Why you should study this course
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The academic staff in the School of Humanities produce world class research and publications and maintain an outstanding network of professional contacts who engage with students as part of their studies.
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Students are given the opportunity to apply learning to practice through attending practitioner workshops, field trips, student-led independent research and simulations2. Within the programme, students will enjoy flexibility to shape their own assessments and pursue their own specialist fields of interest.
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Students receive extensive academic and pastoral support including a module dedicated to imparting the critical thinking skills and academic competencies needed to succeed at postgraduate level, notably the capacities to analyse, evaluate and construct coherent and convincing scholarly arguments.
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Students also address principles of consultancy and the theories and practices found in leadership through embedded professional development.
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Graduates from the MA Politics will have a wide range of career paths open to them, including the Civil Service, international organisations, the media, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), consultancy local government, private sector companies, the culture industry, and further and higher education teaching.
The course offers an interdisciplinary postgraduate programme that goes well beyond the range of topics typically associated with a pure Politics syllabus.
It builds on the expertise of the School of Humanities’ Politics staff in the fields of comparative politics and political theory and broadens the offer by drawing on the skills and experience of the School’s History and International Relations staff.
Politics modules include advanced topics covering urgent contemporary issues through up-to-date research and analysis, such as Democracy and Democratic Breakdown, 21st Century Populism and The Changing Nature of War and Terrorism. Experts from the fields of History and International Relations support other core modules in War and Terrorism, Resilience in the International System, Threats to Global Security and Gender and Social Change in 20th Century Britain.
During each of the first two semesters, you will study four modules built around the two principal themes of the course: national politics and the international political order. During the third semester, you will complete an independent research project on a subject of your choice and a professional development module designed to enhance your employability post-graduation.
Modules
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Critical Thinking – 15 credits
The aim of the module is to enhance students' critical thinking and to highlight academic good practice. Issues considered are: evidence collection, methods of analysis, research ethics, academic writing, the nature of academic argument, and presentation strategies. The central aim is to encourage a critical approach towards research and to the selection of evidence and modes of presenting results.
Compulsory
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Threats to Global Security – 15 credits
This module seeks to provide students with an informed understanding of the key threats that are posed to Global Security. Since the end of the Cold War, there has been a widening in the number of the threats affecting individual, group, state and international security. To this end, the threat of major armed conflict between states that was a dominant feature of much of the twentieth and nineteenth centuries has been replaced by a range of new threats that include crime, economic inequality, poverty, environmental pollution, diseases, natural disasters, state collapse, non-state actors, terrorism and the re-emergence of racial and religious tension. In examining these issues, the module focuses on the theoretical and practical policy challenges that are posed to global security and ability of states and international organisations to respond to the challenges.
Compulsory
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Dictatorship and Democratic Breakdown – 15 credits
Democracies, Karl Popper noticed, are countries, the “governments of which we can get rid without bloodshed”. He went on to observe that in these, “the social institutions provide means by which the rulers may be dismissed [peacefully], and the social traditions ensure that these institutions will not be easily destroyed by those who are in power”. The question in this module is if the currently existing democracies have ‘social traditions’ that are strong enough to withstand those who may want to destroy them; or are we witnessing a period of what the political scientist Larry Diamond has called, ‘Democratic regression”? The module looks at histories of earlier democratic breakdowns to answer the question: when is democracy in danger of withering away? It also covers theories of democratic breakdowns in history, philosophy and above all comparative government. In addition, it compares and contrasts democracies and asks, if dictatorships are more efficient than democracies. Lastly, it looks at when dictatorships fall – and why they rarely do so.
Compulsory
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Resilience in the International System – 15 credits
In recent years, resilience has become a dominant policy paradigm in International Relations (IR). Leading Western governments and international organizations have proposed resilience as a solution to the complex problems of an interconnected and globalised world, from counter-terrorism and economic development to public security and climate change. In academia, too, resilience has been referred to as a "pervasive idiom of global governance" (Walker&Cooper). But, what exactly distinguishes a resilience approach to governance, development and security from earlier frameworks? What are the ethical and political implications of resilience thinking both at the individual and the government level? Do resilience-based approaches offer more effective and legitimate policy answers than traditional politics and IR? This module tries to answer these questions by looking at both the theory and practice of resilience in International Relations. It engages critically with the scholarly debate on resilience and investigates the rise of resilience thinking in several policy fields, including international development, armed conflict and disaster risk reduction.
Compulsory
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21st Century Populism – 15 credits
This module focuses on the phenomenon of populism and its diverse manifestations in the 21st Century. The world has witnessed a rise of populist parties and leaders across the globe, primarily on the right but also on the left. Populism has now become an intensely researched topic and widely debated theme. This module examines the rise of populism in Western and Central Europe, The United States, Latin America and the Middle East. It offers students the opportunity to learn the theory and history of populism, and compare and contrast populist political movements, parties and leaders from around the world. In addition, it provides students with an insight into the complex relationship between democracy and populism, including the question of why populists have been successful in established democracies.
