Politics and IR with an interest in economic

Hi,

I'm planning on studying politics and international relations, and I have recently become interested in the economics field. I don't study A-level maths, but most of the Universities that I'm applying to are BSC and have a statistical element in them. I've had work experience at JP Morgan, which has made me interested in potentially working in a government/economic environment. Is it possible to pursue politics and international relations and pursue careers related in economics, I could even take up an economic module .

(edited 3 months ago)

Reply 1

MindMax2000

Universities Forum Helper

21

Original post by Florence_6791

Hi,

I'm planning on studying politics and international relations, and I have recently become interested in the economics field. I don't study A-level maths, but most of the Universities that I'm applying to are BSC and have a statistical element in them. I've had work experience at JP Morgan, which has made me interested in potentially working in a government/economic environment. Is it possible to pursue politics and international relations and pursue careers related in economics, I could even take up an economic module .

I would presume that you can go into policy making (which involves policy, economics, and international relations), but then again it depends on the employer.

Personally, I would do a postgrad conversion course in economics before doing a master's in economics should you really need it. If you want to go into economics, you typically need a postgrad with a PhD in economics being strongly preferred (albeit not necessarily required). I have seen people with postgrads in chemistry and physics going into economics for example.

If you want examples of economics conversion courses, let me know (there are about 10 in this country)

Original post by Florence_6791

Hi,

I'm planning on studying politics and international relations, and I have recently become interested in the economics field. I don't study A-level maths, but most of the Universities that I'm applying to are BSC and have a statistical element in them. I've had work experience at JP Morgan, which has made me interested in potentially working in a government/economic environment. Is it possible to pursue politics and international relations and pursue careers related in economics, I could even take up an economic module .

This really depends on what you mean by a career related to economics. If you mean working in public policy, then sure. But you wouldn't be able to work as an economist, even in public policy fields like in the Civil Service without doing a conversion course and MSc afterwards. For reference, generally the very minimum requirements to work in an economist graduate position in the civil service is to hold an undergrad degree in economics, economics joint with another subject or PPE (where at least 50% of modules are in economics), therefore a politics & IR degree definitely wouldn't meet these minimum requirements, same applies for the Bank of England and most other non-gov public sector organizations - and this is for the civil service which is generally more relaxed than the vast majority of private sector orgs.

But you would be able to work in policy advisor roles that are related to economic subjects with a politics & IR degree - you just wouldn't be able to be an economist with this degree. The way around this is, as the above poster suggests, to do a postgraduate diploma in economics after your undergrad, likely followed by a MSc Economics. Beyond that, you sometimes see individuals who have worked in public policy for many years in a specific field, understand the economics behind that field deeply, and can work in specific economist roles related to that field, but it's rare and generally requires many years of experience.

So TLDR, yes you can work in policy advisor roles which are related to economics and government with a pol & IR degree. No, you wouldn't be able to work in economist roles without further qualifications, doing a stats/economics module or two doesn't come close to meeting the minimum requirements for economics roles, whether this is in the public or private sector.

(edited 3 months ago)

Reply 3

Charlie_dent

1

Original post by Florence_6791

Hi,

I'm planning on studying politics and international relations, and I have recently become interested in the economics field. I don't study A-level maths, but most of the Universities that I'm applying to are BSC and have a statistical element in them. I've had work experience at JP Morgan, which has made me interested in potentially working in a government/economic environment. Is it possible to pursue politics and international relations and pursue careers related in economics, I could even take up an economic module .

Have you considered Politics and Economics Joint Honours? My son's interests are very similar to yours. When he did some research on units in P&E courses at Sheffield and Newcastle etc he realised there were IR options on Politics side of the course - so that's what's he's applied for. He does have an offer for Pol IR at Nottingham to keep options open but he's pretty sure he'll firm a Politics and Economics course.

(edited 3 months ago)

Politics and IR with an interest in economic

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