BA in Politics (Full Time)  BA in Politics (Full Time) University of Westminster ../webroot/files/Institutions/cover_photo/1534160506University of Westminster.jpg

Our degree courses with Foundation year offer the opportunity to prepare you for advanced study before you progress onto a full honours degree at the University of Westminster. Whether you do not feel ready for degree-level study, don’t have the right qualifications, want to change your subject specialism or return to study after an absence from education, we aim to encourage a broad range of students to undertake our Foundation year in order to progress onto their full honours degree with us. 

The Foundation year is designed to give you the opportunity to explore new ideas, opening up new perspectives on the key debates within your chosen field. Core modules accelerate your academic and professional development , bringing together like-minded students to think about the ‘big ideas’ within your discipline. You will also take modules from areas closely related to your chosen field, giving you the chance to develop a cross-disciplinary perspective on your course. 

On successful completion of the Foundation year (Year 0), you will be able to move on to study for the Politics BA Honours degree over a further three years study.

A degree in Politics at the University of Westminster equips you with an understanding of the relationship between government and society in regions all over the world, from Europe, the Middle East and Asia to North and South America. You will examine the interplay of domestic and international politics in these regions, in contexts ranging from public institutions to the nation state.

Studying for a Politics degree will help you to answer important questions about how con?ict between different interest groups and states is resolved; how resources and power are distributed in society; how decisions are made; and why political systems develop in the ways that they do. You will study concepts, values and institutions, and explore the relationship between political theory and practice. You will also gain the transferable and cognitive skills necessary for lifelong personal and professional development. Our graduates go on to work in a range of sectors, including the Civil Service, politics, NGOs, international and EU organisations, think-tanks, policy-making teams, teaching and research.

We take full advantage of our location in the heart of London, using our links with the Houses of Parliament and other centres of power and policy-making. We regularly invite high-profile speakers to our central London location for our well-established series of seminars, public lectures and conferences to which you, as a student of Politics, would be invited.

Our teaching programme is structured to support students' transition to higher education and progression through each academic year. The first-year programme provides an introduction to key concepts and structures of government and how these impact on political behaviour and decision-making. It also embeds the study of politics in a wider context by providing a grounding in international relations and development studies. In the second year you will deepen your understanding of theoretical approaches, and your critical awareness of conflicting narratives of the state and of governance, particularly since the Cold War, in relation to society and to the international community. In the third year, you will be able to engage with a range of both theory-based and policy-related topics, including equality, justice and citizenship, radical democracy, gender politics, digital politics, and political psychology.  You will also be able to tailor your degree to a more 'academic' pathway or a more 'professional' pathway, completing either a traditional academic dissertation or a professionally-oriented research report.

Teaching and learning includes small group work, problem-based tutorials, review sessions, workshops, symposia, debates, Q&A sessions, document analysis sessions, and structured role-plays.

A wide range of assessments includes essays, exams, policy reports, project work, individual and group presentations, blogs, posters, and debates.

The teaching is offered within the School of Social Sciences, which brings together Criminology, Politics and International Relations, Psychology and Sociology. What binds us together is our shared commitment to making education a transformative experience for our students, to conducting research that makes a difference to the social world, and to enhancing the diversity of ideas and identities within and beyond the University.

We are in the centre of one of the world’s greatest cities and we use this vibrant, multicultural setting to ensure that our students discover innovative solutions to the problems facing our world. In 2018 the University of Westminster was named the most diverse university in the UK, representing 170 nationalities (Hotcourses Diversity Index). As a School we also host the world-renowned Centre for the Study of Democracy. The Centre undertakes research across a range of critical challenges to the theory and practice of politics, international relations, sociology and criminology. We have an innovative initiative called the Democratic Education Network that facilitates dialogue and the sharing of knowledge between our students, international universities and diasporic communities in London.

• A Levels – DEE to CDD
• International Baccalaureate – 24 points. We also welcome applications from students taking the IB Career related Programme 
• BTEC Extended Diploma – MPP
• BTEC Diploma – MM to DM
• Access – 56 to 80  UCAS Tariff points from the Access course

In addition to one of the above, you should have: 

• GCSE English Language grade 4/C – IB grade 4 Higher Level, GCSE Maths grade 4/C – IB grade 4

If your first language is not English, you will need an IELTS of 6.0 overall, with 5.5 in each component.

We also welcome applications from students who are taking a combination of qualifications listed above. For further information, please contact Course Enquiries.