French and Politics and International Relations

French and politics and international relations is a combination that reflects the fundamental importance of French as a language of international institutions, diplomacy and political culture. France is a permanent member of the UN Security Council, a founding member of the EU, a nuclear power and one of the most influential states in global affairs; French is an official language of the United Nations, the European Union, NATO and the African Union, and is spoken as a first language by more than a hundred million people across the world, with many more as a second language, as Strathclyde's own description notes. Genuine French language competence, combined with analytical understanding of politics and international relations, creates graduates who are specifically equipped for careers in international institutions, diplomacy and policy.

At the University of Strathclyde, this four-year degree develops your French language to an advanced level alongside a rigorous grounding in political theory, comparative politics, international relations, security studies and global governance. You will study French language and culture, the political systems and history of France and the Francophone world, and the broader analytical frameworks of international relations theory, with attention to both the formal institutions of international politics and the contested realities of global power. The two strands complement each other directly: the political knowledge gives you depth when reading French political texts and media, and the language competence gives you access to French-language sources, institutions and networks that monolingual students cannot reach.

Graduates go on to careers in diplomacy, European and international institutions, the civil service, foreign affairs, non-governmental organisations, journalism, international business, research and education. Further study in French, politics, international law or European studies is also a common route.