Compulsory modules

Understanding Contemporary World Politics
In a world of rapid change, how does world politics work, and how can we study it? This module introduces you to the history of the contemporary world, and to the main approaches to understanding it. You will explore the rise and fall of the Cold War, the growth of international organisations, and the birth of a twenty-first century new world order; and you will examine key approaches to the study of IR such as realism, liberalism and social constructivism.

Making Sense of Politics
How do we make sense of studying politics and the changing nature of politics? This module addresses the contestable nature of politics and its relevance in contemporary society. You will explore the concepts of power, democracy and terrorism, applying these concepts to contemporary issues to better understand the political world. You will engage with external actors to reflect on how current national and/or world issues are framed from diverse perspectives and angles, working in small groups to develop your ideas.

Becoming a Social Scientist
This module transitions you to university scholarship and introduces the employability and professional skills that a social science degree provides through a range of action-focused activities, e.g. analysing local council budgets and making decisions about where to invest money. Overall, the module introduces you to vital academic and professional skills and competencies that will allow you to thrive in the first year of your undergraduate studies. 

Optional modules

The Global News Desk
The global news media define daily political agendas around the world, but how much of it can we believe? How is news made? What is reported and what is left out? In an era of social media and conspiracy theory, this module will engage you with major world politics news stories hitting the headlines and invite you to investigate the realities behind the stories, and critically to reflect on how the news is made and communicated.

Decolonising World Politics: Power and Inequality
How can we understand power and inequality in the contemporary world? The world we live in grew from Western dominance. This module will introduce you to the main ways that power, inequality, and insecurity are reproduced, exploring contemporary debates about globalisation, security, capitalism and neo-liberalism. It will examine how the West ignored questions of colonialism, imperialism, race, slavery and dispossession, and ask what happens to the study of world politics when these questions are raised.

Regional Studies in World Politics: International Relations of the Middle East, Africa, and East Asia
The non-European world will define the future of world politics, and yet, in the West, its politics are poorly understood and often overlooked. This module will introduce you to the politics and international relations of the regions of the world that are defining the future: China and East Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. You will explore the internal and international power dynamics affecting these regions and learn how their politics are reshaping the contemporary world order.

Exploring Political Inequalities
How can we better understand the unequal world around us? This module explores the concept of (in)equality through the lens of political thought, focusing on economics, religion, gender and race. You will be introduced to classic texts and thinkers, developing an understanding of the foundations of political thought. You will critically reflect on your own perspectives relating to economic, religious, gender and racial inequalities through real-world political examples, exploring how these inequalities can be overcome and developing manifestos for change.

British Politics: Welfare, Economy and Society
How did we get to the state we're in? This module focuses on the domestic and international dimensions of British politics, presenting an overview of the key debates that have shaped post-WW2 British politics. You will develop an understanding of key events and the importance of ideas such as welfare, decline, immigration, governability and populism. You will enhance your critical reading and analytical skills, developing a better understanding of how the past can help us make sense of the present.

Compulsory modules

Building a Better World? Part I
Is a better world possible? This module explores the origins and functioning of major international organisations, international law, and non-state actors. You will learn about the United Nations, NGOs like Amnesty International, key legal bodies like the International Criminal Court, and the development of Human Rights in world politics. You will debate how these organisations work and the challenges they face, and put your learning into practice and develop your leadership skills by participating in class-based simulations.

Building a Better World? Part II
This module simulates the real conditions of decision-making at the United Nations. By recreating the conditions under which diplomats interact, it will compel you to apply your academic knowledge and understanding of diplomacy and international organisations to real world problems. It fosters essential skills required to be successful in the fields of high politics and will improve your capacity to undertake research, to act decisively and creatively in a crisis, to negotiate, compromise and work constructively within a team to solve a problem. Designed to deepen your interest and comprehension of global issues and the international politics that surround them, this module will heighten your ability to speak in public, to debate, to think critically and to demonstrate leadership.

Global Democracy under Threat: Resilience or Retreat?
In the face of challenges from above, below and within, democracy around the world is under threat. From challenges posed by populism and autocratic leadership to increasing political mistrust and declining levels of participation set against a backdrop of the threat posed by AI and misinformation, global democracies face numerous different threats. You will develop your data handling and analysis skills, exploring whether global democracy is resilient or in retreat and complete diverse assessments designed for an external audience.

Social Science Research Methods and Data Analysis
How can we know the world and the societies around us? This module introduces you to the core social science of designing, implementing, and analysing social and global phenomena. You will learn to identify and analyse data sources that might be used by social scientists in real world situations. From quantitative surveys to qualitative interviews and ethnographic studies, you will explore methodological approaches to understanding society and develop practical researcher skills that prepare you to carry out original research.

Optional modules

Foreign Policy
How do states make foreign policy? Why and how do politicians and diplomats negotiate and take complex decisions? In this module, you will investigate the key concepts explaining the making of foreign policy in different, challenging real-world contexts. You will learn how state decision-makers from different political traditions and regimes devise strategies and understand and pursue their interests, how domestic and foreign policies inter-relate, how states negotiate, why states make bad decisions, and how they could make better ones.

Gender, Identity and Activism in World Politics
How can we create change in global politics? In this module, you will explore how feminist and LBGTQ+ campaigns challenged the masculine and heteronormative social and global order, and how this changed how we study world politics. You will learn how gender and sexuality can be used to police societies, how activists worldwide contest tyrannies, and how identity can inspire change and hope but also create division. You will devise an action strategy for change inspired by real-world scenarios.

