Politics with Global Development
Politics is the study of power: who holds it, how it is exercised, how it is contested, and how institutions, ideologies, and social movements shape the decisions that affect everyone's lives. Adding global development to this mix brings in a set of questions about how power operates across international borders, how wealth and poverty are distributed across nations, how climate change, migration, and conflict intersect with governance, and what justice demands in a world of stark inequality. Together, the two disciplines give you a rigorous framework for understanding some of the most urgent questions facing societies today.
At Leeds Beckett University, this three-year, full-time programme draws on a strong commitment to engaged, critical learning. You will explore political theory alongside empirical study of political systems and institutions, examining how democracy functions, why it comes under pressure, and how social movements challenge or reinforce existing power structures. The global development strand adds perspectives on inequality, poverty, environmental change, migration, and the politics of international aid and debt, asking what it would mean to build a genuinely just world order.
You will question assumptions, engage with competing perspectives, and learn to make and defend arguments about contested issues, while developing the research and communication skills that employers value. The programme includes a year abroad, broadening your academic and personal horizons and adding an international dimension to your studies.
Graduates from politics and global development programmes pursue careers in the civil service, international organisations, non-governmental organisations, journalism, policy research, law, education, and political communications. The analytical and communicative skills developed on the programme are valued across a wide range of sectors. A typical entry tariff of 104 points makes the programme accessible to students coming from a variety of prior educational backgrounds.
Postgraduate study in politics, international relations, development studies, or public policy is a natural next step for those who wish to deepen their expertise or move into research.