This course requires 104–120 UCAS tariff points including a minimum of 2 A-levels or equivalent. We are happy to consider a combination of qualifications and grades to meet the overall tariff, for example A-levels A*CC, ABC, BBB or BCC, BTECs DDM or DMM. You can use the UCAS calculator to see how your qualifications equate to UCAS tariff points.
If you do not meet these requirements, you may want to consider our foundation year, a one-year course that will prepare you for degree-level study.
If English is not your first language you'll need IELTS (Academic) 6.5 with minimum 6.0 in each component or equivalent
Why study BA (Hons) Politics and Economics at BU?
Approach contemporary issues by focusing on the role the media plays in news across the world, reinforcing and challenging who gets what, how, why and where
Expand your knowledge and attend conferences and speaker seminars, as well as field trips to places such as Westminster, local government and charities
Learn from leading researchers in the fields of politics and political communication
Get hands-on experience of elections as political pundits, expert guests or fact-checkers in staff-student run projects and talk shows
Study alongside students from around the world at the Salzburg Academy on Media and Global Change; attend expert-led lectures, cultural tours and workshops
Network with industry professionals and add valuable experience to your CV through a four-week or optional 30-week placement.
Foundation year: We have a foundation year option for UK students who do not meet the entry requirements for the degree course. This additional year of study will give you a grounding in the media & communication skills required for this course, building your confidence, knowledge and skills for further study. After successful completion of the foundation year, you will progress to the full degree.
What you can achieve with a BA (Hons) Politics and Economics degree
Our BA (Hons) Politics and Economics degree aims to develop critically informed, agile, resourceful and independent graduates who are equipped to enter a range of potential careers.
These could include working in political and financial organisations and institutions (e.g. local government, the civil service, charities, NGOs, think tanks) and media jobs that rely on political and economic knowledge and understanding (e.g. political public relations, marketing, journalism, lobbying).
UCAS Code: LL21
With foundation year: LL22
More info: Click here
Foundation year
Core units
Academic & Professional Practice: You will build your confidence in both academic and professional skills. This unit will cover the academic skills which will be required at degree level study and you’ll practice them throughout the unit with support from key university services including the library and study skills team. There will also be the opportunity for you to reflect on and develop your own professional skills through interactions with employers, careers services and online resources.
Collaborative Communication Project: The unit focuses on the centrality of communicaiton, both as a process and as a project. Through the collaborative development of a communication solution to a specific communication problem, the unit aims to promote the principles and practices of team-based iterative project work.
Understanding Contemporary Britain: During this unit you will be introduced to key aspects of culture and society in Britain today. You will develop an understanding of the relationship between developments in culture, politics and society in the making of modern Britain and be able to identify a number of different critical perspectives on those developments.
Law & Government: You will trace a case study through the United Kingdom's political and legal system, following the case study from its inception in a political party's election manifesto, through the legislative process, to how the judiciary interprets its provisions within a court of law. Building out from this case study you will develop an understanding of practical and theoretical underpinnings of politics and law.
Year 1
Core units
Political Economy: This unit explores the relationship between politics and economics and debates about how politics, government and power influence how wealth is generated and distributed.
Principles of Microeconomics: This unit builds upon core theories of microeconomics (consumer demand, theory of the firm, pricing and output in competitive and uncompetitive markets) and aims to enhance your understanding of micro economic models and their applications in variety of contexts. It will provide you with rigours analytical skills that will help you in the analysis of contemporary economic issues and problems.
Political Sociology: You will explore how social factors shape, enable and change power structures and political processes. The unit examines social attributes such as race, ethnicity, class, religion, gender, and sexuality and how they influence political engagement and behaviour and the distribution of political power.
Global Governance & International Relations: You will develop an understanding of the historical and political context in which different countries are operating and the ideologies which shape a nation’s political culture and institutions.
Basic Statistical Techniques: By the end of this unit you'll be able to calculate a range of basic statistical techniques and interpret the results and perform various significance tests.
Principles of Macroeconomics: You will develop anunderstanding of Macroeconomic theory, enabling you to apply macroeconomic principles in the analysis of contemporary issues and problems. You will be given in depth knowledge of Keynesian and Classical Macroeconomics, IS-LM model, Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply, Phillips curve, unemployment and inflation, growth and business cycle.
Year 2
Core units
Political Psychology: This unit will provide a broad grounding in political psychology, and aims to establish psychological perspectives as an intrinsic element in the systematic study of politics, including exploring leaders and leadership, democracy, conflict, and inequality.
Intermediate Microeconomics: You will gain further understanding of the theory of demand, factors’ markets, general equilibrium analysis and welfare economics and the tools needed to analyse the effects of imperfect competition, externalities and environmental issues.
Civil Society & Social Movements: The unit provides a more political understanding of engagement in civil society by examining social movements in relation to society and its development. Students will explore the evolution of collective action and the relationship between social movement dynamics and political change in the context of modernisation, globalisation and changes in socio-economic dynamics.
