Undergraduate 2012

A place to inspire you / An approach to challenge you


Politics and International Relations with a Year in China/Hong Kong BA (Hons)

This is a single honours programme within the Politics and International Relations subject area.

Key facts

  • Subject area: Politics and International Relations
  • Award: BA (Hons)
  • Code: L254
  • Location: Canterbury
  • Honours: Single
  • Mode of study:
  • Duration: 4 years
  • Start: 2012
  • Year in industry: No
  • Year abroad: Yes
  • Institution(s): University of Kent

Overview

Politics and international relations is an exciting, fast-changing, broad-based discipline.

At Kent, we offer an extensive range of four-year programmes, which include the opportunity to study for a year in places such as Argentina, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, where you study in the local language, as well as Belgium, the Czech Republic, Finland, Hong Kong, Japan, Norway and Poland, where the teaching is in English. We also offer the rare opportunity to gain dual British and French qualifications with our Politics and International Relations (Bi-diplôme) programme, offered in partnership with the Institut d'Etudes Politiques of Lille.

Our programmes are extremely flexible and offer extensive module choice, reflecting the research interests of our staff, including conflict resolution, federalism, comparative politics, European integration, ethnic conflict, terrorism, the theory of international relations, political theory, and the politics of countries such as China, Germany, Japan, Lebanon, Russia, Switzerland and the USA.

We have an excellent and cosmopolitan community, with close to half our students coming from outside the UK.

Modules

Stage 1

Students on L258 take four core modules and choose from a range of options. Other programmes could include compulsory language modules.

Core modules
  • Introduction to Government
  • Introduction to International Politics
  • Introduction to Political Thought
  • Studying Politics and International Relations
Options

Depending on your degree, these could include:

  • Key Issues in British Politics Today
  • European Integration
  • International History and International Relations
  • Politics and Popular Culture in Modern Japan
  • The Rise of China.

Stage 2/3

Students on L258 take three core modules and a choice of options. Students taking different subjects have slightly different choices.

Core modules
  • International Organisation: The UN System
  • Modern Classics of Comparative Politics
  • Political Research and Analysis
Options

Including, but not limited to:

  • Conflict and Security in Africa
  • Conflict Resolution in the Balkans
  • Contemporary Politics and Government in the USA
  • East Asian Political Systems: An Introduction
  • East European Politics
  • Engendering Politics: Feminist Contributions to Political Theory
  • Ethics in International Relations
  • Europe and the World
  • European Security Co-operation since 1945
  • Foreign Policy Analysis and Management
  • Governance and Politics of Contemporary China
  • International Conflict Analysis and Resolution
  • International Environmental Politics
  • International Organisation: The UN System
  • Introduction to Strategic Studies
  • Japan in the World
  • Market-States and Post-Democracy
  • Modern Political Thought
  • Political Behaviour in Britain
  • Policies and Policymaking in the EU
  • Politics of Trust (in the USA)
  • Politics of the Middle East
  • Post-Communist Russia
  • Research Methods of Peace and Conflict Studies
  • Rights, Freedoms and Individualism: Contemporary Liberalism in Question
  • Specialist Dissertation
  • State Failure: Causes, Consequences and Prospects
  • Terrorism and Political Violence
  • Theories of Conflict, Cohesion and Consent
  • Understanding Federalism
  • Understanding US Foreign Policy: War, Transformation and Terror
  • US and Latin America.

Year abroad

You spend a year studying in one of our partner institutions in Barcelona, Berlin, Buenos Aires*, Grenoble, Lausanne, Lille, Madrid, Montreal, Namur, Paris, Potsdam, Siena and Turin, where you study in the local language; or Brussels, Prague, Kyoto, Nagoya, Okayama, Oslo, Tampere, Tokyo, Warsaw, Hong Kong or Beijing, where courses are taught in English.

*Limited spaces.

Please see the Go abroad webpages for further details.

Teaching and assessment

Our main teaching methods are lectures, seminars, working groups, PC laboratory sessions and individual discussions with your personal tutor or module teachers. Assessment is through continuous feedback, written examinations, assessed essays and oral presentations.

Careers

Through your study, you acquire many of the key qualities that graduate employers expect, including: the ability to plan and organise projects; to analyse and summarise complex material, and to express your opinions coherently and with sensitivity. Those students who choose to take advantage of our study abroad options find it gives them a definite advantage in the employment market.

Recent graduates have gone into areas such as teaching, publishing, practical politics, local and central government, the diplomatic service, EU administration, non-governmental organisations, journalism, international business or international organisations. Many have also gone on to postgraduate study.

For more information on the services Kent provides to improve your employment prospects, go to www.kent.ac.uk/employability

Entry requirements

Offer levels

ABB in 3 A levels, IB Diploma 33 points or IB Diploma with 16 points at Higher.

Required subjects
  • L291: A level French grade A
  • L271: A level German grade B.
  • L243, L273, L2R4: Good GCSE or A level in modern foreign language.

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Last Updated: 21/07/2011