Political science and IR society

I'm applying to IR this year! Currently considering the following universities:

LSE - AAA
Warwick - AAA
KCL - AAA
Birmingham - AAB/ABB
Southampton - ABB/BBB (providing that I get an A in my EPQ)

I'm also thinking of applying to Durham instead of Warwick? I saw someone on here get an offer of AAB from there. Quite sceptical about KCL too. Any advice?

LSE's obviously your first choice.

I'd replace Warwick with Durham, and have KCL as my insurance. Additionally, I'd remove either Bham or Soton and replace one with Aberystwyth - CCC is the requirement and the department is easily top 10 material, ergo it's a great insurance if it all goes tits up.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 941

username358506

20

Does anyone know anything about Leiden University in Holland and their International Studies programme?

Reply 942

Fernand126

11

Original post by Stalin

Does anyone know anything about Leiden University in Holland and their International Studies programme?

I've heard they're supposed to be a top programme. Not sure, however. I'll see if I can find any concrete information.

Reply 943

username358506

20

Original post by Fernand126

I've heard they're supposed to be a top programme. Not sure, however. I'll see if I can find any concrete information.

From what I've found: Leiden is the oldest university in Holland, and it's campus, which based in The Hague, has a great reputation - it consistently ranks in the top one hundred universities in the world.

Are there any International Studies students who can share their experiences of the programme/campus?

Reply 944

Kitty Pimms

OP

17

Original post by Stalin

From what I've found: Leiden is the oldest university in Holland, and it's campus, which based in The Hague, has a great reputation - it consistently ranks in the top one hundred universities in the world.

Are there any International Studies students who can share their experiences of the programme/campus?

Not too familiar specifically with Leiden (I know more about the department at Amsterdam, Utrecht and Maastricht) but Holland is a great place to study in general. If they use PBL, even better!

Reply 945

ahmadalkarute

Hey guys,
So I am currently finishing a foundation course at INTO City University London for Humanities and Law because my high school grades were not impressive at all, however my foundation grades will be exceptional! :biggrin:

. I am planning on studying IR next year. Any ideas where I should apply? (consider the fact that not all unis are keen on accepting students from foundation courses that are not their own).

Reply 946

username358506

20

Original post by ahmadalkarute

Hey guys,
So I am currently finishing a foundation course at INTO City University London for Humanities and Law because my high school grades were not impressive at all, however my foundation grades will be exceptional! :biggrin:

. I am planning on studying IR next year. Any ideas where I should apply? (consider the fact that not all unis are keen on accepting students from foundation courses that are not their own).

Aberystwyth and Aberdeen should be easy to get into, and the former has the oldest IR department in the world. You could try the likes of Essex and Sheffield, but their entry requirements will be higher.

Otherwise there's continental Europe: the Netherlands boasts decent departments and at a fraction of the cost (€2000 per year iirc).

Reply 947

Kitty Pimms

OP

17

Original post by Stalin

Aberystwyth and Aberdeen should be easy to get into, and the former has the oldest IR department in the world. You could try the likes of Essex and Sheffield, but their entry requirements will be higher.

Otherwise there's continental Europe: the Netherlands boasts decent departments and at a fraction of the cost (€2000 per year iirc).

Good idea - if you're willing to consider it, some of the Scandinavian countries also offer UG degrees in English. Otherwise, the teaching in NL is frequently top-notch and definitely worth a look.

Aside from that, I would draw up a shortlist of universities and contact them direct about their approach to foundation courses, as it can be tricky to know in advance what they are likely to make of them (and in my experience, some of the more 'prestigious' universities can be surprisingly progressive in that regard).

Reply 948

username358506

20

Original post by Kitty Pimms

Good idea - if you're willing to consider it, some of the Scandinavian countries also offer UG degrees in English. Otherwise, the teaching in NL is frequently top-notch and definitely worth a look.

Aside from that, I would draw up a shortlist of universities and contact them direct about their approach to foundation courses, as it can be tricky to know in advance what they are likely to make of them (and in my experience, some of the more 'prestigious' universities can be surprisingly progressive in that regard).

I looked at Scandinavian universities before applying to Leiden and Groningen in the Netherlands, but I only found one that taught anything polsci-related in English and it was Lund University in Sweden. There wasn't enough of an international outlook on the course for me, though.

There are some in Germany with lesser reps to the universities I've named, and the tuition fees are anywhere between 250-500 euros per semester.

Reply 949

Shaurr

Offer from Nottingham! Have an open space on UCAS, how competitive is Durham for IR?

Reply 950

NikolaT

15

This thread is pretty dead... is no one here going to be starting a Politics and/or International Relations course for 2015 entry?

Original post by NikolaT

This thread is pretty dead... is no one here going to be starting a Politics and/or International Relations course for 2015 entry?

Im not but I am graduating with a 2:1 in Politics & IR next month :smile:

Where you going?

