Politics with Quantitative Methods

Politics with Quantitative Methods is a degree that combines the analytical study of political institutions, processes, and behaviour with a serious and systematic development of the quantitative skills needed to work rigorously with data and numerical evidence. This matters because political science is an increasingly empirical discipline: understanding how voters behave, how policy changes affect outcomes, how economic conditions shape government stability, and what causes wars all require the ability to design research, collect and analyse data, and interpret statistical evidence carefully. The University of Glasgow's Q-Step Centre, which shapes this programme, offers a distinctive curriculum that develops your quantitative skills in ways that complement and deepen your political science education.

This four-year full-time programme at Glasgow follows the Scottish MA (Hons) structure, giving you more time and breadth than a three-year English degree while developing genuine depth in both political science and quantitative methods. You will study political theory, comparative politics, international relations, and research methods alongside the statistical, computational, and data analysis skills that the quantitative specialism requires. You will learn to design and conduct research using large datasets, to apply statistical models to political questions, and to interpret and communicate quantitative findings clearly.

A year abroad is available, giving you the opportunity to study political science in a different national context.

The combination of political knowledge and quantitative competence is increasingly valued by employers in government, policy research, journalism, consultancy, and the financial sector.

Graduates pursue careers in the civil service, think tanks, international organisations, data journalism, political consulting, finance, and academic research. Many go on to postgraduate study in political science, public policy, or quantitative social science. The Q-Step specialism produces graduates with a distinctive and in-demand combination of analytical and political skills.