Program Overview

You’ll explore the key concepts, policies, practices and institutions of international relations while developing your Chinese language skills.

Your time studying in China will give you the chance to gain first-hand experience of the culture, to consolidate your knowledge and language skills, and offer you the chance to discover your own area of interest in China within the larger global context.

The study of international systems and relations is complemented by studies centred on regions of crucial geopolitical and economic significance today: you’ll focus on China, but will also look at the Middle East, Africa and Latin America.

You can enhance your knowledge in your personal areas of interest, with option modules in security, development and human rights, foreign policy, and conflict and genocide.

You’ll have the opportunity to apply your academic knowledge to an optional work placement in the international relations sector. This valuable experience will set you apart as you pursue a career in areas such as government, international institutions, policy thinktanks, development agencies and NGOs.

After graduating you’ll be given the option to study for another year at Beijing Capital Normal University and gain a BA in Chinese Studies. This option to gain an additional BA degree is a unique opportunity and the only programme of its type to be approved by the Ministry of Education in China, which will help to open doors for further employment opportunities.

During your studies, you’ll be eligible to apply for funding to take part in our annual Summer/Winter Camp to China. In previous years, students have visited Beijing and Shanghai and seen cultural sights including the Great Wall of China, visited the Forbidden City and cruised along Huangpu River.

Course Content

Program structure

Year 1 (credit level 4)

Students take the following compulsory modules in the Department of Politics and International Relations:

Module title	Credits
World Politics	30 credits
Political Theory and Ideologies	30 credits

You will also study two consecutive Mandarin modules (ie. Mandarin 1 and Mandarin 2). The module you start with will depend on your language ability, which will be determined by the Confucius Centre at the start of the academic year.

Module title	Credits
Mandarin 1	30 credits
Mandarin 2	30 credits
Mandarin 3	30 credits
Mandarin 4	30 credits

Year 2 (credit level 5)

You will study the following International Relations modules:

Module title	Credits
Contemporary International Relations Theories	15 credits
Global Governance and World Order	15 credits
Security Studies	15 credits

You then choose ONE module from a list of IR/area studies modules. Current examples include:

Module title	Credits
US Politics and Foreign Policy	15 credits
International Politics of the Middle East	15 credits
Rough Politics	15 credits

You will also study 2 more consecutive Mandarin modules, which should follow on from the Mandarin modules you studied in the first year. For example, if you studied Mandarin 1 and Mandarin 2 then you will study Mandarin 3 and Mandarin 4.

Module title	Credits
Mandarin 3	30 credits
Mandarin 4	30 credits
Mandarin 5	30 credits
Mandarin 6	30 credits

Year abroad at Capital Normal University in Beijing

In your third year you will spend a year studying at Capital Normal University in Beijing. You will take compulsory modules to the value of 120 credits.

Although you will be assessed as part of the course at Capital Normal University, these marks will not count towards your final degree classification.

Year 3 (credit level 6)

Returning to Goldsmiths in the final year, you'll complete a dissertation worth 30 credits in the Department of Politics and International Relations.

You’ll also study the following Confucius modules:

Advanced Audio-Visual News Comprehension
Advanced Practical Writing
Advanced Chinese Journal Reading
Contemporary Chinese Issues

And choose a total of 30 credits from a list of IR/area studies modules. Current examples include:

Module title	Credits
An(other) China: Streetscenes of Politics	15 credits
Critical Security Studies	15 credits
An(other) IR – Views from the South	15 credits
Nationalist Conflict and International Intervention	15 credits
Political Islam: Ideology and Discourse	15 credits
Politics of Conflict and Peacebuilding in Contemporary Africa	15 credits
The Politics and Economics of Immigration	15 credits
Finance and the Global Political Economy	15 credits
Colonialism and Non-Western Political Thought	15 credits
The Political Economy of International Development Assistance	15 credits
Armed Politics and Political Violence	30 credits
The Politics of Popular Music	15 credits
Feminist Economics	15 Credits

Entry Requirement
We accept the following qualifications:
- A-level: BBB
- BTEC: DDM
- International Baccalaureate: Three HL subjects with 655
- Access: Pass with 45 Level 3 credits including 30 Distinctions and a number of merits/passes in subject-specific modules
- Scottish qualifications: BBBBC (Higher) or BBC (Advanced Higher)
- European Baccalaureate: 75%
- Irish Leaving Certificate: H2 H2 H2 H2
If English isn’t your first language, you will need an IELTS score (or equivalent English language qualification) of 6.0 with a 6.0 in writing and no element lower than 5.5 to study this programme. If you need assistance with your English language, we offer a range of courses that can help prepare you for degree-level study.
Fees & Scholarships
Annual tuition fees

These are the fees for students starting their programme in the 2022/2023 academic year.

From August 2021 EU/EEA/Swiss nationals will no longer be eligible for 'Home' fee status. EU/EEA/Swiss nationals will be classified as 'International' for fee purposes.
- Home - full-time: £9250
- International - full-time: £17560
Career Prospect
Career Opportunity

Graduates of this programme will be in a unique employment position having gained broader disciplinary based theoretical skills than China area studies programmes, yet have advanced Chinese language skills and experience in China that are usually only available to China area studies scholars.

Graduates of this programme have gone on to a wide variety of careers. Some go on to postgraduate study or further training in law, accountancy, social work, business administration, or to specialise in one area of their academic studies, whilst others go directly into employment.

Recent graduates have found employment in administration and management; in various departments of central and local government; in finance, in the media; in research and computing; in voluntary agencies; in health, education and housing management; the probation service; in company management, and as lecturers and teachers.

With the addition of Chinese languages plus the one year in country training students of this programme will also have more specialised skills and experiential knowledge of a country that is economically, politically and socially fast becoming the world’s second super-power.

Cost Of Studying At Goldsmiths University of London

Interest rates as low as 8.9% ^*

250K+

Students Assisted

800Cr+

Loan Amount Disbursed

5000+

Loans Sanctioned

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BA (Hons) International Relations & Chinese at Goldsmiths University of London

Program Overview

Cost Of Studying At Goldsmiths University of London

250K+

800Cr+

5000+

BA (Hons) International Relations & Chinese
at Goldsmiths University of London