Politics and International Relations
Politics and international relations together equip you to understand how power is organised and exercised, both within states and across the global system. Politics examines parties, elections, parliaments, constitutions, and the ideologies that shape political life. International relations extends that analysis to the relationships between states, the role of international organisations, the dynamics of conflict and cooperation, and the forces of globalisation that increasingly shape what individual governments can and cannot do.
Together, they develop your ability to analyse complex events and institutions, evaluate competing explanations, and form and defend well-reasoned positions.
The University of Westminster's three-year full-time Politics and International Relations BA has a typical entry tariff of 88 points and includes a year abroad option that allows you to study at a partner institution overseas. As the course itself describes, it equips you to understand politics at the local, regional, national, and global level, exploring political ideas and institutions and the relationship between political theory and practice. You will encounter the major traditions of political thought alongside empirical study of contemporary political systems, international organisations, foreign policy, security, and global political economy, developing both theoretical grounding and the ability to apply it to current events and challenges.
Politics and international relations graduates work in government and the civil service, international organisations such as the United Nations and the European Union, non-governmental organisations, journalism and media, think tanks, political consultancy, diplomacy, and the private sector. The analytical, research, and communication skills the degree develops are genuinely transferable, and many graduates move into careers not directly linked to politics. Postgraduate study in international relations, security studies, law, public policy, or journalism is a common direction for those wanting to develop specialised expertise.