Politics - BA (Hons)

Course structure

Duration: 3 years full-time, 6 years part-time

The BA in Politics is composed of compulsory and optional modules. You may also be able to take ‘wild’ modules from other programmes so you can customise your programme and explore other subjects that interest you.

The modules below are indicative of those offered on this programme. This list is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation.

Teaching and assessment

Our main teaching methods are lectures, seminars, working groups, PC laboratory sessions and individual discussions with your personal tutor or module teachers. Assessment is through continuous feedback, written examinations, assessed essays and oral presentations.

Politics Open Forum

We hold a weekly extra-curricular Open Forum organised by our School research groups, where students and staff have the opportunity to discuss and debate key issues of the day that affect higher education and politics in the world today.

Contact hours

For a student studying full time, each academic year of the programme will comprise 1200 learning hours which include both direct contact hours and private study hours.  The precise breakdown of hours will be subject dependent and will vary according to modules.  Please refer to the individual module details under Course Structure.

Methods of assessment will vary according to subject specialism and individual modules.  Please refer to the individual module details under Course Structure.

Programme aims

The programme aims to:

• meet the needs of those who are seeking a career in a variety of fields (for example, the service sector) through the learning of generic intellectual, transferable and subject-specific skills
• respond to your intellectual interest in politics and enhance your competence as a citizen in a rapidly changing political environment
• place questions of political order and decision making at the centre of social-scientific analysis
• ensure that you gain a knowledge and understanding of political analysis in a supportive and responsive learning environment
• enable you to grasp political concepts and methods and understand their contested nature
• develop your capacity to think critically about political events, ideas and institutions
• encourage you to relate the academic study of politics to questions of public concern
• provide a curriculum supported by scholarship and a research culture that promotes wide-ranging intellectual enquiry and debate
• enable you to develop skills relevant to your vocational and personal development.

Learning outcomes

Knowledge and understanding

You gain knowledge and understanding of:

• key concepts, theories and methods and how they are used to analyse political ideas, institutions and practices
• the structure, institutions and operation of different political systems
• the social, economic, historical and cultural contexts of political institutions and behaviour
• the political dynamics of interaction between people, events, ideas and institutions
• factors accounting for political change
• the contestable nature of many concepts and different approaches to the study of politics
• the normative and positive foundations of political ideas
• the intersection of politics with related disciplines.

Intellectual skills

You gain intellectual skills in how to:

• gather, organise and deploy information from a variety of primary and secondary sources
• identify, investigate, analyse, formulate and advocate solutions to problems
• develop reasoned arguments, synthesise relevant information and exercise critical judgement
• reflect on and manage your own learning and seek to make use of constructive feedback to enhance your own performance and personal skills.

Subject-specific skills

You gain subject-specific skills in:

• understanding the nature and significance of politics as a human activity
• the application of concepts, theories and methods in the analysis of political ideas, institutions and practices
• how to evaluate different interpretations of political issues and events
• the ability to describe, evaluate and apply different approaches to collecting, analysing and presenting political information.

Transferable skills

You develop transferable skills in the following areas:

• communication – how to communicate effectively in speech and writing and with the aid of IT; how to organise information clearly; how to use communication and IT for the retrieval and presentation of information, including statistical or numerical data
• numeracy – how to make sense of statistical materials; integrate numerical and non-numerical information, and understand the limits and potentialities of arguments based on quantitative information
• information technology – how to produce written documents; undertake online research; communicate using email; process information using databases
• working with others – how to define and review the work of others; work co-operatively on group tasks; understand how groups function; collaborate with others and contribute to the achievement of common goals
• improving own learning – how to explore personal strengths and weaknesses; review your working environment; develop specialist learning skills (for example in foreign languages); develop autonomy in learning; demonstrate initiative and manage your own time
• problem solving – how to identify and define problems; explore alternative solutions and discriminate between them.

Careers

Graduate destinations

Recent graduates have gone on to develop careers in areas including:

• practical politics
• local and central government
• the diplomatic service
• non-governmental organisations
• journalism
• international business
• teaching
• publishing
• financial services.

Help finding a job

The School of Politics and International Relations runs an Employability Programme, focused on providing you with the skills you need when looking for a job. This includes workshops on a range of topics, for example summer internships, networking, and careers in diplomacy and the Civil Service.

You also have access to a weekly Employability Newsletter, featuring jobs for graduates, as well as internship and volunteering opportunities.

The University has a friendly Careers and Employability Service, which can give you advice on how to:

• apply for jobs
• write a good CV
• perform well in interviews.

Career-enhancing skills

To help you appeal to employers, you also learn key transferable skills that are essential for all graduates. These include the ability to:

• think critically
• communicate your ideas and opinions
• manage your time effectively
• work independently or as part of a team.

You can also gain extra skills by signing up for one of our Kent Extra activities, such as learning a language or volunteering.