Program Overview

---

Postgraduate Taught

Study

Subject areas

Courses A-Z

How to apply

Fees & Funding

International

Student experience

Postgraduate events

Offer holders

Contact us

Political Economy MA

Key information

Study mode:

Full time Part time

Duration:

One year full-time, September to September, two years part-time

Credit value (UK/ECTS equivalent):

UK 180 / ECTS 90

Application status:

Open

Start date:

September 2025

Course essentials

Base campus:

Strand Campus

Located on the north bank of the River Thames, the Strand Campus houses King's College London's arts and sciences faculties.

Please note that locations are determined by where each module is taught and may vary depending on the modules you study.

Regulating bodies:

King's is regulated by the Office for Students

Entry requirements

UK applicants

Standard requirements

A minimum 2:1 undergraduate Bachelor’s (honours) degree

If you have a lower degree classification , or a degree in an unrelated subject, your application may be considered if you can demonstrate significant relevant work experience, or offer a related graduate qualification (such as a Masters or PGDip).

Programme-Specific Requirements

An honours degree at 2:1 standard or above in political science/government, economics or any relevant social science.

In order to meet the academic entry requirements for this programme you should have a minimum 2:1 undergraduate degree with a final mark of at least 60% or above in the UK marking scheme. If you are still studying you should be achieving an average of at least 60% or above in the UK marking scheme.

International applicants

Equivalent International qualifications

Select a country Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Anguilla Antigua & Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australasia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil British Virgin Islands Brunei Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Cook Islands Costa Rica Cote d'Ivoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czechia (Czech Republic) Democratic Republic of the Congo Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic East Timor Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia Falkland Islands Fiji Finland France Gabon Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Grenada Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Home Fee Status Students Honduras Hong Kong SAR Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria North Korea North Macedonia Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Palestine Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Republic of the Congo Romania Russia Rwanda Samoa San Marino São Tomé and Príncipe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Korea South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka St Kitts and Nevis St. Helena St. Kitts & Nevis St. Lucia St. Vincent & the Grenadines Sudan Suriname Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand The Gambia Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Türkiye Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States of America Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Vietnam Wales Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe

English language requirements

English language band: B

To study at King's, it is essential that you can communicate in English effectively in an academic environment. You are usually required to provide certification of your competence in English before starting your studies.

Nationals of majority English speaking countries (as defined by the UKVI) who have permanently resided in this country are not usually required to complete an additional English language test. This is also the case for applicants who have successfully completed an undergraduate degree (of at least three years duration), a postgraduate taught degree (of at least one year), or a PhD in a majority English speaking country (as defined by the UKVI) within five years of the course start date.

For information on our English language requirements and whether you need to complete an English language test, please see our English Language requirements page.

Selection process

Applications must be made online using King’s Apply, the Admissions portal, and a non-refundable application fee of £130 applies.

Due to the large volume of applications, this programme operates a partial “gathered-field” approach to decision making for applicants who meet our advertised academic entry requirements. This means that for some of these applicants, a decision may not be reached until after February and where possible, will be made by May. You will be informed via King’s Apply if your application is being held.

Personal statement and supporting information

You will be asked to submit the following documents in order for your application to be considered:

• Personal Statement | Yes | A personal statement is required. This can be entered directly into the online application form (maximum 4,000 characters) or uploaded as an attachment to the online application form (maximum 2 pages).
• Previous Academic Study | Yes | A copy (or copies) of your official academic transcript(s), showing the subjects studied and marks obtained. If you have already completed your degree, copies of your official degree certificate will also be required. Applicants with academic documents issued in a language other than English, will need to submit both the original and official translation of their documents.
• References | Yes | One academic reference is required. A professional reference will be accepted if you have completed your qualifications over five years ago. In some cases, we may request an additional reference from you.
• Other | Optional | Applicants may wish to include a CV (Resume) or evidence of professional registration as part of their application.

Teaching & structure

Teaching methods - what to expect

• Lectures
• Seminars
• Self-Study

We will use a delivery method that will ensure students have a rich, exciting experience from the start. Face to face teaching will be complemented and supported with innovative technology so that students also experience elements of digital learning and assessment.

We use lectures, seminars and group tutorials to deliver most of the modules on the course. You will also be expected to undertake a significant amount of independent study. We offer some pre- sessional training for 1 week before the term begins to update students’ knowledge.

• Module | Lectures, seminars and feedback | Self-study
• Per 15-credit taught module | The total contact time for each 15-credit taught module is 20 hours. | Each 15-credit taught module has 130 hours of self-guided learning time.
• Dissertation module | A set of dissertation workshops plus one-to-one dissertation consultations. | 592 hours self-study and project work.

Typically, one credit equates to 10 hours of work.

Location

This course is primarily taught at King’s College London Strand Campus. Please note that locations are determined by where each module is taught and may vary.

Assessment

• Course Work
• Written examinations
• Dissertation

Your performance will be assessed through a combination of coursework and written examinations. Assessment patterns will vary across modules, but examples of typical assessments for 15-credit modules would be a 3,000-word essay or a 2-hour unseen examination. The assessment of the dissertation module will be through a 1,000-word research proposal (10%) and a 10,000-word dissertation (90%).

The study time and assessment methods detailed above are typical and give you a good indication of what to expect. However, they are subject to change.

