International Relations
University of Plymouth
UCAS Code: L250 | Bachelor of Science (with Honours) - BSc (Hons)
Entry requirements
104 to 112 UCAS Tariff points including a minimum of 2 A Levels.
Pass a named Access to HE Diploma in any subject with at least 33 credits at Merit and/ or Distinction.
Considered in combination.
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
To include a Grade 4 at any subject at Higher Level. Maths and English accepted within as GCSE equivalent.
104-112 points Maths and English accepted within as GCSE equivalent.
OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma
Any subject considered.
Considered in combination
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Any subject accepted
Considered in combination
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Any subject is considered.
Considered in combination
104-112 UCAS Tariff points, including a minimum of 2 Advanced Highers. Maths and English accepted within as GCSE equivalent.
Considered in combination with Advanced Highers. Maths and English accepted within as GCSE equivalent.
T Level
Any subject is considered.
UCAS Tariff
104 to 112 UCAS points to include a minimum of 2 A Levels.
Considered in combination.
About this course
This course has alternative study modes. Contact the university to find out how the information below might vary.
Explore the driving forces of relationships between countries and cultures in the 21st century close to where the G7 leaders met in 2021. Unpick all aspects of international relations from law to economics, diplomacy and governance to help you build your own critical thinking skills to navigate some of the major issues facing society. Combine theory and practice so you can better understand the decision-making that drives change. Hone your skills by representing Plymouth at the model UN.
- **Work closely with engaging and experienced staff** from across the politics and international relations group.
- ** Explore the evolution of the international system.** Debate contemporary worldwide issues, current affairs and major political events. Ask the difficult questions about environmental crises, war, or development in the global south.
- ** Travel the world through our international student exchange programme.** From the Czech Republic and Poland, to Canada and the USA, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to gain insights into international relations worldwide.
- **Be inspired by teaching rooted in research.** Work closely with staff that are leading experts in their fields; areas of expertise include popular protest in the Middle East, NATO and security studies, the politics of China, global environmental politics and the politics of the European Union.
- ** Integrate innovative modules** from across the School of Society and Culture, focussing your degree on areas that interest you and making your degree your own.
- **Build practical skills** to take into your future through varied and innovative assessments.
Modules
In your first year, you will investigate daily headlines and topical news, discovering the international systems and political and economic ideas that shape our contemporary world. You’ll explore the evolution of politics, current affairs, climate crises and major political events in historical and regional contexts.
By the end of year one you will be equipped with the skills and knowledge to help you thrive in your degree programme, having gained vital research techniques and analysed the relationship between international relations and the social sciences via innovative and engaging forms of assessment.
In year two immerse yourself in the issues that you care about in the world and use your new found knowledge and skills to analyse global systems. Learn how to do foreign policy analysis and explore concepts of national and human security, identity and global political economy. You will explore contemporary debates and develop a critical mindset, evaluating evidence and scrutinising arguments to take your knowledge further in ways that you can apply in your future career. Or you can put your global mindset into practice, studying abroad with our international student exchange programme.
In your third year, you’ll do comprehensive research on a topic of your choice with expert supervision that helps bring together the skills developed on your journey so far. You’ll deepen your knowledge of IR by studying a range of topics including NATO, understanding conspiracies and post-truth politics, the media, environmental politics, the EU, the politics of the USA, the Middle East or Africa. Make your degree your own, choosing modules from across our school that interest you the most. By the end of your final year, you will be making your mark, ready to be a part of the change.
The modules shown for this course or programme are those being studied by current students, or expected new modules. Modules are subject to change depending on year of entry and up to date information can be found on our website
Assessment methods
26% of assessment is by exam, 74% by coursework.
For up to date details, please refer to our website or contact the institution directly
The Uni
University of Plymouth
School of Society and Culture
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
How do students rate their degree experience?
The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Politics
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Politics
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
The numbers of people taking politics degrees fell sharply last year and we'll keep an eye on this one - it can't really be because of graduates getting poor outcomes as politics grads do about as well as graduates on average. Most politics or international relations graduates don't actually go into politics - although many do, as activists, fundraisers and researchers. Jobs in local and central government are also important. Other popular jobs include marketing and PR, youth and community work, finance roles, HR and academic research (you usually need a postgraduate degree to get into research). Because so many graduates get jobs in the civil service, a lot of graduates find themselves in London after graduating. Politics is a very popular postgraduate subject, and so about one in five politics graduates go on to take another course - usually a one-year Masters - after they finish their degrees.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Politics
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£18k
£25k
£29k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).
This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.
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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.
You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.
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Post-six month graduation stats:
This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.
It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.
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Graduate field commentary:
The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show
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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
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