Politics, International Relations & Philosophy

Overview

The Keele International undergraduate programme offers a flexible and dynamic curriculum designed to engage students from the outset. All our modules are innovative, challenging, and contemporary; they are informed by strong scholarship and cutting-edge research, and are taught by approachable staff within a warm and friendly, but thoroughly research-led interdisciplinary environment. Students can opt to study either Single Honours International Relations, or combine International Relations with another discipline as part of a Dual Honours degree.

Keele was one of the pioneers of International Relations scholarship in the UK, and remains one of the principal concentrations of International Relations specialists in the UK. It was one of the first universities in the UK to offer a degree in the subject in the 1970s. The founding professor, Alan James, who led Keele’s IR Department between 1974 and 1991, was one of the first chairs of the British International Studies Association and was widely known for his writing on the concept of an international society of states, in addition to his main research focus on international peacekeeping. Other well-known International Relations scholars who have worked at Keele include David Campbell, Costas Constantinou, Andrew Linklater, Matthew Paterson, Hidemi Suganami, John Vincent and R.J. Walker. Our current staff have internationally recognised teaching and research expertise in the areas of security studies, international history, international political economy and development, and political and IR theory.

What we offer

• The opportunity to study International Relations with a complementary subject and a wide range of options in the second and third year (including options in Politics)
• Special strengths in modern international ideas, nationalism, violence, security/ human security, human rights, global governance, the environment, the European Union and Eurasian studies
• A vibrant and innovative community of learning with a lively and friendly staff within the multidisciplinary School of Politics, International Relations and Philosophy
• A learning experience underpinned by the latest academic thinking and research led by distinguished scholars
• One-to-one supervision of independent research towards a final year dissertation
• The opportunity to study abroad in the second year to benefit from another culture and a different educational experience
• An exciting range of co-curricular pursuits including the Keele Model United Nations Society.

Prospective students should have a keen interest in International Relations, but need not have studied it before.

More information about the International Relations Programme as a whole is available here.

Course Content

Both our single and dual honours degrees are designed to develop your knowledge of International Relations progressively. The dual honours programme allows you to combine International Relations with another subject, such as politics or law. The single honours programme gives you the rare opportunity to specialise in the study of International Relations through a purpose-built interdisciplinary degree.

The first year provides a foundation for more flexible choices in the second year and considerable specialisation in the third year. One of the benefits of studying in SPIRE is the range of extra modules from Politics that is also available to International Relations students. Students are also allowed to take elective modules from any subject throughout their degree. For example you can learn a language as part of your degree.

The following provides an indication of the current core offering; please see the Keele module catalogue for detailed information on our International Relations modules.

Year 1

You are introduced to basic concepts in the study of IR through core modules. The two compulsory modules for IR dual honours are:

• Introduction to International Relations
• Securing the Global Order

Single honours students must also take:

• Introduction to Global Political Economy
• The Changing World

Elective modules include:

• British Politics Since 1945
• Justice, Authority and Power
• Debates in American Politics
• Mass Media America
• Why Politics Matters

Year 2

Dual and single honours IR students take two core modules:

• Contemporary International Relations Theory
• Peace, Conflict and Security

Elective modules include:

• International Relations of the Environment
• The UN in World Politics
• International Relations of Eurasia
• The European Union

Year 3

Dual honours students take two and single honours students take at least four approved electives in IR. Current modules include:

• Arms Control
• End of Empire
• Intelligence
• Politics and International Relations of the Middle East
• The European Union as a Global Actor
• Proliferation
• Risk, Security and Liberal Goverance
• The Northern Dimension
• The Global South
• Rise and Fall of the League of Nations
• British State and Society During the Cold War

All third year students will do a dissertation or equivalent project in either of their principal subjects to allow them to pursue a particular topic in depth.

Codes and Combinations

Students are candidates for the degree of Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) (BA Hons) if their two Principal courses are in humanities and/or social science subjects.

All students who study a science subject are candidates for the degree of Bachelor of Science (with Honours) (BSc Hons).

Dual Honours course can be combined with:

* subject to approval

For overseas students who do not meet direct entry requirements, we offer the opportunity to take an intensive International Year One in International Relations and Politics leading to second year degree entry.

Single Honours, Major and Foundation course available:

Teaching and Assessment

Most modules are taught through a combination of lectures and seminars. Lectures are designed to move beyond the basic texts and to encourage critical assessment of conflicting views and theories. In seminars, small groups of students take part in discussions and debates facilitated by lecturers and professors. The School guarantees all first year students an hour per week of small-group teaching on all International Relations modules.

