Politics

Politics is the study of power in its most fundamental sense: how it is acquired, organised, exercised, legitimated, and contested. It examines the institutions through which societies make collective decisions, from local councils to national parliaments to international organisations, and the forces, ideologies, interests, and movements that shape and challenge those institutions. It asks why some people and groups have power and others do not, what democracy requires, and how the international system produces cooperation, conflict, and sometimes catastrophe.

This three-year full-time programme at the University of Hull develops your understanding of political theory and ideas, comparative political systems, British politics, and international relations. Hull has a distinctive perspective on politics: it was the constituency of William Wilberforce, has a proud tradition of political dissent, and is a city whose recent history illustrates many of the key themes of contemporary British politics, from deindustrialisation and economic inequality to the politics of Brexit. That context gives political study at Hull a grounded quality that abstract theory can lack.

With a typical tariff of 104 points, the programme is accessible to students who demonstrate genuine engagement with political questions rather than requiring the highest prior attainment.

You will develop the analytical skills to read evidence, identify arguments, understand ideological positions, and write clearly about complex political questions. These capacities are valued across a wide range of professional environments, and politics graduates are consistently among the most adaptable and broadly employable of any humanities or social science discipline.

Graduates move into careers in the civil service, political organisations and parties, local government, journalism, think tanks, non-governmental organisations, international bodies, law, public affairs, and commercial roles where political and regulatory awareness matters. Many continue to postgraduate study in politics, international relations, or public policy.