Best unis for politics/international relations??

I’ve just been going through a pile of prospectuses to try and work out what University will be the best one for a degree in politics and/or IR. I’ve got prospectuses for: Exeter, Nottingham, KCL, Durham, Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, York, Warwick, Edinburgh, Manchester & Bath. Does anyone have any experience studying politics/IR in general or just info about these unis? Don’t really know where to start

Reply 1

Michiyo

21

Original post by Libertygiddins

I’ve just been going through a pile of prospectuses to try and work out what University will be the best one for a degree in politics and/or IR. I’ve got prospectuses for: Exeter, Nottingham, KCL, Durham, Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, York, Warwick, Edinburgh, Manchester & Bath. Does anyone have any experience studying politics/IR in general or just info about these unis? Don’t really know where to start

Moved to Social and Political Sciences university courses. :jive:

I am a first year International Relations student. All those universities are great for politics and/or international relations! :biggrin:

My firm choice was Exeter and it is worth noting that their course structure is full of what I deem amazing modules. :yep:

As long as you get the grades, you are good to go! :dance:

I visited the University of Bristol twice. I had a student-led tour and a student Ambassador showed me around the huge and lovely campus. Going to an open day or such is a great idea since you will meet current students and staff members (and maybe even some of your future lecturers) who will be full of useful information for you! :gah:

Bristol's library is wonderful for politics and international relations. :grin:

I recommend checking the course structure and opportunities at each university before deciding on one. For example, I ended up picking my current university (Essex) over another one because I could study Japanese and Russian through Languages for All and because 60 out of my 120 credits this year are made up of optional modules from any department, so I could pick what interested me (a history module and German in my case).

What I have learnt since I started my degree is that International Relations is not exactly easy. I have to do a lot of reading (up to 500 pages a week sometimes!), so what I do is just skim-read and make notes when I deem it necessary. However, the degree itself is very enjoyable and interesting! :woo:

And luckily for me, I did sociology at AS, which has helped me get through some of the readings so far. :smile:

My grades are decided by essays, coursework, final exams, presentations, and occasionally tests. So far, I have had to submit an essay outline (200 words) and an essay (1000-1500 words). The hardest part of the essay was not the content itself, but referencing. I need to use Harvard style, which does not work that well for republished editions. :ashamed2:

If you have any questions about studying International Relations, feel free to tell me and I will try to answer them to the best of my capacity! :hugs:

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 2

jelly1000

21

Original post by Libertygiddins

I’ve just been going through a pile of prospectuses to try and work out what University will be the best one for a degree in politics and/or IR. I’ve got prospectuses for: Exeter, Nottingham, KCL, Durham, Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, York, Warwick, Edinburgh, Manchester & Bath. Does anyone have any experience studying politics/IR in general or just info about these unis? Don’t really know where to start

Best is very subjective, what is best for one person won't be best for another. You need to compare course content, location, facilities and also grade requirements. Going to open days can help with this too. I studied IR although I didn't go to any of the universities you listed. I did however look at Leeds and Birmingham. Leeds I loved the campus and the course and would have happily gone there but I couldn't get the entry requirements in the end. Birmingham I realised I wasn't so keen on the course and the accomodation was very expensive. I visited Warwick on a school trip and whilst I liked the campus I found it was far too in the middle of nowhere for my liking. You might prefer being away from big cities though.

Reply 3

randomgirl7000

11

Original post by Michiyo

Moved to Social and Political Sciences university courses. :jive:

I am a first year International Relations student. All those universities are great for politics and/or international relations! :biggrin:

My firm choice was Exeter and it is worth noting that their course structure is full of what I deem amazing modules. :yep:

As long as you get the grades, you are good to go! :dance:

I visited the University of Bristol twice. I had a student-led tour and a student Ambassador showed me around the huge and lovely campus. Going to an open day or such is a great idea since you will meet current students and staff members (and maybe even some of your future lecturers) who will be full of useful information for you! :gah:

Bristol's library is wonderful for politics and international relations. :grin:

I recommend checking the course structure and opportunities at each university before deciding on one. For example, I ended up picking my current university (Essex) over another one because I could study Japanese and Russian through Languages for All and because 60 out of my 120 credits this year are made up of optional modules from any department, so I could pick what interested me (a history module and German in my case).

What I have learnt since I started my degree is that International Relations is not exactly easy. I have to do a lot of reading (up to 500 pages a week sometimes!), so what I do is just skim-read and make notes when I deem it necessary. However, the degree itself is very enjoyable and interesting! :woo:

And luckily for me, I did sociology at AS, which has helped me get through some of the readings so far. :smile:

My grades are decided by essays, coursework, final exams, presentations, and occasionally tests. So far, I have had to submit an essay outline (200 words) and an essay (1000-1500 words). The hardest part of the essay was not the content itself, but referencing. I need to use Harvard style, which does not work that well for republished editions. :ashamed2:

If you have any questions about studying International Relations, feel free to tell me and I will try to answer them to the best of my capacity! :hugs:

hey, so is IR a really hard degree for someone who does not like to read that much ? And is Essex a great uni ?

Best unis for politics/international relations??

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