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Politics at Birkbeck, University of London - UCAS

Course options

2025 - 2026
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There are other course options available which may have a different vacancy status or entry requirements – view the full list of options

Course summary

MSc Politics Our MSc offers you a broad yet distinctive perspective on the study of politics with the flexibility to pursue your interests further in a wide range of option modules. Drawing on the long history of cross-disciplinary collaboration in politics at Birkbeck, this Master’s degree offers you sociological, geographical and historical lenses on political thought and action. This MSc Politics also provides you with the conceptual insights and structured empirical knowledge relevant to any area where collective decision-making is needed to address societal issues. Whether you are looking to engage in traditional politics or new forms of political mobilisation, the MSc Politics will furnish you with relevant skills you will be able to apply fully to a career in this arena. MRes Politics Our MRes will develop your understanding of research methodologies and techniques in politics to an advanced level, enabling you to undertake your own independent research. It provides an intellectually stimulating guide to politics research and will develop your awareness of the essential requirements of in-depth research, including theory, design and methods. The flexible choice of option modules and dissertation topics on this course allows you to consider a range of subjects in the field of politics, or to develop a research specialism in areas such as public policy and management, government policy and politics, or social and political theory. Highlights

  • Birkbeck is a world-renowned centre of original, influential research in politics. We organise a lively programme of seminars and conferences and are home to affiliated research centres, such as the Birkbeck Centre for British Political Life, which run seminars, conferences and other events where some of the world's best scholars present their latest research.
  • Our academic staff are international authorities in their respective fields, publishing and delivering stimulating teaching in a wide range of political topics including civil society and the state, public policy, development, gender, international security and terrorism, and social and political theory, among others.
  • Our location in central London puts us at the heart of the UK’s political life and at the centre of academic London. You can walk down to Parliament and Whitehall, while Bloomsbury contains some of the world’s most famous libraries and centres of research. Our departmental building was once a key location for members of the Bloomsbury Group, so you could be studying in rooms that have hosted distinguished visitors, including T.S. Eliot, George Bernard Shaw and Maynard Keynes.
  • You can take advantage of the rich research collections nearby, including Senate House Library, which is right next door to Birkbeck, the British Library, which is five minutes’ walk away, and the British Library of Political and Economic Science at the London School of Economics, which is walkable from Birkbeck.
  • Birkbeck's MRes degrees are recognised by the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) for the award of 1+3 studentships. These studentships are designed to fund students for a four-year full-time (or six-/seven-year part-time) programme of postgraduate study combining a taught Master's degree and a PhD.
Careers and employability Our MSc graduates go on to a wide range of careers in the public and private sectors. Some join the civil service or parliamentary offices, and several MPs have studied their Master's at Birkbeck. MRes graduates can pursue career paths in government or advisory bodies where research skills are required, as well as policy research, higher education, the voluntary sector and journalism.

Modules

For information about course structure and the modules you will be studying, please visit Birkbeck’s online prospectus.

Assessment method

Compulsory modules assessed by written examinations; option modules by a combination of coursework and written examinations. There is a dissertation element.

How to apply

International applicants

If English is not your first language or you have not previously studied in English, our usual requirement is the equivalent of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS Academic Test) score of 6.5, with not less than 6.0 in each of the sub-tests. If you don't meet the minimum IELTS requirement, we offer pre-sessional English courses and foundation programmes to help you improve your English language skills and get your place at Birkbeck.

Entry requirements

Our standard postgraduate entry requirement is a second-class honours degree (2:2 or above) from a UK university, or an equivalent international qualification. We will review every postgraduate application to Birkbeck on its individual merits and your professional qualifications and/or relevant work experience will be taken into consideration positively. We actively support and encourage applications from mature learners.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

England £11700 Year 1
Northern Ireland £11700 Year 1
Scotland £11700 Year 1
Wales £11700 Year 1
International £20340 Year 1

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .

Additional fee information

Students are charged a tuition fee in each year of their course. Tuition fees for students continuing on their course in following years may be subject to annual inflationary increases.
Politics at Birkbeck, University of London - UCAS