Political Economy

Courses are divided into modules. Each year you will normally take modules totalling 120 credits.

King’s College London reviews the modules offered on a regular basis to provide upto-date, innovative and relevant courses of study. Therefore, modules offered may change. We suggest you keep an eye on this course page for updates.

You are required to take the following modules:

• Fundamentals of Politics Research (15 credits)
• Comparing Political Systems (30 credits)
• Introduction to Political Theory (30 credits)
• Principles of Economics (30 credits)
• Quantitative Methods (15 credits)

There are no optional modules for this course in Year 1, however you can also take an assessed 15 credit language module in addition to your 120 credits.

2nd Year

After your first year you will choose between the BA and BSc pathways. The following module is required for both of these courses:

• Political Economy (15 credits)

If you choose the BSc you will also be required to take the following modules, which are also available as optional modules for BA students:

• Macroeconomics (15 credits)
• Microeconomics (15 credits)
• Econometrics (15 credits)

In addition you are required to select further modules to bring your total credits to 120 for the year from a wide range of options for the Department of Political Economy. Optional modules may typically include:

• Extended Essay (15 credits)
• Political Change in Europe (15 credits)
• The International Politics of Energy (15 credits)
• Political Theory of Capitalism(15 credits)
• Stability & Change in Post-Colonial Nations (15 credits)
• Ethics, Economics & Environmental Protection (15 credits)
• Issues in International Politics (15 credits)
• The Economics of Politics (15 credits)
• Game Theory & Strategic Decision Making (15 credits)
• Economics of the Public Sector (15 credits)
• Mathematics for Economics (15 credits)
• Policy Analysis (15 credits)
• British Politics (15 credits)
• The Political Economy of Immigration (15 credits)

In your second year you are allowed to take up to 30 credits in modules offered by other departments across King’s College London. You can also take an assessed 15 credit language module in addition to your 120 credits.

As a second-year student you also have the option to study abroad with one of our partner institutions for the second semester of the year. These currently include:

• Hong Kong University (Faculty of Economics & Business)
• National University of Singapore
• 3 Campus Programme (students attend Keio, Yonsei and HKU)
• University of North Carolina
• Georgetown University
• Sciences Po, Paris (you would require basic French language for this option although a significant number of English-language taught modules are now available) – this option is not appropriate for BSc students because the required economics modules are not guaranteed.
• University of California – this option is not appropriate for BSc students because the required economics modules are not guaranteed.

You are required to take 120 credits of optional modules in Year 3, of which at least 75 credits must be from modules taught within the Department of Political Economy. The wide range of optional modules may typically include:

• Democracy & Its Critics (15 credits)

• Religion & Politics (15 credits)

• Commerce, Liberty & Virtue (15 credits)

• Democracy & Development (15 credits)

• Culture, Identity & Justice (15 credits)

• Advanced Issues in International Politics (15 credits)

• The Economics of Crime (15 credits)

• Economic Policy Making (15 credits)

• Advanced Issues in International Politics (15 credits)

• Behavioural Political Economy (15 credits)

• Development Economics (15 credits)

• Liberalism (15 credits)

• Global Power Europe (15 credits)

• Advanced Economic Analysis (15 credits)

• Comparative Political Theory (15 credits)

• Empirical Political Economy (15 credits)

• Politics & Justice in International Law (15 credits)

• Women & Politics (15 credits)

• Understanding Extremism & Populism (15 credits)

In your third year you are allowed to take up to 30 credits in modules offered by other departments across King’s College London.