Is politics of the international economy a degree worth doing?

Hello,

Politics of the International Economy is a new degree that King's is starting this coming academic year, which I (luckily, I believe!) have been accepted to and have firmed. I've been to a post-offer open day, so I can tell you the (likely) minimal amount of what I know, but I'll try not to run you over with the King's propaganda machine.

Ok, so PIE, what is PIE?
Politics of the International Economy - it's basically the study of "political economy", which is distinct from pure economics in that it is studying the political, legal, international, sociological impacts of economic output/input within countries and nations and states and organisations, and it is distinct from pure politics in that you are studying politics bearing economics heavily in mind. Now, international political economy is just political economy.. but on an international level.


What is PIE at King's?

PIE at King's can take two routes, that is to say, you can get a B.Sc or a B.A, and the difference between these basically relies on the modules you take in second and third year. For the B.Sc, you can take some heavy duty economics modules, including full term-length courses in macro and micro economics, econometrics, etc.. this route prepares you for studying economics or economics-based subjects at graduate level. (if you look online at some MPP/MPA courses in the world, or even some specific politics and international relations postgrad courses, they rely a uni-level foundation in econometrics, macro and micro and quantitative, so evidently this course is going to sit perfectly for the requirements for these courses). If you take the B.A route, you are basically following the curriculum of the "international politics" B.A students, with a few political economy related subjects that are necessary, however you have far more room to take subjects from other departments, if that's your thing.

Political economy is quite a niche subject, and many universities which offer politics and economics respectively don't cover more than a module on it, if that, however at postgraduate level, it's an extremely wide and varied subject, with many opportunities to study specifically that at some big-name institutions.

I guess in essence it's going to make you a pretty rounded student too, as the necessary scientific and research methods covered in the economic and quantitative political analysis lessons are going to complement the theoretical political aspects of the course, and make you a student that has studied a scientific and theoretical "arts" subject at uni. I think this is a pretty winning combo, personally.

I hope this has put you in the know a little more, and lastly, isn't saying that you're studying "pie" at university pretty damn cool?

Let me know if you have any more questions and I'll do my best to answer!

Thank you! The information has been really useful. Do you mind if you tell me your predicted grades and what you got in AS?

I'm predicted A*AB, in RS, History and English litlang respectively. I'm fasttracking RS, so I'm doing the AS and the A2 this year. History I got a B, English I got a B and I did critical thinking, in which I got an A. I don't know to what extent it helped my application, but last year I was forced to have a gap year (so I'm a year later than most applicants), and to make up for that, I do a course with the Open University along with my A Levels. It isn't part of my offer though, so as I say, they may have completely ignored it or it may have helped them decide on part of my relatively lousy grades!

I realise I didn't really answer your question about job prospects though - as I said, I really think PIE is a very interesting course, and the reputation of King's is very high in the UK and internationally.. (rank 20-30 in the world, often ranked as 4th-6th best in the UK), so the name itself will carry you far. Also, I read a while back that King's students have the third best graduate starting salaries, and if you think about it, even if that was only true for a year, that's higher than LSE (where they're all going into Goldman Sachs and other banking companies) and Oxford. I mean, you should definitely bear in mind the location, right next to the Royal Courts of Justice, amazing location on The Strand, (ok I'm really going into propaganda mode now) but yeah, you prospectively have internships-galore, but moreover, it's always what you do with your degree and how you get it that really gets you a good job. (sorry, that sounded really patronising..)

I think King's pays a LOT of attention to your personal statement (and possibly your references), as my application this year was not the most outstanding they've probably ever seen, however I know my references were good and I was told that my personal statement was pretty good too.

Thank you again, really helpful info. I hope you enjoy the course at kings

Hi,
I'm applying for this same course. Were you invited for an interview?