International Relations
UCAS Code: L252
Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
Excluding General Studies
Access to HE Diploma
Pass the Access to HE Diploma with 25 L3 credits at Distinction Grade and 20 L3 credits at Merit Grade. Please also see GCSE requirements
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
Applicant will be considered with IB 34-32 OR 665 or 655 in three Higher Level subjects.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Scottish Advanced Higher
Scottish Higher
A,A,B,B,B-A,A,A,B,B
UCAS Tariff
We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.
About this course
This exciting and distinctive programme combines a solid grounding in international relations, with the opportunity to specialise in an issue or region.
The content of our programme is influenced by our research interests that are nationally and internationally recognised and positioned at the forefront of academic debate. Staff at the Penryn Campus have particular expertise in the following international relations specialisms:
•International security
•Foreign policy
•Intelligence studies
•The politics of the European Union
•The Middle East and North Africa
•Gender and international relations
•Critical military studies
•Comparative electoral politics
•Media
•Political psychology
•Political theory
•Quantitative and qualitative research methods
•Environmental politics
Our academics bring the latest political thinking into your degree through research-led teaching. You will experience a range of innovative teaching, ranging from traditional lectures and small-group seminars to participating in real research experiments and political simulations.
Our programmes produce graduates who can engage imaginatively in the process of understanding and analysing complex and sophisticated problems by using critical approaches that blend detailed and broad levels of analysis. Field work overseas and a focus on career-related experience and skills, ensure learning is both research-led and relevant to your future career aspirations. The study of International Relations in Cornwall is characterised by its focus on some of the biggest political challenges facing the world today such as terrorism, the global financial crisis, conflict in the Middle East, and the changing balance in world power. We believe a degree shouldn’t just be an intellectual exercise; it’s the means by which people change the world.
Tuition fees
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The Uni
University of Exeter Penryn Campus, Cornwall
Management Studies

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See your living costsWhat 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
What do graduate employment figures really tell you?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.
£22k
£26k
£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).
We calculate a mean rating of all responses to indicate whether this is high, medium or low compared to the same subject area at other universities.
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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).
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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