International relations and politics

Hi I want to study international relations and potentially politics in a joint honours degree . This may sound very stupid I have a general interest in politics but I don’t know the nitty gritty of much and I was wondering in Aston Uni or UOB is it necessary to know a lot of background knowledge of politics before 1st year ?
If you didn’t and you took the course did you find it difficult to adapt ?

Thank you

Reply 1

University of Birmingham

Original post by Salamol

Hi @Salamol,

It's great to hear that you're interested in International Relations and Politics! There's no such thing as a silly question, especially when it comes to looking at Universities. :smile:

Our entry requirements are currently AAB, and we don't specify any particular A Level subjects, which means that we don't assume prior knowledge before you start the course! In general, the first year is about getting everyone up to the same base level of knowledge, as we recognise that students come from many different academic backgrounds and have studied various syllabuses.

You will study compulsory introductory modules in your first year which will teach you everything you need to know, examples include 'Understanding Politics', 'Introduction to Political Theory', and 'Understanding International Relations'.

I hope this has helped to reassure you but if you have any more specific questions you can always email the politics team who would be happy to advise. - Molly :biggrin:

University of Birmingham

Birmingham

Reply 2

Aston University

Official Rep

Original post by Salamol

Good day,

There's no such thing as a stupid question, every question is worth an answer. I don't study Politics with International Relations BSc at Aston but in my experience, you don't need to know the nitty-gritty of any course upon entry as the first-year modules lay the foundation of knowledge and ensure everyone continues the degree on the same page. You only need to meet the entry requirements. For Aston, the entry requirements are currently BBC (standard offer) or BCC (with EPQ or Core Maths minimum grade B).
Examples of some first-year modules include;

Introduction to Studying and Researching Politics
Introduction to the Concepts and Methods of International Relations
British Politics since 1990
Introduction to the European Union
The Making of the Modern World
What’s Trending (Current Affairs in Politics and International Relations)
French for Beginners ( and a few other foreign languages)

You can find out more about the course here https://www.aston.ac.uk/study/courses/politics-with-international-relations-bsc/september-2021.
Hope this has helped

*Ethel

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