BA (Hons) Politics & International Relations and Journalism

What’s the course about?

You’ll follow a flexible programme of study, which introduces you to the methods and approaches of different disciplines, allowing you to concentrate on areas you find especially interesting. 

Our interactive seminars and workshops help you find your feet in the academic environment, and establish ways of working confidently, creatively and collaboratively. There is plenty of opportunity to add to your journalism through related societies such as the journalism society. 

In your first year, you’ll gain insight to the relationship between citizens and governments. You will be able to choose between modules that allow you to understand how states interact with each other in international politics, why different countries have different political systems and how we can analyse military conflict. You’ll learn about how journalists and government interact and reflect on ethical journalism, as well as learning to write across platforms. 

In your second year, you’ll learn about the ideas that inform democratic politics and develop an understanding of the pressing issues and current dynamics that shape 21st century politics, for example how security concerns shape political decisions, the changing nature of British politics or the politics of energy supply. You’ll expand your journalism range, broadcasting for radio, creating your own magazine concept for an audience and writing for it, finding news stories and learning about the political journalism stories that changed the world from Watergate to Black Lives Matter. And you’ll become adept at working out what is and isn’t fake news. 

Work placement/study abroad option: Between your second and final year, you’ll have the option to study abroad or do a work placement for up to a year. Not only will this give you an amazing experience to talk about but will also give your CV a boost. If you’d rather go straight to your final year, that’s absolutely fine too. You’ll decide in your second year with us, so there is still plenty of time to think about this. 

In your final year, it’s time for the culmination of your studies. You’ll be able to develop expertise on topics that fit with your personal interests and professional aims, preparing you for a range of careers after graduation. You can study the politics of the global economy, how peacebuilding missions function, and what makes them successful, but also take a critical look at how gender dynamics and colonial legacies continue to shape contemporary societies. You’ll become an international reporter, reporting on a global event, will seek out work experience in journalism or related area such as PR or marketing, or start your own media business. You’ll also create your own website and furnish it with content and create a portfolio of work to show employers. By the end of this year, you’ll realise both how far you have come and have a range y of journalism for your CV. 

To see all your modules, see the ‘What will I study?’ section below. 

‘Media Matters’ Guest Lecture series 

Each year the School of Humanities hosts the Media Matters Guest Lecture Series featuring a range of industry professionals, giving talks on their experience in the industry. These lectures are recorded by our final year students and available on our Media Hub. Some of our previous speakers have included: 

• Lewis Wiltshire, Head of Sport, Twitter UK 
• Tobi Rachel Akingbade, showbusiness journalist who studied journalism and other media subjects at UH 
• Ren Behan, Food blogger and journalist 
• Terry Mitchinson, Welwyn Hatfield Times Editor 
• Uche Amako, UH journalism alum and sportswriter 

Applying for this course is easy. Simply add us to your UCAS account by using the institution and course code mentioned in ‘Key information.’ There is no interview for this course. We’re just interested to hear why you want to study this subject at degree level. 

Your main campus is de Havilland

You’ll share this campus with students from business, law, sport, education, and humanities subjects. The student housing is close to our Sports Village which includes a gym, swimming pool and climbing wall. You can get breakfast, lunch, or dinner in our on-campus restaurant and bar on days you don’t feel like cooking. You can also use the common room to play pool, video games or just to hang out with friends. Our Learning Resources Centres are open 24/7, which means you can study whenever suits you best. Want to pop over to the other campus? You can take the free shuttle bus or walk there in just 15 minutes.