International Relations BA

Programme structure

The modules we outline here provide examples of what you can expect to learn on this degree course based on recent academic teaching. The precise modules available to you in future years may vary depending on staff availability and research interests, new topics of study, timetabling and student demand.

The BA (Hons) International Relations degree programme is made up of compulsory (core) and optional modules, which are worth 15 or 30 credits each. Full-time undergraduate students need to complete modules worth a total of 120 credits each year.

Depending on your programme you can also take up to 30 credits each year in another subject, for instance a language or business module, to develop career-related skills or just widen your intellectual horizons.

Please note that modules offered are subject to change, depending on staff availability, timetabling, and demand.

Year 1 Compulsory modules

Two core modules will introduce you to the historical development of the international political system, key theories of international politics and problems in contemporary international politics.

CodeModuleCredits POL1017Globalization of World Politics 15 POL1018Facing the Challenges of World Politics in the Twenty-First Century 15 Optional modules

CodeModuleCredits POL1001BState of Britain15 POL1006State and Society15 POL1025Classical Political Thought15 POL1026Early Modern Political Thought15 POL1019Power and Democracy 15 POL1020Politics in Europe 15 POL1028Introduction to Strategic Studies 15 POL1905Employability0 Year 2

The core modules in the second year will develop your understanding of the theory and practice of public policy, comparative politics and modern political thought.

Compulsory modules CodeModuleCredits POL2057Security Studies 15 POL2020Contemporary Theories of World Politics 15 Optional modules

CodeModuleCredits POL2071Experimental Research in the Social Sciences15 POL2052Foreign Policy: Leadership, Power and Responsibility 15 POL2047American Politics15 POL2068Global Justice and Transnational Democracy15 POL2069 Democracy in Eastern Europe15 POL2075 Integration and Disintegration in the European Union15 POL2038International Relations, War and Peace in the Middle East 15 POL2076 Rising Powers, Peace and Conflict15 POL2050Political Philosophy 15 POL2059Political Thought of Modernity15 POL2060Public Policy and Administration 15 POL2070Quantitative methods in political science15 POL2072Race Ethnicity and Politics15 POL2057Security Studies 15 POL2046The Economics of Politics 15 POL2065 Environmental Politics 15 POL2027The Politics of the World Economy15 POL2082Changing Character of Warfare15 Year 3

Compulsory modules CodeModuleCredits POL3040Dissertation 30 Optional modules

CodeModuleCredits POL3075 Political Representation in the European Union 15 POL3076 Research Design for Dissertation30 POL3077 Global Environmental Politics and Policy30 POL3078 Soviet and Post-Soviet Politics 30 POL3079 Money and Policymaking in the United States 30 POL3080 Issues in International Relations 30 POL3081 Markets, Regulation and Europeanization 30 POL3082 The Idea of Human Rights 30 POL3083 War, Violence and Revolution in the Middle East, 1800-2013 30 POL3084 Explaining War and Peace 30 POL3120War and Public Opinion30 POL3123Strategy in the Twenty-First Century: From Idea to Practice30 POL3124Anarchism and World Ordering30 POL3125The History and Political Development of Iraq15 POL3126Ethno-Politics: Theoretical Considerations and Case Studies15 POL3127EU Democracy Promotion in the Middle East and North Africa30 POL3128Armed Islamist Movements: Jihadism and Beyond15 POL3129Politics and Reform in the Gulf15 POL3136Political Psychology30 POL3148Human Rights and the Political 30 POL3168War and its Aftermath: Interventions and Contemporary Conflict30 POL3170Marxism and Post-Structuralism 30 POL3174International Security and US Foreign Policy 30 POL3175Nationalisms in the Middle East15 POL3177The Refugee Crisis in the Modern World30 POL3179City Politics: Power, Policy and Conflict30 POL3180Latin American Parties, Politics and Elections30 POL3184Politics of Semi-democratic and Authoritarian Countries30 POL3186BGender, Militarization and Resistance 30 POL3187Sub-National and Local Governance: A Practice Approach30 POL3191 Issues in International Relations 2 30