| Program start date | Application deadline |
| 2023-09-19 | - |
Program Overview
This course combines politics and international relations with the study of Portuguese, the most widely spoken language in the southern hemisphere. This provides a valuable skill set, ideally tailored to the increasingly globalised workplace.
You will study the politics of individual countries and governments and the relationships between countries, communities and individuals.
Politics is organised around three themes:
You will follow a structured language course in Portuguese, as well as explore the rich literature, cinema, history, thought, politics, visual culture of Portuguese-speaking countries and communities. You will spend your third year abroad in a Portuguese-speaking environment, extending your language skills and cultural knowledge. To find out more about studying abroad, visit Global Opportunities.
Both schools encourage strong synergy between research and teaching, resulting in a vibrant learning environment as staff respond to new research in their teaching. This course combination offers an enriching experience with exciting intellectual challenges, providing a range of options that allow you to pursue your own interests.
Teaching is delivered through lectures, tutorials, seminars, workshops, and one-to-one project supervision. Assessments may include presentations, essays, commentaries, exams, collaborative projects, debates, podcasts, video essays, and dissertations.
Our course will ensure you practise a range of skills, which will make you attractive to future employers in the sector of your choice.
Portuguese can be studied from beginners' level only. All modern languages students have access to our state-of-the-art Multimedia Centre. You can also access extracurricular activities such as talks by visiting speakers, societies, language cafés, student newspapers, and talent shows.
Program Outline
Please note:
It is possible that the information shown for future academic years may change due to developments in the relevant academic field. Optional unit availability varies depending on both staffing, student choice and timetabling constraints.
This section describes which Units you will take in which year of study. It indicates which units are mandatory and where you will be able to choose. The overall pass marks you will need to achieve in order to progress or achieve an award are shown. The full regulations concerning progression and completion are held in the University's Regulations and Code of Practice. Any particular aspects of your programme that are unusual will be highlighted. If any Units are must pass this will be shown below. The linked unit specifications detail any additional requirements.
Year 1 (2024/25 entry cohort)
Mandatory Unit Portuguese Language is must pass. For the definition of must pass units please see the Glossary of Terms from Annex 1 to the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
| Unit name | Unit code | Credit points | Status | Faculty of Arts Category | Teaching Block |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Political Concepts | POLI11101 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-2 | |
| Thinking Politically | POLI10005 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 | |
| 20 credits from the following: | |||||
| Theories of International Relations | POLI10003 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
| Comparative Government and Politics: An Introduction | POLI11103 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
| Plus | |||||
| Portuguese Language | HISP10302 | 40 | Mandatory | TB-4 | |
| Key Moments in Lusophone History and Culture | HISP10015 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 | |
| Students with A-Level Portuguese take the following instead of HISP10302. | |||||
| Certificate in Higher Education | 120 | ||||
Progression/award requirements
Unit Pass Mark for Undergraduate Programmes:
For details on the weightings for classifying undergraduate degrees, please see the Agreed Weightings, by Faculty, to be applied for the Purposes of Calculating the Final Programme Mark and Degree Classification in Undergraduate Programmes.
For detailed rules on progression please see the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes and the relevant faculty handbook.
Please refer to the specific progression/award requirements for programmes with a preliminary year of study, the Gateway programmes and International Foundation programmes.
Exit awards
All undergraduate degree programmes allow the opportunity for a student to exit from a programme with a Diploma or Certificate of Higher Education.
Integrated Master's degrees may also allow the opportunity for a student to exit from the programme with an equivalent Bachelor's degree where a student has achieved 360 credit points, of which 90 must be at level 6, and has successfully met any additional criteria as described in the programme specification.
The opportunities for a student to exit from one of the professional programmes in Veterinary Science, Medicine, and Dentistry with an Award is outlined in the relevant Programme Regulations (which are available as an annex in the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes).
Additional progress information
Students are permitted to conditionally progress to the next year of study and make up a credit deficit where they have failed a particular unit or units provided this meets the conditions of the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
For further information and a definition of must pass units and conditional progression please see the Glossary of Terms.