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BSc Politics with International Relations  

Key facts

3 years full time or 4 years with integrated placement year/year abroad

UCAS Code: L290

Typical Offers
A-levels: ABB from 3 A-levels. General Studies accepted.

IB:  31-33 points in the IB diploma including TOK/Bonus points. Standard level Maths and English 5 required.

Access: Pass Access to HE Diploma with Merit in each module.  Humanities or Social Sciences Access course preferred, but other courses considered on an individual basis. 

BTEC: National Extended Diploma DDD.  Mix of Diploma/ Subsidiary Diploma/A-levels acceptable. 

We accept a wide range of UK, EU and International qualifications: please contact us for further advice.

Specific subject requirements:
GCSE English Language and Maths Grade C.

Applicants receiving offers are invited to an open day.

Tuition fees: £9,000 (£1,000 during placement year) for UK/EU students. (2013).  More on fees

Scholarships available for 2013

Key benefits

  • Politics at Aston is 26th, up from 54th, in the Guardian University Guide 2013

  • 90% of Politics students at Aston are satisfied with the quality of their course (Guardian University Guide 2012)  

  • Aston is ranked 51st in the world for graduate employability as judged by employers. (2012 QS Guide to Global Universities)

Open days and visits
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How to apply

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Subject guide and modules

The programme explores politics and international relations in British, European and global settings. It examines theories about the nature of politics and international relations from the ancient to the modern world. Students will also explore the complex relationship between ethics and international action via co-operation and conflict. The history and present day functionality of the European Union and policy-making at international, national and regional levels is also explored.

Sample module options

The following module descriptions are indications only - the modules on offer and the content of the modules is subject to change.

Click on the module titles to find out more.

Year 1

The module provides an introduction to the changing ways in which British governments and political parties have responded to the changing domestic and international environment, from the post-war period to date. Particular reference is made to the link between politics and economics, including industrial relations, and to British membership in international organizations. In Teaching Period 1 the main focus is on Domestic Politics, while in TP2 the main focus is on Britain’s Foreign Relations.

Assessment: 2x 1,500 word essay (one for each Teaching Period, counting for 50% each).  
This module seeks to provide you with a good introductory knowledge of politics. We concentrate upon some of the basic elements of political study:  Power and Authority, Legitimacy, The State, Nationalism, Democracy, Representation, and Voting Systems. During Teaching Period 1, the emphasis is upon understanding these key political concepts and issues, and some of the key political thinkers. During Teaching Period 2, the module’s focus changes significantly. Here, you form research groups, focusing on a mutually agreed topic: Feminism, Capital Punishment, The Labour Party, The Euro zone Crisis – these are just four examples. Over the term, you organise the group’s research, meet up, plan your project, research it, present draft findings to the whole group, and submit a full research dossier at the end of term.

Assessment: A 2-hour exam at the beginning of Teaching Period 2, and a (group) Research Dossier at the end of Teaching Period 2. (50 per cent each).

This module offers an introduction into world politics and international relations. We inhabit a world of rapid change and solid knowledge of the underlying structures, dynamics and processes of international relations will be essential for your future professional (and private) life. During Teaching Period 1, we will focus on the pillars of the state system, introduce some key concepts, the theoretical traditions of realism and liberalism and examine the causes of cooperation and conflict. During Teaching Period 2, our emphasis will be on international law and international organisations such as the UN and the EU. We will also look at the structure of the global political economy, analysing the global financial system, international trade and development. We will also investigate topics such as environmental issues, terrorism and religion in international relations.

Assessment: Two-Hour exam at the end of each Teaching Period (50% each)

This module provides you with a good knowledge of formulating and analyzing research questions and presenting sources in an academically relevant way. Students will be able to learn to research, plan and structure an essay; acquire language specific features of essay writing; identify the research tools in the library; work into a virtual learning environment; and use electronic resources to polish their work.

Assessment: A Take Away Paper at the end of the Teaching Period.

