Politics

Politics is everywhere and everything. Understand it, and you’ll understand your own world; know its rules, and you can start to play the game on your own terms. This course is for the brave, the curious, and the rebels searching for a cause. It’s about making the political personal, and being the kind of change you want to see.

At NTU, learning means doing. We focus on two things: great theory, and grassroots activism. Studying in Nottingham — the UK’s original ‘rebel city’, and a hotbed of revolution, insurrection, and political intrigue — you’ll be applying your skills, passion and knowledge in the real world. Politics is a living, breathing subject, and you’ll analyse the big questions of how systems operate, how countries are governed, and how decisions are made. But you’ll also put the fundamentally human issues of social justice, morality and ethics under the microscope. You’ll interrogate your own political identity and values; you’ll explore the ins and outs of today’s most contentious political issues; you’ll take a deep dive into conspiracy theories, cover-ups, and secret histories.

Politics is a versatile and universally respected degree. Our graduates have become MPs, sustainability crusaders, motivational speakers, community leaders, and even successful entrepreneurs. This is your world, your time, and your stage — we’ll give you the tools, insights, and confidence to guarantee you’re heard.

Why study Politics at NTU?

• Work on real-world collaborations, projects and simulations on topics which matter to you and develop core skills such as digital literacies and data visualization throughout.

• Study in the heart of the vibrant and multicultural city of Nottingham, with a proud political history steeped in community activism.

• You will have the opportunity to undertake an optional year-long placement and/or study abroad in your second year, with one of our international partners across the world.

• Learn a language as part of your degree with optional modules in your second and final year. Choosing between Arabic, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin or Spanish, a new world of opportunities will open for you with beginner to advanced classes.

Course Modules

Think politics, and you’ll naturally think big — Whitehall and the White House, NATO and the UN . But there’s so much more to it than that.

Politics is a discipline that unpacks the big and the small, the remarkable and the everyday. It’s the game that determines elections, leadership contests, domestic policies, and the relationships between whole nations , but it can also explain the lifecycle of a single cup of coffee, or how (and why) a particular mobile phone ends up in your hand. Political decisions drive the things we often choose not to think or talk about — but as conscientious global citizens, need to.

We’ll be encouraging you to look at the world differently, through more informed, balanced, and critically aware eyes. We’ll be asking you to explore and assess your own values and beliefs — to make the familiar unfamiliar. We’ll dare you to be different, whether that’s in the classroom, out on placement, studying abroad, taking part in our huge range of student-led political clubs and societies, or even by learning a brand-new language!

What makes this course so popular is our focus on personalisation — on inviting you to create your own learning pathway. With the incredible range of specialist modules on offer, everybody’s degree is different. The core modules give you a grounding in the key historical concepts — the different perspectives and ideologies; the role of the media; the political frameworks of international relation s — while the optional electives allow you to pursue your own specific area(s) of interest. If you come here with a particular passion for the politics of climate change, race, or gender, why not build your whole degree around it?

Here’s a breakdown of the core and optional modules you’ll be studying across your course:

Year One modules include:

• Politics

• British Politics and Beyond

• Politics and International Relations in Practice

• Young Citizens, Place & Belonging

• Media, Power and Truth

• Study and Research Skills

Year Two modules include:

• UK Parliamentary Studies

• Careers and Experience in Politics and International Relations

• Applied Social Research

• Optional modules include Contemporary European Politics; Justice, Ethics and Democracy; Security Studies; The Politics of Art, Film and Literature; Environmental Politics and Policy; Global Political Marketing; and Foreign Language.

You may choose to take an optional year-long placement in Year Three, either in the UK or overseas. You will be supported by our experienced Employability Team to source a suitable placement. You can apply for this at UCAS Code L205.

Final Year modules include:

• Dissertation

• Leadership, Activism and Campaigning

• Optional modules include British Politics in Uncertain Times; US Politics and Policy; Interpreting Contemporary Politics; Political Violence and Terror; Global Politics of Pop Culture; Feminist Thought and Praxis; Politics of the Global South; The International Relations of Middle East and North Africa; Negotiating in International Contexts; and Spanish Politics.

The BA Politics course has been designed to provide a broad, varied, and consistent range of assessments to ensure a fair and balanced representation of the skills and knowledge you gain throughout.

Study Skills sessions – including advice on academic essay planning/writing/editing and referencing – are embedded into the course early and further, continual support is available throughout your degree.

Throughout your three years, each module will include both formative (i.e., non-bearing feedback, designed to help you improve in the future) and summative (i.e., bearing feedback which is then translated into overall grades) forms, which might include academic essays, case studies and reports, to individual/group presentations, policy briefs, simulation exercises, strategic communications plans, and infographic factsheets.