Program Overview

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Our BA Politics with Human Rights (including foundation year) is open to Home and EU students. It will be suitable for you if your academic qualifications do not yet meet our entrance requirements for the three-year version of this course and you want a programme that increases your subject knowledge as well as improves your English language and academic skills. This four-year course includes a foundation year (Year Zero), followed by a further three years of study. During your Year Zero, you study four academic subjects relevant to your chosen course as well as a compulsory English language and academic skills module. You are an Essex student from day one, a member of our global community based at the most internationally diverse campus university in the UK. What is the nature of the changing global system and how does it have an impact on individual well-being? What have been the major achievements, setbacks, and challenges to the global human rights movement? How do domestic and international politics interact in ways that are important for the promotion and protection of human rights? If you are interested in politics with a specific interest in human rights, then this course focus on democracy, human rights and political theory should appeal to you. You address the impact of politics and political events on domestic and international affairs, and look at how these events relate to the worldwide promotion and protection of human rights. We encourage you to explore different aspects of political science while developing an in-depth knowledge of human rights and different research methods. You choose a wide range of topics including:

• Forms of democracy
• Principles and practices of human rights
• Comparative politics
• Ethics and public policy
• Social justice

Our Department of Government is one of the most prestigious in Europe, with an outstanding record of teaching, research and publication. We are 6th in UK for research power in politics and international studies (Times Higher Education research power measure, Research Excellence Framework 2021). Essex Law School specialises in business law , public law , criminal justice , health law , law and technology , socio-legal studies and human rights law . Why we're great.

• Ranked 9th in the UK for Politics and International Studies in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2023
• You have access to some of the best minds in politics and the biggest names in the field.
• We have the only Regius Professor in Political Science in the UK, an honour conferred by the Queen.

Our expert staff

Some of the biggest names in the field work at Essex, giving you unparalleled access to some of the best minds in politics. Our staff are advising the CIA on counter-terrorism, training politicians and civil servants in democratising countries, and commentating on political events in national and international media. Members of our Human Rights Centre work closely with our alumni and extensive practitioner network to ensure that our research is focused on priority issues that are of direct relevance to beneficiaries such as victims of human rights violations, governments, NGOs, and international organisations such as the UN.

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Specialist facilities

Take advantage of our extensive learning resources to assist you in your studies:

• Laboratories of networked computers featuring extensive software for political analysis
• The ESSEXLab provides opportunities for experimental lab research
• Student societies for politics, debating, and Model UN
• A dedicated study skills advisor in your first year for one-to-one advice
• A personal tutor and peer mentor for every student
• We organise the Essex Summer School in Social Science Data Analysis

You also benefit from our human rights facilities

• Work on key human rights projects at our Human Rights Clinic
• Network at our student-run Law Society , Human Rights Society , Bar Society and Amnesty International Society , which provides legal advice to the Commonwealth Students’ Association (CSA)
• Volunteer at the Essex Law Clinic where you can work alongside practicing solicitors to offer legal advice to clients
• Join our Model United Nations society , which can improve your skills of argumentation, oral presentation and research

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Your future

All Essex, politics graduates have the distinction of a qualification from one of the world’s leading politics departments. Our students are in demand from a host of employers, in politics, the civil service fast stream, management, journalism, police, armed forces, commerce, business, finance, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), teaching and graduate research. Our notable alumni include the former President of Costa Rica and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, Dr Oscar Arias, and the Speaker of the House of Commons, Rt Hon John Bercow MP, and our recent graduates have gone on to work for a wide range of high-profile companies including:

• The World Bank
• NATO
• Houses of Parliament Research Unit
• United Nations Development Program
• ICM research
• IMG Media

We also work with the University’s Student Development Team to help you find out about further work experience, internships, placements, and voluntary opportunities. Take a look at our dedicated "="">Human Rights career page.