Our teaching focuses on developing students’ potential for independent thought and intellectual creativity. The use of a range of information and communication technologies is integrated into the programme, as is the development of written and oral communication skills. Some modules are assessed through a combination of coursework and examination, some are assessed only on written coursework, while in other modules oral presentations and other types of seminar contributions are formally assessed. Our staff have wide range and cutting edge research interests, which means academic research informs and ignites our teaching.

Students are encouraged to play an active role in the learning process, developing their own interests and ideas. We encourage you to acquire skills that are transferable to a wide range of professions.

Programme specifications (new window)

Skills and Careers

The International Relations Dual and Single Honours degrees have an excellent reputation with employers throughout the UK and abroad, providing an intellectual training that is relevant to a variety of careers. The programmes are designed with a particular emphasis on encouraging students in the development of their communication, team working and leadership skills through giving oral and written presentations, through participating in seminar discussions and simulation exercises and through various co-curricular activities such as the Keele Model United Nations Society.

The knowledge and skills acquired during the courses are useful in many different fields and our graduates are to be found in a wide variety of careers, including the civil service, non-governmental organisations, teaching, business, finance, industry, the armed forces, publishing, journalism and social work. Some graduates go on to study for a Master’s degree or a PhD. Most employers value an international awareness in their senior personnel. The ability to live, work and trade in an increasingly interconnected and global setting is becoming ever more important as traditional barriers are removed.

The careers record of SPIRE International Relations graduates is excellent and some of our graduates are featured on our website. Some of the most common destinations of past graduates include political researchers for MPs and think-tanks, journalism, education, management, the civil service, local government and the voluntary sector. Around a quarter of our graduates go on to take higher degrees; SPIRE offers Master’s courses in Parties and Elections, Environmental Politics, European Politics and Culture, Diplomatic Studies and Human Rights, Globalisation and Justice, among others.

Read our statement about The Keele International Relations Graduate and Employability

Visit our Careers pages (new window)

SPIRE is committed to building a diverse and dynamic community to ensure that students explore their interests, learn from each other’s’ experiences, and participate in academic and co-curricular activities outside the classroom. We are known for our friendly and informal approach. Students are represented on all the major SPIRE academic committees. Our staff take pride in being responsive to student feedback through our Staff-Student Liaison Committee and the annual student evaluation of all modules.

Keele offers students the opportunity to enrich their understanding of International Relations by gaining some hands-on experience at the Keele Model United Nations Society: we have a long history of dispatching delegations to represent a country at the Harvard University World Model United Nations, which is the largest and most prestigious simulation of multilateral diplomacy in the world.

International Relations and Politics

International Relations and Politics are closely related, sharing several important concepts and many practical concerns, such as global inequality, climate change, globalisation, human rights and security. Both disciplines address issues concerning government, power, justice and the future of political community at various levels.

International Relations and American Studies

International Relations in recent years has been marked by the increasing influence of non-state actors such as firms or pressure groups in civil society. Nevertheless, states remain crucial players and the US is still one of the most influential. Students combining International Relations and American Studies can reinforce their knowledge of International Relations with a specialised knowledge of this global superpower.

International Relations and Philosophy

Questions of International Relations often conceptually overlap with questions of political and moral philosophy, and there is a shared concern between the two disciplines with a wide range of contemporary issues, such as climate change, genetic engineering and global inequality. Both are interested in issues about government, social structures, power, justice and the relationship between the individual and the state. The clarity and precision in analysis provided by training in Philosophy complements the wide-ranging scope of International Relations concerns, many of which have profound ethical implications of the kind dealt with in moral philosophy.

SPIRE is a thoroughly international school, and is particularly welcoming to international students, as well as providing plenty of opportunities for home students to broaden their horizons.

We have staff with educational backgrounds in a wide variety of countries, such as Columbia, Canada, Bulgaria, Italy, Austria, Romania, and Turkey, who present their research all around the world. Students have the opportunity to hear visiting lecturers from various different countries, arranged through our ERASMUS partnerships, and many of our students also take up the opportunity to study abroad  as part of their degree; students have, in recent years, studied in South Africa, Korea, USA, and Hong Kong, to name just a few of the possible destinations.

International students will join established international communities at Keele, and will find plenty of support mechanisms in place to help them make the transition to study in the UK (see the ‘International Applicants’ button above).

All SPIRE students have the opportunity to take a work experience module in their second year, which provides real work-based experience in a professional context.

Students are prepared for their placement through a series of workshops, spend a minimum of 75 hours in their chosen workplace, gaining valuable hands-on experience in the world of work, and then in light of that experience, reflect on their own capacities, attributes and career plans, in an academic essay which makes special reference to politics, international relations or philosophy.