Ucas

I know that I want to study Politics and Philosophy at uni and I’ve heard that it’s competitive, and that a lot of people who do it have experience with MPs or internships (along those lines).

You could also try writing a blog yourself on topical relevant issues, maybe for some sort of youth organisation or something.

This will not interest Universities in any way.

They want to see evidence of an academic interest in the study of the discipline of Politics at degree level - not the 'look at me' ramblings of an ill-informed 17 year old.

A PHD student studying politics at Manchester university

Who does not work for University admissions, or have any idea what Universities actually do look for in University applications for undergraduate degrees.

This will not interest Universities in any way.

They want to see evidence of an academic interest in the study of the discipline of Politics at degree level - not the 'look at me' ramblings of an ill-informed 17 year old.

Who does not work for University admissions, or have any idea what Universities actually do look for in University applications for undergraduate degrees.

I know that I want to study Politics and Philosophy at uni and I’ve heard that it’s competitive, and that a lot of people who do it have experience with MPs or internships (along those lines). If anyone could give me an idea of what I could be doing for the next year and a half to help myself with it and it looking good on applications, I’d appreciate it.

Good point but you don't know what other experience he has other than what I mentioned. You have put some really helpful stuff but maybe you could have a nicer tone. I was just politely opening it up for discussion.
It can put people off posting and discussing with this sort of tone about 'ill-informed ramblings'. Someone a bit more shy and retiring and less confident than I am might feel a little crushed!

This happens too much on TSR, I think.
Just my opinion. I appreciate you will have a different take probably and others will find the tone is fine.

You dont need 'work experience' for a Politics degree - it isnt a 'train you to be an MP' degree, and the formal politics of Westminster is a very small part of any Politics degree.

What you do need is some interesting academic topics to talk about in your PS - and what interests you about these two subjects and why do you want to study them both together (ie. cross over between the two subjects...). You need to show that you have moved beyond A level study and can discuss 'bigger' ideas.

Read - Applying for Politics - https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/politics_degree

Look at some relevant Gresham College lectures by established academics - these will give you some useful 'capsule' ideas that you can realistically discuss in a short paragraph in your PS : https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch/ - just search for examples that interest you.

You really must stop going around TSR telling people off for their tone, manner or other parts of their posting that you don't like. You're like a cross mum! If you feel the post is rule-breaking somehow, then report it. But for heaven's sake stop scolding everyone - it's a bit of a bad habit you've got into.


PRSOM. @ikeababee, remember that a degree in this is an academic endeavour, not vocational traning. Don't worry about having 'work experience' - it's not that relevant. It's much more important to have read widely and, moreover, to have thought about what you've read.

😂😂😂'😂I do report it. Okay, no more 'scolding'. I will just report if I have concerns.

The CT will remove anything particularly egregious. And thank you.

No problem. I was getting a bit 'scolding' at times!

Hey, I just finished my first year doing Politics, Philosophy and Economics.

I certainly didn't have any internships or MP experience or anything like that. I had some vaguely relevant work experience (a week in the Civil Service), but I doubt that had much of an effect.

I think the real value of an internship or similar is to give you something interesting to talk about on your personal statement. I got that out of my work experience, but also just from reading and watching lectures on YouTube. If in the next year and a bit, you read some interesting books on politics and philosophy, and find some interesting things to say about them, then you're all set for building a strong personal statement next year.

Another benefit of an internship is that it demonstrates a passion for the subject. But this can certainly be done in other ways - again, wide reading and having interesting things to talk about does the same job.

But also, I think in those subjects, you can get a long way on the strength of grades alone. Strong A-Level grades, and potentially strong GCSEs as well (for Oxbridge especially) can make your application really competitive. So you might prefer to focus on school rather than on getting internships and other things like that.

Best of luck with your studies!