BA/BSc Politics
About this course
Politics at degree level is a discipline that combines the rigorous analysis of real-world power with deep engagement with the ideas that justify or contest it. It examines how states are structured and governed, how international relations are conducted, how political systems compare across countries and cultures, and how political theory illuminates the fundamental questions of justice, freedom, and authority. In a world of rapid political change, a serious understanding of these questions has considerable value. At King's College London, the BA Politics is a demanding and stimulating degree covering international politics, comparative politics, and political theory, with a strong emphasis on developing your analytical and research skills. The programme includes a year abroad, giving you the opportunity to study in a different national context and to experience political science as it is taught and practised elsewhere. London's position as a global political and financial centre gives the degree particular vitality: the institutions, organisations, and events that shape world politics are close at hand, and the connections between academic study and lived political reality are tangible. You will learn to construct and evaluate arguments, to work with quantitative and qualitative evidence, and to read and produce sophisticated political analysis. You will engage with both classical and contemporary political thought, developing frameworks that allow you to assess the performance of democratic institutions, the dynamics of international conflict and cooperation, and the structural forces that shape political outcomes. The research skills you build are transferable to a very wide range of professional contexts. Politics graduates from strong research universities go on to careers in government, the civil service, diplomacy, international organisations, think tanks, journalism, law, finance, and the not-for-profit sector. King's location in London means strong networks with many of these employers. Postgraduate study in political science, international relations, public policy, or law is also a well-trodden route, and King's offers a range of master's programmes for those who wish to specialise further.
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