International Politics, Economics and Law BA Honours

Bachelor's degree

In London

Price on request

Description

  • Type

    Bachelor's degree

  • Location

    London

  • Duration

    3 Years

  • Start date

    October

How is the BA International Politics, Economics and Law taught?
You will further your knowledge through lectures, seminars, workshops and tutorials, and supplement the classes with your own independent study and directed reading in your own time. You will work on weekly assignments, practical exercises and presentations.
Work placements
We actively encourage you to undertake a work placement while you study in order to help you develop your real-world and employability skills. Our careers service will support you to find a suitable placement host.
Assessment
You will be assessed through a variety of means, including exams, essays, critical reviews and presentations, and your work placement. When you submit your coursework we will be looking, among other things, at your understanding of theory and practice and your ability to sustain a coherent and reasoned argument.

Facilities

Location

Start date

London
See map
The Burroughs, NW4 4BT

Start date

OctoberEnrolment now open

About this course

Qualifications
112 UCAS points
Middlesex University has a flexible and personalised approach to admissions and we accept applications from students with a wide range of qualifications and a combination of qualifications.
Please check our general entry requirements page to see how these points can be achieved from our acceptable level 3 qualifications and the combinations which are welcomed by Middlesex University, including GCSE requirements.

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This centre's achievements

2018
2017

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The average rating is higher than 3.7

More than 50 reviews in the last 12 months

This centre has featured on Emagister for 13 years

Subjects

  • Social Science
  • Comparative Politics
  • Jurisprudence
  • IT Law
  • Human Rights
  • Human Rights Law
  • Politics
  • Market
  • IT
  • International Politics
  • European Politics
  • Economics
  • Perspective
  • International
  • Global
  • Law
  • Public
  • Systems
  • International Business
  • Trade
  • IT Development
  • Globalisation
  • Global Development
  • Macroeconomic
  • Liberalism
  • Feminism
  • International Relations

Course programme

Course content

What will you study on the BA International Politics, Economics and Law?

This programme is made up of year-long 30 credit taught modules, with a strong emphasis on undertaking an internship or work placement in Year 2 or 3. You will study a combination of the three disciplines within an international framework and a specific focus on the developing world. You will focus on human rights, as understood from the legal, political and social science perspectives, and key cross-cutting themes include gender and environmental change. Your study during the first two years will provide the basis to develop in-depth knowledge of a specialist area in the final year through your choice of options and an independent study undertaken during the final year core module.

What will you gain?

During the three years of study, you will develop your ability to reflect upon and evaluate the principles, values and ideologies underlying perspectives on politics, law and economics. You will be able to locate and critically evaluate different sources of information and analyse and synthesise this information to construct evidenced arguments. You will present clear and convincing arguments through your written work and through oral presentations and have the expertise and skills to study, in-depth, a particular topic of interest, evaluate the existing policy frameworks related to this topic and provide recommendations for improvement.

Modules

Year 1

Introduction to Politics (30 credits) - Compulsory

This module introduces notions of democracy, civil society and the role of the state. It also has a focus on ideologies such as socialism, liberalism and feminism. The importance of globalisation in terms of these issues is also raised.

Principles of Economics (30 credits) - Compulsory

This module will introduce the macroeconomic principles and tools of analysis, as well as how problems such as unemployment and inflation affect macroeconomic performance, complemented by understanding of markets through supply and demand.

Introduction to Law (30 credits) - Compulsory

This module provides a basic understanding of the legal framework, especially of the operation of the English legal system, the elements of a crime, police powers and of the essential legal principle of the main areas of law of negligence and contract and prepares for more advanced study in law. It will combine theory with practical skills, providing an introduction to contract and other law, and helping develop your practical legal skills.

Introduction to Development (30 credits) - Compulsory

This module aims to introduce you to the processes that have shaped, and continue to shape, what has come to be known as ‘The Global South.’ You will explore how the Global South came into discourse through examining the concept of a ‘Third World’ and ‘First World’ to show how these are geographically and historically constructed through processes of colonialism and post-colonial 'development' policies, in particular economic policies designed to bring macro level growth, in order to better understand how these have shaped the contemporary development landscape in both its professional and popular imaginations. From 2000 - 2015 the development agenda has been dominated by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and their achievement became a priority for governments and development agencies. Since then, the post-2015 agenda is shaped by the current ‘universal’ agenda of the Sustainable Development Goals.’ Through critical examination of these development frameworks, particularly as they relate to inequality and rights, contemporary notions of 'development' will be critically analysed. As the post-2015 agenda becomes entrenched in development policy and practice, the module considers how this new ‘universal’ framework will impact on the legal, political and economic regimes of both the First and Third Worlds.

