Bachelor of Arts - International Relations (Including Placement Year) (L260)

Based in the top politics department in the country, this University of Essex course should interest students if they want to understand how the international system works, how decisions are made and how lines are drawn. Taking this course gives students a foundation in politics, while the study of international relations develops their research and critical analysis skills, teaching them methods of analysis and giving them awareness of the world system. This course explores many major areas of international relations, including: conflict and security studies, comparative politics, international political economy, political theory, and politics of the Middle East.

Politics at Essex is all about moving from opinions to evidence. Students will quickly learn to ask – and how to answer – the “how do you know?” question. Essex trains students to be fearless and independent, to question everything and to draw on the broadest possible range of facts and ideas.

In a placement year students can gain relevant work experience within an external business, giving them a competitive edge in the graduate job market and providing them with key contacts within the industry. Students will be responsible for finding their placement, but with support and guidance provided by both the department and the Employability and Careers Centre. A Placement-Linked Project module is also available as an alternative to the dissertation module in the third year. Students attend shorter placements (a minimum of 150 hours in total), and use their learning on placement to inform a research project; fantastic work experience for their CV.

The School's Department of Government is one of the most prestigious in Europe, with an outstanding record of teaching, research and publication. Essex is rated top in the UK for research, and has consistently been the highest-rated politics department in the country since national assessments began.

All Essex, politics graduates have the distinction of a qualification from one of the world’s leading politics departments. Politics students are in demand from a host of employers, in international development, politics, the civil service fast stream, management, journalism, police, armed forces, commerce, business, finance, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), teaching and graduate research.

Some notable alumni include: the Speaker of the House of Commons, Rt Hon John Bercow, and recent graduates have gone on to work for a wide range of high-profile companies including: The World Bank, NATO, United, United Nations Development Program, and IMG Media.