Program Overview

Politics permeates every aspect of people’s lives: shaping their opinions, informing their decisions, guiding their alliances and enabling their understanding of others’ beliefs and motivations at individual, organisational and societal levels. Studying this subject will increase your awareness of the different political systems, ideologies and policies, which impact people’s lives at regional, national and international levels. Our Politics division is highly regarded and students benefit from a strong research-led approach to teaching. Our Politics programmes are informed by a strong emphasis on research training and transferable skills, which will prepare you for the challenges ahead in the workplace and in the wider world. Politics can be studied at Stirling as a specialist four-year Single Honours degree in Politics or International Politics or taken in combination with another subject as part of a four-year combined Honours degree. Politics can also be taken as a component of the Honours degrees in Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE) or History, Politics and Professional Education. All Politics Students take both core and options modules. In Semesters 1-4 students take the following Core Modules: Politics of the British Isles; Political Concepts and Ideas; International Politics; Great Political Thinkers; and Comparative Politics: Power and Representation in the Western World. These Core Modules are usually taught by two lectures and one tutorial per week and provide students with a sound foundation of the key aspects of the discipline. All Single Honours Politics students and most Combined Honours students take Research Methods in Politics in Semester 6 and write a Politics Dissertation in their final year Semesters (7-8). Honours Option Modules are offered in Semesters 5-8 and provide Politics students with a choice of modules on political theories and concepts, aspects of international politics, and British and European politics. Modules on offer as Honours Option Modules can include (among others): Human Rights in International Politics; Global Political Economy; Global Environmental Politics; Politics of Justice, Equality and Rights; Religion and Politics Worldwide; Issues in International Politics; Scottish Politics and Government; and Middle East Politics. Assessment for all these modules is through a combination of coursework and examinations. Coursework includes essays, tutorial presentations, participation in tutorials, role-play exercises and case studies, political posters and book reviews. Exams usually account for 50 percent of the grade in each module. Stirling Politics students make extensive use of the Study Abroad opportunities offered at the University to study for a full semester or a whole academic year at participating universities in Australia, Canada, Europe, Hong Kong, Japan and the United States. The ERASMUS programme is particularly popular and Politics students participate in dedicated Politics ERASMUS exchanges with the University of Gothenburg in Sweden and Collegium Civitas in Warsaw, Poland.