Year 2

Economic Policy and Analysis (30 credits) - Compulsory

This module aim to develop your ability to examine the theoretical underpinnings of economic policy and your skills in evaluating and assessing the impact of such policies.

UK and European Human Rights Law (30 credits) - Compulsory

This module aims to explore human rights in an international, historical and comparative perspective. You will be introduced to the rationale for this body of law and to major themes in international human rights jurisprudence. Special attention will be paid to the European Convention of Human Rights and its impact in the United Kingdom, in particular issues arising from the incorporation of the European regime through the Human Rights Act. In addition, the seminars and lectures will address specific human rights to provide you with in depth analysis of the application of human rights to factual scenarios. The course is designed to maximise your career potential, providing an insight into the extent to which universally protected values, articulated as legal claims impact domestic jurisdictions. The course also seeks to critically evaluate those values, their universal validity, and their implementation at regional level with the view of broadening your knowledge of law and to become sensitive to other values and normative regimes.

Theories of International Relations (30 credits) - Compulsory

This module aims to introduce the main theories, concepts and themes of international relations. The rival paradigms of the discipline are initially explored and then applied to the understanding of key topics of relations between states and also non-state global actors.

Integrated Learning and Work Placement (30 credits) - Compulsory

You will be expected to undertake a placement module as your year two option, but if that is not possible it may be deferred to the final year and replaced in year two by one of a range of optional modules.

If you cannot complete the work placement module due to extenuating circumstances then you can choose from the list of optional modules below:

  • Global Political Economy
  • Comparative Politics
  • Politics of Europe
  • Approaches to Research in Social Science
  • Equality and the Law
  • Jurisprudence
  • EU Internal Market Law
  • Trade and International Business
Global Political Economy (30 credits) - Optional

You will develop conceptual skills to explore, both historically and conceptually, the interplay of economics and politics at the global level at a level of abstraction suitable for the second year of your studies. The economic, political and cultural implications of living in an increasingly inter-dependent world are explored. You will examine and formulate judgments about the workings of the global economy and identify key issues of global governance, both theoretically and empirically, within an overall framework of global political economy.

Comparative Politics (30 credits) - Optional

Comparative Politics examines the different political systems of the developed and developing worlds. The module considers the patterns of political behaviour adopted by very different forms of government across the world. The first part of the module focuses on systems of government and the organisation of formal political processes. The second part of the module examines key concepts which help to explain political behaviour within the state in order to deeper basis for comparison.

Politics of Europe (30 credits) - Optional

The module is designed to provide students with a thorough understanding of the concepts, perspectives and institutions of the EU and political developments across Europe. It also aims to facilitate an empirical and theoretical understanding of the political and institutional dynamics of regional integration and political transformation at work in a wider European context. This module also promotes promote a reflective and critical use of political theories and methods in studying the dynamics, models and processes of European integration and identity and will enable students to apply knowledge of European politics to the analysis of the most salient political issues of the day. The module includes the study of the main theories and conceptual approaches in the field of European politics, the most important European institutions and actors as well as to current and central debates in European politics. The module should be of special interest to any undergraduate student wishing to proceed to further specialised study of European politics, law, society and economics and/or employment in fields related to governance, business, politics, law, or media.

Approaches to Research in Social Science (30 credits) - Optional

The module aims to help prepare students for the development of a proposal for their final year dissertation. It aims to develop students’ critical evaluation of the range of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies available, and the underlying philosophical and ethical principles of social research. . Throughout the module students will apply the various components of research methods to their programme of study. The module aims to make clear the links between theory, method and data as well as defining what data is within different research paradigms and the various ways of generating and analysing it. Emphasis is placed on the evaluation and critique of published research.

Equality and the Law (30 credits) - Optional

This module aims to explore general issues relating to equality and discrimination in the first semester. In the second semester specific individual areas of inequalities will be examined. The module will look at these issues from a legal, ethical, social, political, historical and economic perspective. The course will offer an ideal preparation for third year courses such as employment law and international public law.

