Course summary

Studying BA Philosophy and Politics will allow you to develop critical capacities and gain insight into how political theories, organisations and communities work. You will learn skills from both subjects that employers value, including how to analyse evidence, assess experts’ arguments, work collaboratively to solve difficult problems, and write with clarity and precision. Rather than learning a body of work, the philosophical element of your degree will equip you with the reasoning skills needed to formulate, present, defend and criticise philosophical and political positions. The political element is structured around three main streams: Political Thought, Political Institutions and International Relations. As well as developing your research skills, you have the opportunity to study the politics and international relations of specific regions. You will undertake theoretical examinations that help to understand how to make sense of a complex and interconnected world. You can also apply to add a placement year or a year abroad to the course, increasing the course from three years to four. Philosophy is a new subject for many students, so in your first year you will follow a range of introductory courses, introducing the fundamental philosophical subject areas. In your second year, you will further increase your knowledge by taking two core modules, Moral Theory and Political Philosophy, and you also have a wide selection of optional modules to choose from across both disciplines. The third year includes a dissertation that allows a deep, independently driven, exploration of a topic of your choice.