This module provides an analytical and substantive overview of European history from 1789 to the present, with a focus on the post-1945 period. The module is structured thematically. Students will analyse and interrogate certain critical junctures in European history that have determined the shape of both the European continent and the contemporary world. The primary aim of the course is to provide an empirical background for students in the international history of Europe from the 19th to 21st centuries that will allow students to apply, contextualise and better understand the political science and international relations theories that form the focus of the other core modules.

Assessment: two examinations, 1x 2 hour (January), 1x 3 hour (May). 

Year 2

This module seeks to provide you with a broad understanding of the design and conduct of research into political and social topics. Students learn about the basic concepts related to the design and conduct of research, such as ontology and epistemology. They also learn about the main schools of political and social enquiry and the tools that are utilised in social science research. There is analysis of the main traps and pitfalls in the way that data is collected, manipulated and presented, so that students avoid these traps and are alert to abuses by others.

Assessment: An assignment or assignments to the equivalent of 1,800 words in TP2.

This module seeks to provide you with a strong understanding of the institutional configuration of the EU and how these institutions have been shaped by the relations between member states of the European Union. The module introduces you to the theories of European integration, and challenges you to assess competing views on the dynamics of the integration process over time. In the second part of the module, we explore a core set of policies areas of the EU, and students are asked to relate the politics and institutional make-up of the EU to developments in those policy fields. 

Assessment: A 2-hour exam at the beginning of Teaching Period 2.

This module introduces students to key debates in security studies. The course is a mix of theoretical inquiry and empirical application. First, the module introduces students to the development of key theoretical perspectives in security studies., such as the traditional schools of realism and liberalism, through to critical security studies, constructivism and human security amongst others. After this, the module moves on to a range of traditional and non-traditional security challenges, and using the theoretical frameworks introduced, discusses issues including warfare, nuclear proliferation, terrorism, organized crime, human trafficking and the defence trade.  
   

Assessment: exam (50%) and 2,000 – 3,000 word group report (50%)

This course introduces students to a variety of texts in the canon of political philosophy.  It begins with an account of ancient political philosophy taking into account the writings of Greek and Roman philosophers (Plato, Aristotle and Cicero) before delving into significant pre-modern authors; namely, Aquinas and the scholastic movement.  The second half of the course examines enlightened and modern themes of political philosophy through a thematic investigation of the social contract tradition, utilitarianism and modern criticisms of these ideas. 

Students are expected to produce two research papers (one per teaching period) and sit a cumulative final two-hour exam.   
Analysing  dynamics and events in world politics does not happen in a conceptual and theoretical vacuum. Theoretical approaches provide us with the tools to make sense of the complex and colourful reality that is contemporary international relations. In this 20-cr module we will look at the various competing theoretical frameworks of international relations. We will learn how international relations has developed as an academic discipline through the analysis of four theoretical debates that constitute international relations. We will also discuss how political philosophy has influenced the way we view contemporary world politics.

Assessment: Essay in Teaching Period 1 (50%), Exam in Teaching Period 2 (50%)

Year 3 - Placement Year

Final Year

The Office of President of the United States is arguably the most powerful political office in the world. Its incumbents not only provide interesting case studies on strong Executive leadership within the constitutional framework of the USA, their actions (and inactions) also tend to have far-reaching consequences far beyond the US borders (“Leader of the Free World”). This 10-credit Final Year Elective module looks at the US Presidency in its constitutional, political and socio-economic context, as well as investigating Presidential action at key periods, drawing on both historical and current examples.

Assessment: 3,000 words essay (100%).  
This module looks at the role of intellectuals in political life. It is historical and thematic, looking, for example, at intellectuals in the Dreyfus Affair, or during the 1920s and 30s, or today – their role in the Arab Spring, for example; or at specific individuals as expressions of the phenomenon: e.g. Orwell, and de Beauvoir. The module also examines the role of culture in the creation of intellectuals in a range of countries and epochs – why, for example, are intellectuals viewed so differently in different countries? The module also widens our focus to discuss whether other activities and roles should also be considered: artists, inventors, singers? Do these play a social and political role comparable to that of intellectuals? And what today is the role of celebrity culture in the creation of iconic individuals who affect the political process?