Jurisprudence (30 credits) - Optional

This module aims to provide a comprehensive introduction to a range of legal theorists and jurisprudential schools of thought ranging from the work of the ancient Greeks through to postmodernism. Students will be provided with an overview of the central thinking of various philosophers and will examine both the historical and cultural context within which these theories were developed and their relevance to the legal issues of our own time. Throughout the module students will consider law’s relationship to questions of power, violence, ethics and justice.

EU Internal Market Law (30 credits) - Optional

This module aims to provide students with a firm grounding in the rules and principles that govern the free movement of goods, services and persons (workers, self-employed and EU citizens), and to improve their research and presentation skills. It aims to enhance students' awareness of the ethical dimension of the EU Internal Market in which persons are not only regarded as factors of production, but as EU citizens with family ties and a cultural background.

Trade and International Business (30 credits) - Optional

The aim of this module is to provide an understanding of the theories relating to trade and international business and how they are being applied in an increasingly interdependent world. The module commences with an introduction to the world trade system, the process of trade liberalisation and multilateral trade negotiations, the pros and cons of free trade. In the second part of the course we introduce the perspective of international business, in particular a focus on the role of multinational enterprise in the world trade system. Taken together these elements should equip students with a broader sense of running a business beyond the domestic market.

Year 3

Development Policy Seminars (30 credits) - Compulsory

This student-led policy-focused module allows a blend of economics and politics, rights and development with consideration of legal and policy frameworks, bringing together the different aspects of the degree programme into one, finalist module. It give you the opportunity to conduct in-depth research on a topic of interest to you for an oral presentation and a subsequent policy critique, producing in-depth knowledge of a specialist area.

Year 3 optional modules - choose two modules from the following:

Public International Law (30 credits) - Optional

This module aims to give you the knowledge and understanding on the principles of public international law. You will be extend your ability to evaluate and analyse legal issues in the international context, often dealing with topical concerns. This might include debates over the legality of the use of armed force, the protection of the environment, or the extent of individual responsibility for war crimes.

Humanitarianism and Global Change (30 credits) - Optional

This module aims to build your understanding of particular approaches to global development that place the political context of economic development at the forefront.

International Trade (30 credits) - Optional

This module aims to provide a mainstream economic perspective on trade to contrast with the development focus of the final year.

Year 3 optional modules - choose one module from the following:

Global Geopolitics: Critical Perspectives and Issues (30 credits) - Optional

This module builds upon knowledge and skills acquired in previous modules. You will apply theories and concepts explored in those modules to a range of contemporary global political issues. A more advanced, critical appreciation of international politics will be gained along with a more detailed understanding of key geopolitical issues of the day.

International Finance (30 credits) - Optional

This is a new module and information will become available shortly.

Immigration, Nationality and Asylum Law in the UK (30 credits) - Optional

This module aims to provide an understanding of the legal structures and the regulation of immigration control, nationality law and asylum in the UK. The module will place legal controls in their historical, social and political context and will require you to demonstrate in-depth understanding of the inter-relationship of the various legal mechanisms.

Migration and Citizenship (30 credits) - Optional

This module aims to provide a critical understanding of contemporary migratory processes, migrant communities and experiences and issues of citizenship. You will gain an understanding of the sources and methods appropriate to the study of migration and migrant communities.

Humanitarianism and Global Change (30 credits) - Optional

This module aims to build your understanding of particular approaches to global development that place the political context of economic development at the forefront.

International Trade (30 credits) - Optional

Public International Law (30 credits) - Optional

Global Trade Law (30 credits) - Optional

Integrated Learning and Work Placement (30 credits) - Optional

This module is only an option if it was not previously taken.

International Politics and the Middle East and North Africa (30 credits) - Optional

This module aims to provide you with an interdisciplinary in-depth knowledge of key issues and debates, both historical and contemporary, relevant to an international political perspective on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The module concentrates on the region extending from Morocco to Iran which includes the Arab world, Iran, Kurdistan, Turkey and Israel and will analyse the complex relationships between these countries in the MENA region and their foreign policies with each other as well as the role of the US, Europe, Russia and China in effecting the region though multiple involvements and interventions. In doing so the module will introduce you to the debates around ‘orientalism’.

You can find more information about this course in the programme specification. Optional modules are usually available at levels 5 and 6, although optional modules are not offered on every course. Where optional modules are available, you will be asked to make your choice during the previous academic year

International Politics, Economics and Law BA Honours

Price on request