Compulsory
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International Security Praxis – 15 credits
This module invites students to interact with international security practitioners, seeking reflection upon how academic knowledge and ideas translate into ‘real world’ security practice. Is what is learnt in the classroom, and from the academic literature, reflected in the views, experiences and policies of individuals and organisations working in the field of international security?
Compulsory
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Changing Character of War and Terrorism – 15 credits
This module is designed to provide the foundations of the theory and the praxis of war. Students attending this module will be introduced to the key concepts of, and will be encouraged to critically assess, past, present and future issues of violent conflicts, defence policies of great powers and relate them to the global political context of the 21st century. Particular emphasis will be devoted to the study of political, criminal and terrorist violence and how these relate to key debates about the changing character of war. The module is structured around workshops where students will be exposed to a wide variety of political, diplomatic, economic, social and legal problems connected to war in order to understand how war affects, directly or indirectly, every aspect of global affairs.
Compulsory
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Gender and Social Change in 20th Century Britain – 15 credits
This module aims to provide students with a critical understanding of the issues surrounding the history of gender in twentieth century Britain, through both the prisms of theory and advanced historical skills. This module examines how the twentieth century was a period of profound change for both men and women in Britain. The gendered norms established in the Victorian era gradually gave way to more permissive and progressive understandings of gender and sexuality, and Britain became an increasingly diverse society in terms of ethnicity and race. The century was dominated by profound periods of instability and upheaval, including two world wars, the financial calamity of the Great Depression, and the Cold War. Women gained the right to vote, equal pay was established as a legal requirement and by the end of the century questions of race and sexuality had become profound political questions.
Compulsory
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Dissertation - 50 credits
This module is designed to enable students to complete a project entailing independent study, using appropriate research techniques and source materials. It may consist of one or several of the following criteria: a critical evaluation of literature, a reassessment of evidence, an evaluation of particular approaches or techniques, a reflection on a practical experience, or a limited piece of original or applied research.
Compulsory
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Leading Diverse Workforces - 10 credits
This module aims to provide students with a framework of knowledge and understanding of how to effectively lead and develop people in a strategically diverse and inclusive way whatever the Master’s degree of specialisation they elect to follow. Students will explore for example, the influence and impact of leadership theories, culture, wellbeing, and approaches to developing better equality, diversity and inclusion strategies and practices that can be used creatively within a leadership role in different types of organisational scenarios.
Compulsory
With professional experience option
The professional experience opportunity2 enables you the opportunity to apply for optional professional experience in semester 1, which, upon successfully securing an opportunity, will extend the duration of your master’s to either 16, 20 or 24 months. The professional experience provides an opportunity for you to develop expertise and experience in your chosen field with the aim of enhancing your employability.
Please note that the optional professional experience modules incur an additional tuition fee, for which 1 semester of professional experience is £1,333.33, for 2 semesters of professional experience is £2666.67, and for 3 semesters of professional experience is £4,000.
Professional experience may also be subject to additional costs, visa requirements being met, subject to availability and/or competitive application. Professional experience opportunities are not guaranteed but you will benefit from the support of our Talent Team in trying to find and secure an opportunity. Find out more about the professional experience option.
We regularly review our course content, to make it relevant and current for the benefit of our students. For these reasons, course modules may be updated.
How you'll learn
The course is designed as a one-year programme when studied full-time. You will be taught through lectures, seminars, and workshops with emphasis on working collaboratively in small groups.
The course also includes the opportunity to undertake an independent research project supported by an academic supervisor. Your personal tutor and module leaders will review and discuss your progress with you and will be available for regular one-to-one advice.
This course can be offered on a part-time basis. Whilst we would like to give you all the information about our part-time offering here, it is tailored for each course each year depending on the number of part-time applicants.
Therefore, the part-time teaching arrangements vary. Request further information about part-time study.
Teaching contact hours
The number of full-time contact hours may vary from semester to semester, however, on average, it is likely to be around 12-15 contact hours per week.
Additionally, you will be expected to undertake significant self-directed study of approximately 35 hours each week, depending on the demands of individual modules.
The contact hours may be made up of a combination of face-to-face teaching, individual and group tutorials, and online classes and tutorials.
As an innovative and enterprising institution, the University may seek to utilise emerging technologies within the student experience. For all courses (whether on-campus, blended, or distance learning), the University may deliver certain contact hours and assessments via online technologies and methods.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are prepared for courses due to start in or after the 2022/2023 academic year to be delivered in a variety of forms. The form of delivery will be determined in accordance with Government and Public Health guidance. Whether on campus or online, our key priority is staff and student safety.
Assessment
This course will be assessed using a variety of methods which will vary depending upon the module.
Assessment methods include:
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Essays
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Group work
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Presentations
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Reports
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Projects
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Coursework
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Individual Assignments
The Coventry University Group assessment strategy ensures that our courses are fairly assessed and allows us to monitor student progression towards achieving the intended learning outcomes.
International Experience Opportunities
Please note that all international experience opportunities may be subject to additional costs, competitive application, availability and meeting applicable visa and travel requirements are therefore not guaranteed.
