student profile

Politics and International Relations 245
School of Politics and International Relations
FAQs
What is politics and
international relations
at Queen Mary
The study of politics and international relations
concentrates on the way in which individuals, in the
past and present, have organised and continue to
organise their social and collective life. Political science
is an academic discipline with a long history, going back
to the ancient Greeks. It has two main aspects, both
of which are taught at Queen Mary: the study of
government and political institutions, and the study
of political ideas and ideologies.
If you’re fascinated by the political process, and
genuinely interested in deeper, more philosophical
issues such as power and equality, freedom and
democracy, then a degree in politics and international
relations will be ideal.
At Queen Mary, students look at political institutions not
only in the UK but in the Middle East, the USA, the
European Union and Latin America. Anyone can read
about these but you’ll acquire the skills needed to
analyse and make sense of the differences.
You’ll be able to make incisive analyses of topical
political debates and you’ll also be able talk about
‘globalisation’ with the advantage of knowing what it
means and why it’s important.
You’ll also look at power in society, encompassing such
knotty problems as liberalism – for example, how can
we reconcile individual human rights with national
security These are real-life issues making a Politics or
International Relations degree relevant and interesting.
Why study politics or
international relations
What can I do afterwards
Apart from ensuring that you never lose an argument
again, our degrees give you an excellent grounding for
understanding the world. You’ll also have some very
marketable skills:
• Analytical ability – politics is all about logical thinking
and making sense of complicated factors
• Research skills – particularly as you’ll complete a
12,000-word dissertation (which also gives you staying
power)
• Writing ability – essays, exams and seminar papers,
plus that dissertation will ensure you can do far more
than just string sentences together
• Presentation skills – you’ll give seminar presentations,
take part in debates and even role-playing exercises
• IT skills – as with any other university subject, you’ll
word-process your work, use email to correspond with
your tutors and use many online databases and
journals in researching essays and so on.
Why study politics or international
relations at Queen Mary
We’re a small School – we pride ourselves on our
friendly and informal approach and we’re great
teachers. You’ll get one-to-one supervision for your
dissertation, and small seminar groups, led by academic
staff. In the National Student Survey 2010, our students
reported a 88 per cent satisfaction with their experience
at Queen Mary. 98 per cent agreed that staff were good
at explaining things; and 90 per cent were employed
or doing further study six months after graduation.
In the Research Assessment Exercise 2008, the School
of Politics and International Relations was rated very
highly for the quality of our research. According to
The Guardian we are ranked 5th in the UK (2010
Guardian League table for Politics).
Our staff have diverse research interests, and this is
reflected in the choice of modules available to students.
For example, Dr Toby Dodge is an expert in the
developing state of Iraq, he is frequently called to
comment on TV and radio news programmes. Should
you elect to take one of the modules he teaches,
‘Themes and issues in the comparative politics of the
Middle East’, you will have the benefit of learning with
one of today’s leading specialists in this field.
And don’t forget the huge benefits of studying politics in
London: national political institutions, party HQs, highprofile
organisations and think-tanks – they’re all here.
We have lots of visiting speakers from all these bodies.
There’s also a student-run politics society organising
debates and other events.