Structure

Required modules

You are required to take the following modules:

• Key Concepts in Contemporary Political Economy (30 credits)
• Dissertation (60 credits)

If you are taking the part-time course, you will usually take Key Concepts in Contemporary Political Economy during the first year of your programme and the dissertation during the second year.

Optional modules

You will take an additional 90 credits from a range of optional modules that may typically include:

• Evaluating Public Policy (15 credits)
• Liberty, Equality and Justice: Political Theory and Public Policy (15 credits)
• Media, Elections and Campaigning (15 credits)
• The Political Economy of Corruption (15 credits)
• Gender, Politics and Public Policy (15 credits)
• The New Political Economy of the Media (15 credits)
• Causal Inference (15 credits)
• Ethics and Public Policy (15 credits)
• Business and Politics (15 credits)
• Comparative Political Economy (15 credits)
• Game Theory and Political Economy (15 credits)
• Quantitative Methods in Political Economy (15 credits)
• The Political Economy of Organised Crime (15 credits)
• Institutions & Economic Development (15 credits)
• Economic History (15 credits)
• Political Economy of Discrimination (15 credits)
• Cities and Social Transformations in the Middle East (15 credits)
• Experimental Economics (15 credits)
• The Political Economy of Economic Ideas (15 credits) [Department of Political Economy]
• Climate Change Economics and Policy (15 credits)
• Climate Policy and Global Energy Transitions (15 credits)
• The Political Effects of Climate Change (15 credits)
• Policymaking in Non-Democracies (15 credits)
• Parties, Voters and Political Culture in Britain (15 credits)
• Democracy in the United Kingdom (15 credits)
• Theories of Politics (15 credits)
• Britain & Europe Since 1945 (15 credits)
• Election Campaigning, Public Opinion & Politics in Britain (15 credits)
• No 10 the Cabinet and UK central government: leadership and coordination (15 credits)
• People, Protest and Mobilisation: Exploring Social Movement Theory (15 credits) [Department of Political Economy]
• The Political Economy of Authoritarianism in the Middle East (15 credits)
• Development Economics (15 credits)
• Health Economics and Policy (15 credits)
• Using Economics in Government (15 credits)
• Topics in Applied Microeconomics (15 credits)
• Law and Politics of Regulation (15 credits)
• Gender in Democracies and Elections (15 credits)
• Constitutional Political Economy (15 credits)
• Managing the UK economy: Fiscal and monetary policy since 1945 (15 credits)
• Political Economy of Violence (15 credits)
• Internship module (15 credits)
• Anglo-American Relations Since 1945 (15 credits)
• Islam, Politics and Society (15 credits)

If you are taking the part-time course, the Department will allow you to select how many optional modules you wish to take during Year 1 and during Year 2. Students may take a maximum of 30 out of the 90 optional credits from level 7 modules outside of their programme’s approved module list, subject to approval by the Programme Director. Students may take an additional non-assessed credit language module in addition to the required 180 credits.

King’s College London reviews the modules offered on a regular basis to provide up-to-date, innovative and relevant programmes of study. Therefore, modules offered may change. We suggest you keep an eye on the course finder on our website for updates.

Please note that modules with a practical component will be capped due to educational requirements, which may mean that we cannot guarantee a place to all students who elect to study this module.

Careers

Employability

Studying a degree with the Department of Political Economy equips students with certain skills required in the public and private sectors, and for work in civil organisations. A typical postgraduate student will gain strong theoretical and empirical skills for the analysis of complex economic and political phenomena. These skills are highly valued in fields such as finance, consultancy, law and the civil service.

Destinations

Recent graduates have found employment within the following job roles and companies:

• Junior political consultant.
• Public affairs executive.
• Financial analyst.

Fees & Funding

Tuition Fees

UK:

Full time: £16,950 per year (2025/26) Part time: £8,475 per year (2025/26)

International:

Full time: £31,600 per year (2025/26) Part time: £15,800 per year (2025/26)

These tuition fees may be subject to additional increases in subsequent years of study, in line with King’s terms and conditions.

Deposit

If you receive an offer for this programme, you will be required to pay a non-refundable deposit to secure your place. Deposit payments are credited towards the total tuition fee payment.

The Home deposit is £500. The International deposit is £2000.

• If you receive an offer before January, payment is due within two months of receiving the offer.
• If you receive an offer between 1 January and 20 May, payment is due within one month of receiving the offer.
• If you receive an offer between 21 May and 15 July, payment is due within two weeks of receiving the offer.
• If you receive an offer between 16 July and 10 August, payment is due within one week of receiving the offer.
• If you receive an offer from 11 August onwards, payment is due within three days of receiving the offer.

If you are a current undergraduate King’s student in receipt of the King's Living Bursary this academic year, you are not required to pay a deposit to secure your place on the programme. Please note, this will not change the total fees payable for your chosen programme.

Please visit our web pages on fees and funding for more information.

Additional Costs

In addition to your tuition costs, you can also expect to pay for:

• Books if you choose to buy your own copies.
• Clothing for optional course related events and competitions.
• Library fees and fines.
• Personal photocopies.
• Printing course handouts.
• Society membership fees.
• Stationery.
• Travel costs for travel around London and between campuses.
• Graduation costs.

Funding

To find out more about bursaries, scholarships, grants, tuition fees, living expenses, student loans, and other financial help available at King's please visit the Fees and Funding section.