Course summary
Our degree courses with Foundation year offer the opportunity to prepare you for advanced study before you progress onto a full honours degree at the University of Westminster.
Whether you do not feel ready for degree-level study, don’t have the right qualifications, want to change your subject specialism or return to study after an absence from education, we aim to encourage a broad range of students to undertake our Foundation year in order to progress onto their full honours degree with us.
The Foundation year is designed to give you the opportunity to explore new ideas, opening up new perspectives on the key debates within your chosen field. Core modules accelerate your academic and professional development, bringing together like-minded students to think about the ‘big ideas’ within your discipline. You will also take modules from areas closely related to your chosen field, giving you the chance to develop a cross-disciplinary perspective on your course.
On successful completion of the Foundation year, you will be able to move on to study for the Politics BA Honours degree over a further three years study.
Our Politics BA equips you with an understanding of the relationship between government and society in regions all over the world, from Europe, the Middle East and Asia to North and South America.
Studying for a politics degree will help you to understand and think critically about political events, the interplay of domestic and international politics, how resources and power are distributed in society; how decisions are made, and why political systems develop in the ways that they do.
You'll study political concepts, ideas, values and institutions, and explore the relationship between political theory and practice.
Our graduates go on to work in a range of sectors, including the Civil Service, government, NGOs, international organisations, think tanks, teaching and research.
We are in the centre of one of the world’s greatest cities and we use this vibrant, multicultural setting to ensure that our students discover innovative solutions to the problems facing our world. In 2018, the University of Westminster was named the most diverse university in the UK, New Zealand and the USA, representing 170 nationalities (Hotcourses Diversity Index).
We take full advantage of our location in the heart of London, which allows us to take you out of the classroom to visit places such as the Houses of Parliament, government departments, international organisations, NGOs, exhibitions and museums. We regularly invite high-profile speakers to our central London location for our well-established series of seminars, public lectures and conferences to which you, as a student of politics, will be invited.
As a student on this course, you have the opportunity to spend one optional year abroad. You may complete a work or volunteering placement, both of which provide valuable opportunities to boost your employability. You may also undertake a study placement at one of our partner universities.
Graduates with international experience are particularly valued by employers, and a one-year period of residence abroad enhances your language skills and gives you experiences, contacts and intercultural awareness that will be valuable in your career.
As a School, we also host the world-renowned Centre for the Study of Democracy. The centre undertakes research across a range of critical challenges to the theory and practice of politics, international relations, sociology and criminology. We have an innovative initiative called the Democratic Education Network, which facilitates dialogue and the sharing of knowledge between our students, international universities and diasporic communities in London.
Top reasons to study with us
- An enhanced learning experience – Our central London location allows us to take you out of the classroom to visit places such as the Houses of Parliament, government departments, international organisations, NGOs, exhibitions and museums
- Our truly international outlook – We have been named the most diverse university in the UK, USA, Australia and New Zealand (source: Hotcourses Diversity Index 2018), with students representing 170 nationalities
- A supportive community – We provide a supportive, inclusive and dynamic environment with high student satisfaction. There are plenty of opportunities for community engagement, not least through the student-led Democratic Education Network - a runner-up ‘Student Experience’ initiative in the Guardian University Awards 2019
Course structure
Teaching and learning methods include lectures, small group work, review sessions, workshops, symposia, debates, Q&A sessions, document analysis sessions, and structured role-plays.
A wide range of assessments includes essays, exams, policy reports, project work, simulations, individual and group presentations, blogs, posters, and debates.
The teaching is offered within the School of Social Sciences, which brings together Criminology, Politics and International Relations, Psychology and Sociology. What binds us together is our shared commitment to making education a transformative experience for our students, to conducting research that makes a difference to the social world, and to enhancing the diversity of ideas and identities within and beyond the University.
Students on this course have the opportunity to spend one optional year abroad.
The following modules are indicative of what you will study on this course.
| Foundation | Subjects of study include: - Introduction to Academic Practice
- Intercultural Communication
- Imagining Global Society and Politics
- Critical Thinking for Academic and Professional Development
- History, Memory and Belonging
- Rights and the Law
There are no optional or elective modules offered at Level 3, as the focus is on the development of key academic skills through a broad understanding of social sciences and humanities. Credit Level 3 |
| Year 1 | Subjects of study include: - British Politics
- Democracy in Crisis
- Dilemmas of International Development
- Global Governance and the State
- Introduction to International Relations and Global Politics
- Political Ideas in Action
- The Global Politics of Migration
Credit Level 4 |
| Year 2 | Subjects of study include: - Asia, Africa and Latin America; Dynamism and Change in the Global South
- Democratic Innovations
- Democracy and Development in Asia and Africa
- Doing Political Research: Project Management in the Social Sciences
- Governance in Europe: Comparative and Multilevel Perspectives
- Internship
- Middle East Politics
- Politics and Society in 21st Century America
- Power and the State
- Questioning Rights
- Short Burst of Learning in an International Environment
- The European Union as a Regional Power
- The Politics of Killing
- Theorising Politics and International Relations
Credit Level 5 |
| Year abroad | Students on this course have the opportunity to spend one optional year abroad. You may complete a work or volunteering placement, both of which provide valuable opportunities to boost your employability and ground your studies in an experiential setting. You may also undertake a study placement at one of our university partners. You can also undertake a combination of both study and work. |
| Year 3 | Subjects of study include: - Advanced Readings in Contemporary Political Theory
- American Power in a Multipolar World
- Digital Politics
- Dissertation or Professional Report
- Equality, Justice and Citizenship
- Foreign Policy and Diplomacy in a Changing World
- Gender and Politics
- Humanitarian Intervention
- Policy and Practice
- Political Psychology
- Politics and Development in the Middle East
- Radical Democracy
- Security and the Surveillance State
- Social and Political Movements in a Globalising World
Credit Level 6 |
