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Philosophy and International Relations

Entry requirements


A level

B,B,B

Access to HE Diploma

D:18,M:27

Cambridge International Pre-U Certificate - Principal

M2,M2,M2

Extended Project

B

In recognition of the excellent preparation that the Extended Project Qualification provides to students for University study, we now include achievement in the EPQ as part of a formal offer.  Eligible applicants would receive two offers,  our usual offer plus an alternative offer of a B in the EPQ and one grade lower in their A level subjects

GCSE/National 4/National 5

GCSE Maths grade 4 (or C), GCSE English Language or English Literature grade 4 (or C).

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

30

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DDM

Scottish Higher

A,B,B,B,B

T Level

M

Minimum grade C in the Core Component.

UCAS Tariff

120-141

We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subjects

Philosophy

International relations

**Combine the study of philosophy with international relations, and develop a deeper understanding of the world we live in with our BA Philosophy and International Relations.**

Studying philosophy at the University of Reading will equip you with the ability to think logically, to evaluate arguments critically, and to challenge your own ideas and those of other people. We will give you an understanding of the central principles, concepts, problems, texts and figures of philosophy. You will be taught by leading experts whose research strengths lie especially in moral philosophy and the philosophy of the mind and language. You will also have the chance to study non-Western philosophies, especially Indian philosophy.

Your first year will introduce you to the general skills required for all philosophy. In your second and final year you will have the opportunity to explore your chosen topics in more depth, with modules such as Moral Philosophy, Contemporary Political Philosophy and the Philosophy of Law.

Studying international relations will give you a strong grounding in fundamental elements of the subject, such as political ideas and international relations theory. You will have the opportunity to learn about international relations both in breadth and in depth, through a range of specialist core and optional modules, which cover topical issues such as European political integration, international terrorism, and politics in the Middle East.

You will be taught in small interactive seminar groups, in which discussion and debate with teaching staff and fellow students is encouraged. Our small class sizes ensure that you will receive dedicated, individual attention. In 2022, we achieved a 95% satisfaction score for BA Philosophy (National Student Survey 2022).

You will also have the opportunity to undertake work placements and study abroad in your second or final year.

**Placement**
We encourage you to take placements as they provide you with a chance to put your newly acquired knowledge and skills into practice as well as allowing you to gain valuable real-world experience.

You can undertake a placement at any point in your degree and work in a company or charity relevant to your final year studies. For example, a previous student worked at a zoo to learn more about the ethical treatment of animals.

Other students have chosen to study abroad for one term in their second or final year. Partner institutions include universities in Europe, the USA, Canada, Japan or Australia.

Modules

The following modules have been approved in principle for delivery in 2024/25. Please note that as part of our current curriculum improvement process, all modules require final University approval and may be subject to change.

Core modules for this course:
Reason and Argument;
Great Works in Philosophy;
International Relations;
Politics of Climate Change;
War and Warfare;
Study of Politics;
Global Order;
Dissertation
Or
Independent Learning Module.
The University cannot guarantee that all optional modules will be available to all students who may wish to take them. Further information about the content of final approved modules will be available between May and July 2023. We suggest that you regularly revisit this webpage during this time to ensure you have the most up-to-date information regarding the modules offered on this programme.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£22,350
per year
International
£22,350
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

University of Reading

Department:

Philosophy

Read full university profile

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.

86%
Philosophy
81%
International relations

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.

Philosophy

Teaching and learning

89%
Staff make the subject interesting
89%
Staff are good at explaining things
86%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
77%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

69%
Library resources
80%
IT resources
88%
Course specific equipment and facilities
82%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

93%
UK students
7%
International students
38%
Male students
62%
Female students
76%
2:1 or above
16%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
B
C

Politics

Teaching and learning

87%
Staff make the subject interesting
88%
Staff are good at explaining things
85%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
68%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

70%
Library resources
90%
IT resources
88%
Course specific equipment and facilities
77%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

90%
UK students
10%
International students
68%
Male students
32%
Female students
84%
2:1 or above
23%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
B
B

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.

Philosophy

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.

£18,500
med
Average annual salary
99%
high
Employed or in further education
55%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

13%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
11%
Administrative occupations: records
10%
Teaching and educational professionals

Although there aren't a lot of jobs around for professional philosophers, philosophy degrees are a relatively popular option, with more than 2,000 students graduating in a philosophy-related subject in 2015 - a little down on previous years, but still healthy. Nearly a quarter of philosophy graduates take a postgraduate qualification, and it's a relatively common subject at both Masters and doctorate level — so if you think academic life might be for you, think ahead about how you might fund further study. For those who go into work, philosophy grads tend to go into teaching, accountancy, consulting, journalism, PR, housing, marketing, human resources and the arts while a few go into the computer industry every year, where their logical training is highly rated.

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.

£20,000
med
Average annual salary
98%
med
Employed or in further education
48%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

17%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
11%
Business, research and administrative professionals
11%
Business, finance and related associate professionals

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.

Philosophy

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£20k

£20k

£25k

£25k

£28k

£28k

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.

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.

£21k

£21k

£30k

£30k

£33k

£33k

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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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

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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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here