Politics and International Relations BA (Hons)

Why you should study this course

• Academic staff who are actively engaged in high-quality research that informs their teaching and who are qualified lecturers with members of staff being fellows and senior fellows of AdvanceHE.
• Events and conferences featuring national and international politicians and dignitaries (subject to availability and additional costs).
• An exciting and modern course that examines the key political issues of the modern world.
• Multidisciplinary teaching with experts from national and international politics, history, global security and social theory.
• An intellectually challenging course that encourages you to sharpen your analytical skills and engage with issues of vital concern for today’s world.
• The opportunity to focus on specific themes such as North American, European, East Asian, and Middle Eastern politics, social movements or global security as you progress through your course.
• The opportunity to apply for an international experience with international staff, an international curriculum and the options of an overseas field trip, and / or study abroad or overseas placement (subject to availability, competitive application, meeting visa requirements and additional costs).
• The opportunity to develop advanced professional skills such as the ability to think independently and creatively, to advance sophisticated arguments and to communicate ideas confidently as enquired by potential employers.\

What you'll study

Politics and International Relations are highly interconnected academic disciplines, concerned with overlapping questions of power, government, decision-making, conflict, peace, foreign policy, democracy, human rights, social movements and political ideologies. Throughout your degree, you will study these issues, both in relation to the internal workings of different political systems and their external relations in the contemporary global system. Through a rich programme of modules, you will learn about the politics and international relations of the Middle East, Africa, the Balkans, the US, Europe and China.

Year One
Your first year sets the foundation for the study of Politics and International Relations, at both country-specific and global levels.

Modules

• Applied politics: Politics in Action - 30 credits

• Themes and Concepts in International Relations - 20 credits

• Introduction to Political Ideas - 20 credits

• World Politics since 1945 - 20 credits

• Introduction to International Relations Theories - 20 credits

• Add+vantage - 10 credits

Year two
In the second year, you will study a range of topics that should deepen and widen your understanding of political systems, political ideas, international relations, conflict and security and foreign policy analysis. Focus will turn to contemporary issues and events, examining a range of real-life case studies to illustrate the challenges of government policy and the key role of civil society and non-state actors.

Modules

• Contemporary Global Security - 20 credits

• Foreign Policy Analysis - 20 credits

• Comparative Politics and Governanace - 20 credits

• Contemporary British Government - 20 credits

• A Graduate Career - 10 credits

• Add+vantage - 10 credits

• International Political Economy - 20 credits

• Humanitarian Intervention and Peacekeeping - 20 credits

• The Contemporary Far Right in Western Europe - 20 credits

Final year
In your final year you will have the opportunity to specialise your knowledge, choosing from a range of optional modules on the Middle East, the US, China and Central and Eastern Europe.  You may also choose a Study Trip module and write a dissertation on a topic of your own free choice.

Modules

• Political Ideologies in the 20th Century - 20 credits

• Ethics and International Relations - 20 credits

• Dissertation - 30 credits

• Add+vantage - 10 credits

• Politics of the Contemporary Middle East - 20 credits

• Nationalism and Democracy in Post-Communist Europe - 20 credits

• US Foreign Policy since 1945 - 20 credits

• US Government and Politics - 20 credits

• Study Trip - 20 credits

• Chinese Politics, Foreign Relations, and Security - 20 credits

English language requirements

• IELTS: 6.5 overall

International Fees
£15,300 per year

International Pathways 2022 Scholarship
You could enjoy a £3,000 reduction in tuition fees.
Our high-quality foundation, international year one and pre-masters courses are for international students who do not meet the requirements for direct entry to their preferred Coventry University undergraduate or postgraduate course. We can support you to achieve the academic and/or English grades you need and help you gain the personal and professional skills required to study at university.

We want to encourage ambitious international students like you to study at Coventry University, so we’ve secured extra financial support for you worth £3,000, to help with the cost of tuition fees, living expenses and accommodation.

The scholarship application deadline is:
September 2022 intake: 31 July 2022

In a globalised world where companies increasingly do business across national boundaries, you can benefit from an in-depth understanding of the international landscape, gaining an insight appealing to many employers. This course is informed by up-to-date research and provides knowledge on issues that are at the forefront of the disciplines of Politics and International Relations and enables you to develop a wide range of skills that are highly valued by employers.

Our students who graduate in degrees that include politics and international relations can find a number of exciting careers.

International Relations
Recent graduates are now employed in the private sector, ranging from marketing, human resources, banking, and finance to media, and across the public sector in education, the civil service, police forces, local authorities, charities, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and international organisations.

They work for a range of organisations, including the Houses of Parliament, BUPA Healthcare, BMI Healthcare, Barclays, HSBC, Amazon, National Crime Agency, BBC, West Midlands Police/Transport Police, European Union, Atlas Copco, GlaxoSmithKline, Grant Thornton, IPSOS Mori, European Parliament, NHS, Commonwealth, Amnesty International and Greenpeace.

Some of our students set up in business for themselves, which range from youth mentoring, learning and development workshop delivery, logistics and creative industries.

Politics
Some of our previous students have secured graduate-level jobs in the Civil Service, international organisations, local government, the media, private sector companies, the culture industry, further and higher education teaching and non-government organisations (NGOs).