BA (Hons) Politics and International Relations
COURSE OVERVIEW
Our Joint Honours Politics and International Relations degree is designed for students who are interested in domestic politics (including the study of political theory, states, elections, and parliaments) as well as politics between countries (with a focus on international relations theory, security studies, and conflict). The degree allows students to develop expertise in both areas and to explore topics (such as environmental politics, global political economy, and international development) where they intersect.
The course is designed to give students a strong grounding in both politics and international relations in the first year, before allowing greater specialisation as well as increasing focus on the domestic/international intersection in the second year and building to a final year that centres on self-directed learning, allowing students flexibility to choose topics and areas that they wish to focus on. In the final year you also have the chance to take an internship with the Welsh Parliament and a British Parliamentary Studies module, partly taught by expert staff from the Houses of Parliament.
There is a strong emphasis on employability and skills across the degree, 91% of graduates are employed or in further study within six months of graduating (DLHE 2015). Students on this course typically develop excellent oral and writing skills and you will learn to present your ideas in a range of formats, along with strong research, analytical and problem-solving skills.
Our career support services include:
- Employability workshops, employers’ talks, bespoke events and careers fairs
- Individual advice and guidance from professionally qualified Careers Advisers
- Help with finding jobs, internships, work placements and volunteering opportunities
- Access to information resources on a wide range of career management topics
- Advice and guidance on postgraduate study and funding
- Funding to support student internship opportunities and Student Society/Club events.
We also provide help and advice for Swansea University Alumni up to two years after you graduate.
The programme will support and encourage students to develop their employability skills and professional competencies, such as creative thinking, analytical and data skills, oral communication, group working, and project management skills. These skills are embedded within the curriculum of the programme, through teaching, in practice and via summative and formative assessments.
Mindful of developing students’ professional attributes and enhancing the student experience alongside academic studies, the college offers a range of curriculum-embedded and co-curricular employability opportunities.
Students will be provided with the opportunity to engage in an enhanced university experience through the following employability initiatives: work placements; paid internships as part of the Swansea Paid Internship Network (SPIN) scheme; voluntary opportunities via the Swansea University Week Of Work scheme (WOW); CoAH led work placements; voluntary work experience opportunities through Discovery; and live access to external placements and internships as advertised via the Swansea University Employability Academy’s Employment Zone website.
Students will also have the opportunity of putting together a portfolio of evidence towards the SEA Award and/ or the Discovery Award if undertaking volunteering. Both of the latter awards are accredited and recorded on students’ Higher Education Achievement Record (HEAR), which offers them tangible evidence of employability experiences undertaken alongside their studies.
COURSE OVERVIEW
Our Joint Honours Politics and International Relations degree is designed for students who are interested in domestic politics (including the study of political theory, states, elections, and parliaments) as well as politics between countries (with a focus on international relations theory, security studies, and conflict). The degree allows students to develop expertise in both areas and to explore topics (such as environmental politics, global political economy, and international development) where they intersect.
The course is designed to give students a strong grounding in both politics and international relations in the first year, before allowing greater specialisation as well as increasing focus on the domestic/international intersection in the second year and building to a final year that centres on self-directed learning, allowing students flexibility to choose topics and areas that they wish to focus on. In the final year you also have the chance to take an internship with the Welsh Parliament and a British Parliamentary Studies module, partly taught by expert staff from the Houses of Parliament.
There is a strong emphasis on employability and skills across the degree, 91% of graduates are employed or in further study within six months of graduating (DLHE 2015). Students on this course typically develop excellent oral and writing skills and you will learn to present your ideas in a range of formats, along with strong research, analytical and problem-solving skills.
Our career support services include:
- Employability workshops, employers’ talks, bespoke events and careers fairs
- Individual advice and guidance from professionally qualified Careers Advisers
- Help with finding jobs, internships, work placements and volunteering opportunities
- Access to information resources on a wide range of career management topics
- Advice and guidance on postgraduate study and funding
- Funding to support student internship opportunities and Student Society/Club events.
We also provide help and advice for Swansea University Alumni up to two years after you graduate.
The programme will support and encourage students to develop their employability skills and professional competencies, such as creative thinking, analytical and data skills, oral communication, group working, and project management skills. These skills are embedded within the curriculum of the programme, through teaching, in practice and via summative and formative assessments.
Mindful of developing students’ professional attributes and enhancing the student experience alongside academic studies, the college offers a range of curriculum-embedded and co-curricular employability opportunities.
Students will be provided with the opportunity to engage in an enhanced university experience through the following employability initiatives: work placements; paid internships as part of the Swansea Paid Internship Network (SPIN) scheme; voluntary opportunities via the Swansea University Week Of Work scheme (WOW); CoAH led work placements; voluntary work experience opportunities through Discovery; and live access to external placements and internships as advertised via the Swansea University Employability Academy’s Employment Zone website.
Students will also have the opportunity of putting together a portfolio of evidence towards the SEA Award and/ or the Discovery Award if undertaking volunteering. Both of the latter awards are accredited and recorded on students’ Higher Education Achievement Record (HEAR), which offers them tangible evidence of employability experiences undertaken alongside their studies.