Assessment: 3, 000-word essay

This module examines theories of leadership, and looks at the evolution of the phenomenon, in Europe and the United States, in Latin America, and beyond. We focus particularly upon the rhetoric and styles of particular leaders, and the ways in which they persuade and generate allegiance. How they ‘perform’ and what are the historical, cultural, and institutional conditions of their performance. We look at a range of leaders, often comparing them – Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, for example, or Churchill and de Gaulle. Some leaders we look at in minute detail: JFK’s press conferences, MLK’s March on Washington speech, X’s The Ballot or the Bullet, etc. We also look at particular issues, such as the changing conditions of leadership style, women in politics, political rhetoric, the role of culture, and the role of the media.

Assessment: 3, 000-word essay

The module offers an introduction to central and east European politics. It begins with an overview of the events that led up to the collapse of communism, before considering the key themes that have dominated politics in this region since 1989. These include economic reform, democratic transition, institutional design, nationalism, security questions, accession to Nato and the EU and so on.

Assessment: 1x 3000-word essay to be submitted at the end of the module.
This module is an introduction to the nature of the political communication process. It provides you with insights into the core dimensions of what constitutes “communication” in a democratic system, and the problems inherent in delivering effective communication to citizens. After studying a range of theoretical views on communication in politics, you then move on to focus on a range of aspects of communication in political life today, such as new media, public opinion, media effects and agenda setting. In groups, students devise a real-life communications campaign, and present this, along with a portfolio of explanatory documents, at the end of the module.

Assessment: A campaigns presentation and portfolio (25%) and a 2000-word essay at the end of Teaching Period 1 (75%).

This module considers the countries of the Western Balkans (Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Albania, Montenegro, Macedonia and Kosovo) on their path to European integration and efforts in dealing with legacies of conflict and transition.  The module begins by looking at the recent past of the area – the 1991 collapse of Yugoslavia, 1992-1999 conflicts – and how these events have influence the subsequent political development of the successor states.  The module then considers the region’s various challenges including  post-conflict governance, statehood, intervention, ethnic tensions, war crimes, Kosovo independence and EU integration.

Assessment: 3,000 word policy brief (100%)

This course aims to enable students to research in significant depth a topic in Politics, and address and elaborate key concepts used in the analysis of historical, political, social and cultural institutions and processes. This knowledge, and drawing upon previous modules studied in levels 1 and 2 form the conceptual, methodological and analytical bases for research into their topic. Students will produce an independently researched piece of work, supervised by a lecturer from Politics and International Relations.

Assessment 4,000-6,000 word dissertation (100%)
Extended Politics Dissertation (LP3006): 10,000 word dissertation (80%) and oral exam (20%)

Placement Year  

The Placement Year is optional for students studying Politics with International Relations. If you choose to take a placement year, this will take place during your third year at Aston and is worth 10% of the final degree result.

Unlike some other universities, the placement year at Aston is not a ''bolt-on'' year, it is an integral part of your degree for which you are prepared in your second year.

A distinctive feature of our placement year is the flexibility that we offer. You will be able to choose between undertaking a paid work-experience placement with a company or working as a teaching assistant in a school (either in the UK or abroad) - you might even choose to combine two of these options.  

We are extremely proud of the high level of preparation, orientation and support that we provide before and during your year abroad. We have a full-time Placements Team who will give you plenty of individual help and advice, and even come and visit you during your time away.  

Find out more about the Placement Year.

Learning, teaching and assessment   

You will be involved in lectures and seminars, small group work projects and independent study. Many of your modules will be in workshop format, alternating theoretical input with practical analysis, and allowing you to test out your understanding in discussion with other students and your tutor. There are also opportunities fro group and collaborative work. Students undertake a major piece of independent research in Final Year. You will be allocated an academic supervisor for this work and a Personal Tutor who can provide you with help and advice throughout your studies.

