Law, which has featured high-profile speakers from institutions such as NATO and the UN Security Council.
In your first year you will concentrate on core modules, while in your second and third years, you are able to choose from a wide range of optional modules.
International Relations and Politics graduates find careers in a wide range of fields. A further option is to go on to postgraduate study.
Why Study this Course
Links to Political Institutions
Benefit from links to Westminster parliament, Senedd Cymru, the European Union and NATO.
Study Current Global Issues
Choose modules ranging from cyber security and nuclear politics to climate change and feminism.
Experience Politics in Action
Choose a module taught in conjunction with Westminster which includes teaching by clerks of the House of Commons and study visits.
Worldwide Career Opportunities
Our students now work in global development, international business, diplomacy, government intelligence and journalism.
Placement Opportunities
Gain skills, confidence and connections through a variety of opportunities to engage with communities and other partners.
This is a three-year, full-time course, consisting of 120 credits per year. Year 1 is an introductory year, with results from Years 2 and 3 determining your degree classification. The programme comprises compulsory and optional modules, allowing you to tailor your degree to reflect your specific interests. A particular feature is an option of writing a dissertation in your final year. This is highly regarded by employers because it indicates that you can undertake original research.
Year One
You will study 120 credits in your first year, from the list of available Politics and International Relations modules.
Core Modules for Year One
- Introduction to Political Science
- Introduction to International Relations
- Introduction to Globalisation
- Introduction to European Integration
- Introduction to Government
Optional Modules for Year One
- Y Da, Drwg are Gwleidyddol: The Good, the Bad and the Political
- Introduction to Political Thought
Year Two
You will study 120 credits in optional year two modules.
Optional Modules for Year Two
- International Relations of the Cold War
- Digital Technologies and Global Politics
- Global Governance
- EU Politics
- From Espionage to Counter-Terrorism: Intelligence in Contemporary Politics
- Modern Welsh Politics
- Modern Political Thought: Machiavelli to Mill
- Damcaniaethu a Dadfeilio'r Gymdeithas Gyfalafol
- The Barbarians are Coming!: Cross-cultural Political Theories
- Ideas and Ideology in British Politics
- Animals, Air, and Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction - The Politics of Global Environmental Regimes
- Governing Modern Britain
- Personality, prejudice, and polarisation: Political Psychology
- Critical Approaches to Middle East Politics
- Data Science for Politics and International Relations
- Revolutionising the Political Order: British Social Theory in the Eighteenth Century
- Doing Political Research
- Elections in the UK
- Gender, Sex and Death in Global Politics
- Credoau'r Cymry
- British Politics since 1945
- International Security: Concepts and Issues
- Global Justice
- International Law in a Changing World
Year Three
You will study 120 credits in optional year 3 modules, including the option of writing a dissertation.
Optional Modules for Year Three
- The History of Thought in International Relations
- International Politics in the Nuclear Age
- Africa in International Thought and Practice: Colonialism, Anticolonialism, Postcolonialism
- Bombs, Bullets and Ballot-boxes: the Northern Ireland Conflict, 1969 to 1998
- Political Economy: Rationality in an Irrational World?
- Popular Culture and World Politics
- War and Society
- Justice, Legitimacy and International Law
- Latin American Politics
- Sex, Drugs and Public Policy
- Visual Global Politics
- Politics in Practice: Work Placement Module
- Be the Change: Governing without the State
- The Politics of Populism in Europe
- Governing Global Public Health: Viral Pandemics, and the Global Drugs 'Epidemic'
- Anglo-American relations and Cold War defence
- China in the World
- Strategy in Theory and Practice
- The Political Economy of Wales: From Coal to Covid-19
- Economy Wleidyddol Cymru: o 'Oes y glo' i 'Oes y clo'
- The End of the World as We Know It
- After the West: IR 2.0
- US Government and Politics
- Cyfiawnder Byd-eating
- Cenedlaetholdeb, Crefydd a Chyfiawnder: Hanes Athroniaeth yr 20fed Ganrif yng Nghymru
- Parliamentary Studies Module
- International Relations Dissertation
- Politics Dissertation
- Global International Organisation in World Politics
- Personality and Power
How Will I Be Assessed?
A range of assessment methods are used, including essays, examinations, presentations, portfolios and creative assignments.
Essays and examinations are used not only for assessment purposes but also as a means of developing your capacities to gather, organise, evaluate and deploy relevant information and ideas from a variety of sources in reasoned arguments.
The optional final-year dissertation provides you with the opportunity to investigate a specific topic of interest to you in-depth and to acquire detailed knowledge about a particular field of study, use your initiative in the collection and presentation of material present a clear, cogent argument and draw appropriate conclusions.
What Skills Will I Practise and Develop?
This degree programme will allow you to develop a number of valuable skills. Students who are awarded a Single or Joint Honours Politics degree will be able to:
- Gather, organize and deploy evidence, data and information from a variety of sources
- Develop a reasoned argument, synthesize relevant information and exercise critical judgment
- Reflect on their own learning and make use of constructive feedback
- Manage their own learning self-critically
- Communicate ideas effectively and fluently, both orally and in writing
- Use communications and information technologies for the retrieval and presentation of information
- Work independently, demonstrating initiative, self-organisation and time management
- Collaborate with others and contribute to the achievement of common goals
Loans and Grants
Financial support information for students.
Bursaries
We wish to ensure that financial circumstances are not a barrier to your undergraduate study opportunities.
Scholarships
We wish to recruit the very best students and to help us achieve this, we offer a number of scholarships.
Part-time Undergraduate Funding
Information about funding for part-time students.
Financial Support for Asylum Seekers
Information for asylum seekers about the financial support we offer undergraduates and options for funding from outside the University.
Degrees in Politics and International Relations provide you with a foundation for a wide range of careers such as in non-governmental organisations, global development, international business, diplomacy and intelligence in government, journalism, and policy research, as well as a basis for more specialist subjects taught at postgraduate level.