Reply 952

NikolaT

15

Original post by Jack22031994

Im not but I am graduating with a 2:1 in Politics & IR next month :smile:

Where you going?

Ah congratulations!

I've firmed Exeter for Econ & Pol. :smile:

Original post by NikolaT

Ah congratulations!

I've firmed Exeter for Econ & Pol. :smile:

Thank you! :smile:

Ah cool

Good luck!!!

Reply 954

Ghille

4

I'm heading into my 3rd year of a Politics & Sociology degree. I have just over a week to make my final decision on which of those I will be pursuing my Dissertation on. I truly don't know...

Reply 955

diamondluck

2

Original post by Ghille

I'm heading into my 3rd year of a Politics & Sociology degree. I have just over a week to make my final decision on which of those I will be pursuing my Dissertation on. I truly don't know...

how are you finding your degree? what uni are you at atm? what a levels did you achieve?
just asking since I'm going through a mental breakdown over what to do in uni next year LOL.

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Reply 956

justastudent321

9

Hey I was wondering if anyone would help me. I am applying to do International Relations , but the univeristy I want to go to want the actual grades BBB , my problem is that my predicted will be AAC. I am worried that the universities (that want actual grades) won't take me because my predicted won't meet the grade requirements. Helpp please!

Reply 957

Kitty Pimms

OP

17

Original post by justastudent321

Hey I was wondering if anyone would help me. I am applying to do International Relations , but the univeristy I want to go to want the actual grades BBB , my problem is that my predicted will be AAC. I am worried that the universities (that want actual grades) won't take me because my predicted won't meet the grade requirements. Helpp please!

If there is any contact information listed, drop them an email and ask if they would consider an application with that profile. Some universities tend to be quite flexible about it, and some don't, so it's worth asking.

Reply 958

potatopie

hey guys i'm new here and this is one of my first posts! i'm an international student finishing junior college this year and i want to apply for international relations courses in the following universities:

LSE (this is a reach school for me!)
KCL
Durham
Warwick
Exeter.

when i checked out the previous pages in the thread i saw lots of people rec St. Andrew's but as far as I can tell they only offer Masters for IR? am I missing something? also, should i be considering birmingham, nottingham and SOAS?

on a more general note, i have the perception that taking pure IR will give you more flexibility in course choices as opposed to IR+Hist or IR+Sociology. is this true for all joint honours degrees?

also, i was wondering if anyone had any tips for personal statements for joint honours; i've never studied history but not sociology or international relations and I'm not too sure how to craft a personal statement that manages to cover everything.

you guys seem like a super friendly bunch!! sorry for the spam of questions. all the best to everyone! (:

Reply 959

JTR__

16

Original post by potatopie

hey guys i'm new here and this is one of my first posts! i'm an international student finishing junior college this year and i want to apply for international relations courses in the following universities:

LSE (this is a reach school for me!)
KCL
Durham
Warwick
Exeter.

when i checked out the previous pages in the thread i saw lots of people rec St. Andrew's but as far as I can tell they only offer Masters for IR? am I missing something? also, should i be considering birmingham, nottingham and SOAS?

on a more general note, i have the perception that taking pure IR will give you more flexibility in course choices as opposed to IR+Hist or IR+Sociology. is this true for all joint honours degrees?

also, i was wondering if anyone had any tips for personal statements for joint honours; i've never studied history but not sociology or international relations and I'm not too sure how to craft a personal statement that manages to cover everything.

you guys seem like a super friendly bunch!! sorry for the spam of questions. all the best to everyone! (:

Hi there! First of all, good luck with your applications :smile:

for the 'ancient' universities in Scotland (can never remember who exactly!), MA is equivalent to the BA- so, St Andrews does offer an IR course, it just has a different name. It is still the undergraduate equivalent of the English degree though x

I'm not entirely sure how the module system works down in England I'm afraid, although you will only study what is in your degree title. IR= just IR, IR+sociology= mixture. For St Andrews, being Scottish, you'll have the choice of three subjects in your first year. You have to take the subjects in your degree title, but that will leave you with 1/2 opportunities to try something different. I'm actually taking first year IR as an extra, with economics and maths :smile:

I really wish I had the knowledge to talk about the other universities as they all have a great reputation, but I wanted to stay in Scotland so never investigated I'm afraid :frown:

I'd look on all of their individual websites and see if their prospectus tells you much though! you can always email the university, or ask in the uni forums on here.

I'd get a vague idea of which courses you are thinking of first, before writing your PS; again, what parts of their course makes you want to study them?
If I had time right now I'd talk about the statements, but I have to stop procrastinating, sorry! Best of luck, and if you want any advice about Scottish universities, or IR (not that I can say much, I've only been studying it for a month!), don't hesitate to pop me a message. I'll get back to you eventually!

Best of luck :smile:

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