Assessment is through a combination of exams, project-based course work, essays, presentations and an extended dissertation during your Final Year.

Career prospects   

Aston is ranked 5th in the UK and 1st outside London for graduate employability - beating Oxbridge (2012 Sunday Times University Guide).  

Our graduates are in demand from a wide range of employers who value their understanding of different cultures and societies, their communication skills and motivation for team work.   Recent destinations for our Languages and Social Sciences graduates include:   

  • Graduate Trainee Managers for British Airways, Aldi Stores, John Lewis Partnership and Selfridges
  • Journalist for Tatler Magazine
  • European Union/European Parliament Officers/Assistants
  • Marketing Assistant at Beiersdorf (makers of NIVEA amongst other products) 
  • Trainee Accountant at PricewaterhouseCoopers 
  • Case Worker - Crown Prosecution Service
  • PhD Forensic Linguistics - Aston University
  • MSc Human Resource Management, King's College London
  • Tenancy Support Worker, Midland Heart  

Facilities & equipment

The School of Languages and Social Sciences has a dedicated Learning Support Team and excellent facilities including:

  • 70 computers in 4 rooms
  • Free DVD library (French, Spanish, German, English)
  • Audio and video-editing tools
  • corpus linguistics tools (Wordsmith and Antconc)
  • research software (NVIVO and PASW/SPSS)

Teaching staff 

Read what the Politics and International Relations staff have to say about the course:

Dr Nathaniel Copsey, Head of Politics and International Relations, Co-Director of the Aston Centre for Europe (ACE)

Nat Copsey

"Politics and international relations at Aston offers a fascinating insight into the challenges facing our societies in the 21st century. It is also home to the Aston Centre for Europe, a world-class research facility for the study of Europe which provides access the most up-to-date new thinking on all matters relating to Europe. We aim to prepare our students thoroughly for demanding, often international, careers and the placement year gives our students a distinct advantage on the graduate labour market.''

Contact us

School of Languages and Social Sciences Undergraduate Admissions
Tel: 0121 204 3700
Email: lss_ugadmissions@aston.ac.uk 

Student Profile

Student Profile

Rachel Williams

BSc International Relations and Spanish

During my Placement Year I undertook a Community Development Internship with The Phoenix Projects in Ecuador. This was a great way to put knowledge from my degree into practice along with my passion for sustainable community development. I worked on a range of projects including planning and buying a herd of cows for a new family business.

Read more...
 

Download the Politics & International Relations Brochure

Related courses


BSc International Relations and Business 

BSc International Relations and English Language 

Fees & funding

Fees & funding

Find out about tuition fees & student loans, and the bursaries and scholariships available.

Accommodation

Accommodation

All our accommodation is based on campus and over 80% of our rooms are ensuite. We offer a guarenteed place scheme for first years.

Student life

Student life

Our city centre location gives you the best of both worlds: a welcoming, lively campus community, in the heart of a vibrant city.

Student support - we're with you all the way

Student support - we're with you all the way

We offer a range of support services to ensure your time here is a success in academic, social and personal terms.

Outstanding graduate career prospects

Outstanding graduate career prospects

Aston is ranked 5th in the UK, and the best outside London, for the percentage of graduates entering employment who achieve graduate level jobs (Sunday Times University Guide 2012)

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Birmingham - home to 65,000 students!

Birmingham - home to 65,000 students!

With fantastic nightlife, great restaurants, beautiful parks, superb shopping and much more, Birmingham is a true student city.

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Graduate Profile

Graduate Profile

Anna Wallace

2007 Graduate - BSc German and Politics

I am currently the Public Affairs Manager for the HR professional body, the CIPD. I couldn’t work in public affairs without the knowledge of the UK parliamentary system I learnt at Aston.

Read more...
 

International students

International students

Aston offers a world-class education and is home to students from over 120 countries.

Learn a language alongside your course

Learn a language alongside your course

Whatever course you are studying, you can choose to study a language whilst you are at Aston. Improving your cultural awareness and career prospects.

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