Politics and International Relations - Quantitative Methods

Politics and international relations concern some of the most consequential questions of our time: how states exercise power, how international institutions shape global outcomes, how conflicts begin and end, and how democratic systems hold or fail. At the University of Nottingham, the BSc Politics and International Relations with Quantitative Methods adds a distinctive and increasingly important dimension to these studies by developing your ability to work with numerical data and statistical evidence. Over three years of full-time study, the programme includes a sandwich year, a year abroad, and work placement, making it one of the most structured and experiential variants of this subject combination available.

Studying politics and international relations develops your understanding of political institutions, theories of international order, foreign policy, security studies, political economy, and comparative politics. The quantitative methods strand adds the ability to gather, analyse, and interpret data relevant to political and international questions, a skill that is increasingly sought by employers in policy, think tanks, journalism, and the growing field of political data analysis. You will learn to assess statistical arguments critically, to design and conduct research using quantitative approaches, and to understand what survey data, electoral statistics, and international datasets can and cannot tell us about political behaviour and outcomes.

The year abroad and sandwich year provide international exposure and professional experience that complement the academic content strongly.

Graduates with this combination of political knowledge and quantitative skills are well placed for careers in public policy, think tanks and research institutes, international organisations, government and the civil service, journalism and data journalism, political consultancy, and the private sector. The professional experience gained during the sandwich year and placement strengthens employment prospects significantly. Many graduates go on to postgraduate study in politics, international relations, public policy, or quantitative social science.

The ability to engage rigorously with data alongside political and international analysis is a genuinely distinctive qualification in a competitive graduate jobs market.