Academic titleInternational Politics and Sociology BSc
Course descriptionOur pioneering approach to international politics offers a syllabus for understanding globalisation and international politics in the twenty-first century that differs from traditional international relations degrees in three important ways:
* by focusing on the movement of ideas in global policy making
* by covering all the major inter-governmental organisations, such as the United Nations, the European Union and the World Bank
* by analysing how governments relate to other political and trans-national organisations, including social movements, non-governmental organisations, trades unions, religious groups and trans-national corporations.
The combination of the essential core modules from the two subjects will give you a basic understanding of both sociology and international politics and a special focus on how the local and the global relate to each other.
A degree in international politics, with or without sociology, can lead to a wide range of careers, including the diplomatic service, central and local government, non-governmental organisations, the media and business.
The skills of International Politics graduates are of direct relevance to international non-governmental organisations and they are often valued by large multi-national companies. You will study the complexities of economic, social and political globalisation that affect the relations of the government and society with other countries. This degree focuses on understanding global policy making on current issues such as development, the environment, human rights and trade.
Modules: BSc International Politics and Sociology
Year 1
In the first year, you will take the following four core modules:
*
Theories of Global Politics
*
International Organisations in Global Politics
*
Introduction to Sociology
*
Understanding the Modern World
Year 2
In the second year all students take the following two core modules:
* Theories and Research in Global Politics
* Understanding Social Change
Students choose two of the following optional modules, one from the International Politics Electives (module prefix IP) and one from the Sociology Electives (module prefix SG):
* IP2005 Religions in Global Politics
* IP2012 International Organisations in Global Politics
* IP2013 Political Change in Europe
* IP2014 Transnational Social Movements
* IP2015 International Political Economy
* IP2016 Global Conflict and Security
* SG2003 Media, Culture & Society
* SG2004 New Media Challenges
* SG2006 News & Society
* SG2010 Media, Crime & Criminal Justice
* SG2011 Key Issues in Criminology
* SG2012 Political Sociology
* SG2013 Culture, Community & Identity
Year 3
In the final year, you will complete one of the following core elective modules:
* IP3001 International Politics Project
* SG3007 Sociology Project
In addition to this final year project you will choose three modules from the following list of Sociology and International Politics electives, at least one of which must be from the International Politics options (module prefix IP):
*
IP3002 Global Political Systems
*
IP3004 The Global Politics of Development
*
IP3007 The Transnational Women’s Movement
*
IP3008 International Politics of the Middle East
*
IP3010 The Politics of Forced Displacement
*
SG3001 Globalisation, Social Difference & HRs
*
SG3003 World Media Industry
*
SG3008 Migration, Refugees and Globalisation
*
SG3011 Policing: Theory & Practice
*
SG3013 Gender & Society
*
SG3017 Youth, Crime & Society
Duration of course
3 years
Teaching
Teaching generally consists of one lecture and one tutorial. Lectures give students the basic principles of the subject, with further reading around this essential. Students are expected to spend approximately 2-3 hours private study for every taught hour. Tutorials allow more complex discussions to take place and are designed to complement both lectures and private study. Tutorials are designed to allow students the opportunity to express their ideas and to learn problem solving and other transferable skills.
Assessment
Each module that you take will have a set of assessment components. These will typically be some combination of coursework essays, class tests, presentations, and invigilated exams. The final mark for each module will be a weighted average of the different assessment components. The 1st year module marks account for 10% of the final degree average, and in the 2nd and 3rd years it is 30% and 60% respectively.