Politics and International Relations

Politics and international relations is a discipline that trains you to understand how power works: who exercises it, for whom, by what means, and with what consequences. Politics addresses the institutions, ideologies, and processes through which societies make collective decisions, examining governments, parties, elections, constitutions, and the contested concepts of democracy, justice, and legitimacy. International relations extends this inquiry to the global scale, asking how states and other actors navigate a world without a central authority, and why conflict, cooperation, and governance take the forms they do across different regions and historical periods.

At the University of Bristol, this three-year, full-time degree gives you insight into the politics of different countries, regions, and systems, as well as the global and local political issues and movements that are shaping the contemporary world. A foundation year is available for students who benefit from additional academic preparation before entering the degree. The programme develops your ability to read political situations with analytical precision, to engage seriously with competing theoretical frameworks, and to research and communicate complex arguments in written and spoken form.

A typical entry tariff of 168 points reflects the strong academic standard of this programme at a research-intensive institution.

Graduates go on to work in the civil service and foreign office, international organisations, journalism, think tanks, political parties, NGOs, humanitarian and development organisations, law, public affairs, and management consultancy. The skills developed in this degree, including the capacity to analyse power structures, engage with evidence rigorously, and communicate clearly about complex issues, are valued across a very wide range of professional contexts. Postgraduate study in politics, international relations, law, public policy, or a regional specialism is a common further step.