Elections, Voters and Public Opinion
This module introduces you to practical political research, through the study of elections, voting and public opinion. You will explore voting behaviour and examine why people vote the way they do. You will also work with elementary numerical political data and learn how to produce and interpret basic descriptive statistics, such as frequencies and cross-tabulations. This module provides you with a wide range of data analysis and report-writing skills necessary for success in a range of private and public-sector careers.

Environmental Politics and Policy
This module introduces some of the key historical, theoretical and practical dimensions of environmental politics and policy. You will explore the political nature, and historical context, of environmental problems and controversies and the roles that countries, political institutions and social groups play in effecting environmental policy change. You will develop the skills you need to become an effective changemaker in society, developing the argumentation and communication skills necessary to analyse contemporary environmental problems critically, and thus respond to them effectively.

Public Policy and How To Make It
This module provides a grounding in policy analysis in both political and practical terms, equipping you to problem-solve in a range of environments. You will explore the nature of the policy process and the forces that drive it, including many of the main public policy theories. You will learn to evaluate policy and develop skills in policy formulation before delivering a policy recommendation for external audiences. You will engage with external stakeholders, working together to explore solutions to policy problems.

Social Sciences Placement
This module is designed to give students in their second year the opportunity to contribute to the world beyond the university. The chosen workplace may be, for example, with the local borough council, other government-related institutions, as well as other UK-based public or private sectors (e.g., businesses, risk analysis, PR, Journalism, charity, radio). While on the placement, students will produce a portfolio that they can draw on in future applications and interviews, reflecting on and giving evidence of the activities/outputs completed at their chosen workplace. 

Social Science at Work
This module begins to introduce you to possible careers for social scientists and links to the work you are doing in your subject core and option modules asking the question ‘how can we mobilise academic study into the real world?’ You will also be encouraged to prepare for placement work that you may pursue and reflecting on your social media footprint; developing your personal/professional brand and digital networking platforms.   

Compulsory modules

Dissertation in Politics and IR - ISP
This module is your chance to complete independent research on a topic you are passionate about. You will work with a supervisor to put your research skills into practice as you manage, research and write an independent research project. You will be guided to identify a topic, formulate questions, conduct literature searches, apply appropriate methods, and analyse evidence. Students can choose to write a library study or to conduct a fieldwork-based project that may involve working with an external partner.

Engaged Social Science
Moving on from the previous skills modules, you will further consider how your degree can link to a range of life skills and careers through engagement with community groups, activists and people working in public and private sectors. You will be supported in your next steps either through transition to the workplace or postgraduate study.

Optional modules

Genocide and Death in World Politics
What is genocide, who perpetrates it, and how can it be prevented or brought to justice? This module explores the politics of prejudice, hatred and indifference that underpin genocide and the international laws, truth and reconciliation, memorialisation, and art practices that attempt to bring genocide to justice and to prevent its recurrence. You will learn from genocides including the Holocaust, in Rwanda and Bosnia, and participate in an innovative genocide-prevention workshop that addresses the root causes of mass violence.

Global futures: Environment, Security and Development
What might global politics look like in the future? This module explores the most pressing challenges reshaping contemporary world politics. You will learn how environmental change and mass migration shape ideas of sovereignty, politics, and conflict; how security is changing in an era of AI and mass surveillance; how states and international society meet and manage problems of global development. You will analyse the causes of and solutions to real-world problems and prepare a funding proposal based on development scenarios.

Global Challenges: War, Terrorism and Global Violence
Why does politics turn to violence? By addressing this fundamental problem in international relations, this module explores the challenges caused by war and terrorism.  You will learn why states try to prevent but also turn to war, why terrorist movements world-wide choose violence and how to counter this, and how key conflicts threaten regional stability and global order. You will participate in a crisis simulation, developing leadership skills and learning how to predict, mitigate and manage challenges of political violence.

The Dark Side of Politics
The global political landscape is increasingly dominated by self-interest, violence, corruption, distrust, alienation, deception, polarisation and institutional failure. As citizens feel increasingly alienated from the political process, trust with political elites and satisfaction with democracy around the world, particularly in the face of technological advances such as AI, is in decline. In this module, you will focus on the dark side of politics, exploring issues such as polarisation, corruption and anti-politics from a global perspective, developing your critical analytical skills.

Building a Better Future
How do we build a better future? And what is our role in leading and shaping the changes we want to see in the world? This module empowers you to become global, active citizens, reflecting on how we can shape the future. The module explores the importance of leadership in a changing world and how we can move towards a more just, sustainable future, as you take part in simulations to develop and reflect on your own leadership skills.

Parliamentary Studies
This module provides an in-depth knowledge of how the UK Parliament works in both theory and practice. Taught in conjunction with staff from the Westminster Parliament, the module examines Parliament’s increasing prominence as a policy-making actor in the twenty-first century, particularly in the context of Brexit. The module gives you the tools to critically evaluate the role of Parliament in shaping policy and politics. You will engage with Parliamentary practitioners, visit Parliament and complete assessments set by Parliamentary staff.

Work Placement for Social Sciences Final Year Students
This module is designed to give students in their third year the opportunity to contribute to the world beyond the university. The chosen workplace may be, for example, with the local borough council, other government-related institutions, as well as other UK-based public or private sectors (e.g., businesses, risk analysis, PR, Journalism, charity, radio). While on the placement, students will produce a portfolio that they can draw on in future applications and interviews, reflecting on and giving evidence of the activities/outputs completed at their chosen workplace.