Politics and Philosophy & Ethics

Politics and philosophy with ethics is a combination that places questions about power, justice, and the good life in productive dialogue. Politics examines how societies organise themselves, how decisions are made, and how power is distributed and contested, from the institutions of the state through to grassroots movements and international relations. Philosophy, particularly in its ethical and political dimensions, asks the deeper questions about what justice requires, what we owe each other, and how we should evaluate the political systems and policies that shape our lives.

At the University of Chichester this three-year full-time programme develops both disciplines in a teaching environment that is personal and engaged. You will study political theory and political institutions alongside philosophical ethics, metaethics, political philosophy, and applied ethics, engaging with thinkers from Aristotle and Kant through to contemporary theorists of justice, rights, and democracy. The combination trains you to think rigorously about political questions rather than simply having opinions about them, and to evaluate policies and political arguments against principled ethical criteria.

Chichester's smaller-scale academic community means you will be known by your tutors and taught in a context where discussion and intellectual engagement are genuinely possible rather than lost in large lecture halls.

Graduates go on to careers in politics, public policy, the civil service, journalism, law, NGOs, human rights organisations, education, social work, and the charity sector. The analytical and argumentative skills developed in the combination are valued wherever clear thinking about complex human situations is required. Many graduates also continue to postgraduate study in politics, philosophy, law, public policy, or ethics.