Politics and International Relations
Politics and international relations addresses the fundamental questions of how power is organised and exercised in the modern world, why states cooperate and conflict, how international institutions work, and what the forces are that are driving change in the global order. Politics examines governance, ideology, democracy, policy-making, and the distribution of power within societies. International relations extends this to the relationships between states and the dynamics of the international system, including trade, security, diplomacy, human rights, development, and the management of global challenges such as climate change, migration, and nuclear proliferation.
Together they produce graduates capable of engaging analytically with the most important forces shaping our collective future.
At Coventry University, this part-time programme develops your analytical and critical thinking skills in both disciplines, examining local, national, and global political phenomena from a range of theoretical and empirical perspectives. You will engage with the contemporary challenges that make this kind of knowledge so urgently needed, and develop the insight and skills to understand how change happens and what roles individuals and institutions can play in shaping it. A sandwich year in industry, a year abroad, and work placements are all available, giving you direct experience in political, governmental, NGO, or international settings and an international perspective on the disciplines.
Graduates pursue careers in the civil service, local government, international organisations, NGOs, think tanks, journalism, political research, law, diplomacy, the military, public affairs, and the private sector. The analytical, research, and communication skills that politics and international relations develops are valued across almost any profession that requires clear thinking about complex human situations. Many graduates continue to postgraduate study in politics, international relations, security studies, public policy, or law.