International Relations (including Year Abroad)

Description

Our BA International Relations (including Year Abroad) looks at questions like: why do international conflicts arise? Why are other parts of the world largely peaceful? What determines a countrys foreign policy? What is the role of the United Nations and other international organisations? How and why do non-governmental organisations matter? What is globalisation and how does it impact our daily lives? What are the prospects for international cooperation to address problems like global warming and environmental degradation?

Politics and political events dominate domestic and international news and impact on our day-to-day lives as well as shaping the future. This course explores all major areas of international relations, including conflict and security studies, international political economy, political theory, and the use of modern research techniques that impact upon political theory. You spend your third year abroad.

Your first year combines a thorough introduction to the fundamentals of international relations and politics with the flexibility to study optional courses in specific areas of interest. In your second and final years, we develop further the ideas of political theory and your understanding of political analysis, whilst still letting you concentrate on the areas that you have developed a particular interest in, for example international security, globalisation, environmental politics or human rights.

Detailed Course Facts

• GBP 9000 Year (EEA)
• GBP 11950 Year (Non-EEA)

• English

Course Content

The special characteristics of our course are flexibility and choice. In your first year you have 60 credits of compulsory modules and 60 credits of optional modules. For BA International Relations (Including Year Abroad) your optional modules can be chosen from across the faculty in first year and from within the Department of Government in your second and final year. There is a great deal of choice for these optional modules due to the extensive range of modules offered by our departments.
With a small number of exceptions, if you successfully complete the first year of your BA, then you are qualified to enter the second year of that course and a range of other courses: for example, if you take economics, politics, philosophy and sociology, then you have a choice of at least nine possible single or joint honours courses at the end of your first year. This means you can change your course, providing you have taken the appropriate pre-requisites and places are available.
During your second year you will have 60 credits of compulsory modules and you will take a further 60 credits of optional modules. You will spend your third year abroad. In your final year you will have complete choice where you will have 120 credits of optional modules, although 30 credits must be taken in internationally focused courses.
We operate a credit framework for our awards, which is based on principles widely used across the UK university sector. Each module has a credit rating attached and our four-year course consists of 420 credits (120 credits in your first year, 60 credits in your third year abroad, and 240 credits across your second and final years).
Please note that module information on our course finder provides a guide to course content and may be subject to review on an annual basis.

Year 1

Introduction to Politics;
Introduction to European Politics (recommended);
Introduction to International Relations; and
one social science option or one humanities option

Year 2

Political Analysis;
International Relations;
one politics option from a specialised list; and
one politics option

Year 3

Year abroad

Year 4

One politics option with a regional focus;
one politics option with an international relations focus; and
two politics options

English Language Requirements

IELTS band : 6

To study at this university, you have to speak English. We advice you to

Requirements

• A-levels: AAB-ABB
• GCSE English: C; GCSE Maths: C
• IB: 33-32 points (we consider IB certificates at the Higher level on a case-by-case basis)
• Achievement of the Access to HE Diploma with a minimum of 12 level three credits at distinction and the remainder at merit (or above) or achievement of the Access to HE Diploma with a minimum of 6 level three credits at distinction and the remainder at merit (or above).

English language requirements for applicants whose first language is not English: IELTS 6.0 overall with minimum 5.5 in each component (or equivalent). Different requirements apply for second year entry.

-levels: AAB-ABB

IB: 36-34 points

Work Experience

No work experience is required.

Related Scholarships*

• Academic Excellence Scholarship

  "The Academic Excellence Scholarship can provide up to a 50 % reduction in tuition per semester. These scholarships will be renewed if the student maintains superior academic performance during each semester of their 3-year Bachelor programme. The scholarship will be directly applied to the student’s tuition fees."

• Access Bursary

  Bursary for UK students all subjects where the variable tuition fee rate is payable.

• Alumni Bursary

  Alumni Bursary for UK Undergraduate students

* The scholarships shown on this page are suggestions first and foremost. They could be offered by other organisations than University of Essex.

Funding

For up-to-date information on funding opportunities at the University of Essex please visit: www.essex.ac.uk/studentfinance.