Intermediate Macroeconomics: This unit aims to develop knowledge and the ability to critically analyse macroeconomic problems and issues in the context of the global economy. It seeks to provide you with the theoretical and empirical foundations to understand macroeconomic activity and policy in a global context.
Option units (choose one economics unit and one politics unit)
Economics option units
Industry, Region & Environment: The focus of this unit is on three inter-related specialist areas of economics: industrial organisation, regional development and the environment.
Econometric Techniques: This unit will extend your knowledge of the fundamental statistical processes, techniques and ideas used in the analysis and interpretation of economic data.
Politics option units
Political Journalism: You will analyse the news media’s role in civic education, democratic accountability, and political engagement, as well as the extent to which news media fulfil these normative roles. You will also have the opportunity to develop core journalistic skills.
Digital Politics: This unit will enable you to understand the impact of emerging digital technologies, to assess, apply and evaluate the role of digital communications in the promotional and media communications industries. The unit will equip you with practical skills in designing, implementing and evaluating digital communications strategies and campaigns.
Political Marketing & Campaigning: This unit will develop your understanding of the strategies and tactics employed by political organisations in order to build awareness and gain support within the modern political marketplace. You'll be encouraged to explore current practice with reference to key innovations by political organisations and candidates for election, and theory from the disciplines of marketing, political marketing and political theory.
Please note that option units require minimum numbers in order to run and may only be available on a semester by semester basis. They may also change from year to year.
Optional placement year
At BU, we recognise that placements are extremely valuable and can give you a head start when it comes to your future career. That’s why you’ll spend your third year on a professional work placement, lasting a minimum of 30 weeks, with public or private sector tourism-related organisations.
This includes the option to undertake your placement abroad – giving you the opportunity to develop yourself personally, academically, and professionally while you gain skills to help you stand out in the job market. Our students have completed placements in countries such as Spain, Greece, China, USA, Kenya and New Zealand.
Final year
Core units (choose two)
International Relations, State Power & Public Diplomacy: By focusing on primary texts from Thucydides to the Westphalia Treaty, contemporary thinkers, and policy reports, this unit will encourage you to think about and comment critically on the relevance of different approaches to practices in international relations.
Global Markets, Development & Labour: The unit aims to develop you knowledge of economic theory and your ability to apply it to an inter-related set of specialist areas of economics: global markets, national labour markets and economic development.
International Economics: This unit will provide you with a basic understanding of international trade economics and rules, as well as the politics and institutions that go behind the economics. You'll spend the unit underlining the theories and basic models of international trade, finance, and exchange rates, with an emphasis on how the economics of international trade and finance plays out in the real world.
Academic Dissertation or Consultancy Dissertation: The dissertation offers you an opportunity to become an expert on a topic of particular interest. You can develop a study that connects your learning with real-world observations enabling you to develop and demonstrate your critical, analytical and research skills.
Option units (choose one economics unit and one politics unit)
Economics option units
Global Markets, Development & Labour: The unit aims to develop you knowledge of economic theory and your ability to apply it to an inter-related set of specialist areas of economics: global markets, national labour markets and economic development.
Microeconomics and the Digital Economy: You'll develop your understanding of the theory of game received in year 2 and will also be exposed to the microtechniques utilised in developing many web and internet based approaches. Overall the unit aims to generate sufficient quantitative techniques enabling further independent learning of microeconomics and digital economy.
International Economics: This unit will provide you with a basic understanding of international trade economics and rules, as well as the politics and institutions that go behind the economics. You'll spend the unit underlining the theories and basic models of international trade, finance, and exchange rates, with an emphasis on how the economics of international trade and finance plays out in the real world.
Politics option units
Social and Intercultural Communication: This unit will provide you with an understanding of pertinent social and intercultural issues (both in the UK and internationally) and their impact upon contemporary professional communication practices. ‘Communication practices’ can include any form of interaction between individuals, groups, ‘communities’ and / or organisations that take place within an increasingly complex, diverse and interconnected world.
Promotion, Power & Democracy: You will be exposed key theoretical ideas from social and critical theory, political economy and political philosophy.
Race, Media and Inequality: You will critically examine the ways that the mainstream media maintains and perpetuates social inequalities with a specific focus on race, gender and class, both as a topic of academic study and social and political practice.
Persuasion & Influence: You will explore theory and practice as it relates to persuasion and influence.
Please note that option units require minimum numbers in order to run and may only be available on a semester by semester basis. They may also change from year to year.
The world of politics is constantly evolving and in today's hyper-mediated environment, there is an even greater need for people who understand the role the media plays within politics. This course will prepare you for working in various roles within this fascinating area, including in local and national government, non-government organisations, think-tanks, lobbying groups and emerging political industries such as soft diplomacy and nation branding.
You’ll be career-ready with 90% of graduates from our social sciences courses in employment after 15 months and 75% in professional or managerial positions.
OSHC: 624 ($) GBP per year
