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Winter time, University of Kent
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Canterbury
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Why is Kent so low league-table wise for Politics & International Relations?

Despite being known as "the UK's only international university"; being very active politically from what I can tell and word-of-mouth saying it has a good politics department, Kent is extremely low league-table-wise for politics.

I wanted to study International Relations with German; but as I am likely to be accepted to a better uni, I am thinking twice about it.

It's ranked as 44th for Politics and 34th overall as a university. Nottingham is ranked 12th for Politics. (This is an average of all the league tables published - the Guardian ranks Kent as much higher on both counts, but it seems to differ widely from all the other league tables and has questionable places for other unis so I'm giving that one a wide birth).

Bizarrely, I need ABB for Kent (Politics and International Relations with German) and only BBB for Nottingham (same course) which only compounds my confusion.

I really did love Kent as a town on the open day and found the staff very friendly and helpful. I liked the small, international community vibe I got from there as well.

Can anybody shed some light on this?
Original post by J_89
Despite being known as "the UK's only international university"; being very active politically from what I can tell and word-of-mouth saying it has a good politics department, Kent is extremely low league-table-wise for politics.

I wanted to study International Relations with German; but as I am likely to be accepted to a better uni, I am thinking twice about it.

It's ranked as 44th for Politics and 34th overall as a university. Nottingham is ranked 12th for Politics. (This is an average of all the league tables published - the Guardian ranks Kent as much higher on both counts, but it seems to differ widely from all the other league tables and has questionable places for other unis so I'm giving that one a wide birth).

Bizarrely, I need ABB for Kent (Politics and International Relations with German) and only BBB for Nottingham (same course) which only compounds my confusion.

I really did love Kent as a town on the open day and found the staff very friendly and helpful. I liked the small, international community vibe I got from there as well.

Can anybody shed some light on this?


Dear J_89,

As you are probably aware, University's position in League Tables vary, since they look at different criteria. In the Guardian University League Table 2013, Kent is ranked 21st for Politics.

I would also like to mention that the Politics department at Kent ranked 3rd in the country on the National Student Survey (a survey completed by 3rd year students in Universities across the UK), and they have a very good employability record with 89% of students being in employment or further education within 6 months of completing the course. We believe this is partly due to the fact that when studying Politics at Kent you get a real world experience, with politicians visiting campus frequently to speak to students.

I hope that some current Politics and International Relations students will be able to share their experiences with you, so that you can get a better perspective of what it is like to study politics with us! However, if you would like to speak to a member of staff from Politics, so that you can find out more about the course and lecturers, please send us a private message and I will send you the e-mail and phone number of someone you can contact.

Let me know if you have any other questions!

Thanks,

Marta
Winter time, University of Kent
University of Kent
Canterbury
Visit website
Reply 2
Hi Marta,

Thanks for your reply. I am giving the Guardian a wide birth as mentioned above, as it seems to place universities in very different places to the other tables and has, for example, Surrey university moving 25 places down in 2 years, so it seems a little erratic and inconsistent. I wish this were not the case as it also gives Kent uni itself an excellent ranking.

Whilst there may be 89% of students in further education or employment after 6 months, only 56% of those are in a related job/career, compared to 75% for Nottingham or say, Leeds (according to the Virgin Guide to British Universities and a similar poll by the Sunday Times Good University Guide). Hmmm.

I genuinely really like Kent and prefer it, but with today's very uncertain economic climate I am trying to make the best possible choice for my future. Do you have examples of students who have gone onto careers within the political profession?
Hi J_89,

Choosing a University is hard, and I think that you are doing the right thing by getting as much information as possible!

Regarding recent Kent graduates who have gone on to work in the political field, you can find three profiles in our website. They can be found here: http://www.kent.ac.uk/politics/why-study-with-us/employability.html?tab=graduate-profiles

Other examples include William Scobie; a local councillor in Thanet District Council http://tdc-mg-dmz.thanet.gov.uk/mgUserInfo.aspx?UID=982
Or Alex Murray, University VP for Education.

If you need more information, please let me know :smile:

Thanks,

Marta
Hello Kent Politics student here! :biggrin: Well if you wanted to go on the route of Conflict analysis Kent is the best in the country for it! In terms of making the best possible choice for your future, I think you should just go somewhere where you want to go, regardless of ranks. I love being here and I do think that does make a major impact on your studies. For first year there's already so much choice in terms of modules you want to study and Kent does stand out through their study abroad options - I'm spending third year in Hong Kong but you can also go to Beijing, Japan, Russia, various places in Europe (either taught in that language or in English) and now their making partnerships with Canada and the US! But if you have any more questions politics related or otherwise feel free to ask me! (I am also the Vice President to the Parkwood Student Committee and have 2 jobs on campus)
Reply 5
I think you are doing exactly the right thing in looking at as much detail as you can, but do take caution with league tables and they use different methods to establish their ranking - also I think you mean Sussex, not Surrey has dropped - Surrey seems to be on the up! If possible do what I am doing and visit as many as you can and meet the staff and tutors - this way you can base your decision on the whole experience rather than just a list - although TBH I would probably not go to somewhere right down the bottom - which means I have successfully argued against my own reasons - Politics is the right subject for me!!

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