Bachelor of Arts in Politics and International Studies

at University of Warwick United Kingdom

This degree studies the political world, with an emphasis on the Italian language and culture. This joint honors degree gives you the opportunity to acquire Italian language skills while receiving thorough training in the study of Politics and International Studies.

It is split 50:50 between Politics and International Studies and Italian with the option of a 75:25 split in either discipline in the final year. You will critically engage with the political world from national and global perspectives, exploring the theoretical and empirical approaches to political ideas. At the same time you will deepen your understanding of the Italian language and culture and its relationship to Europe and the rest of the world.

The second or third year is spent studying or on a work placement in Italy.

Study abroad

The third year of the degree is spent studying and/or on work placement in Italy. Possible study abroad universities include:

• Università di Firenze
• Università di Siena (Arezzo and Siena)
• Università di Bologna
• Università di Pavia
• Università di Pisa
• Università di Roma La Sapienza
• Università di Genoa
• Università di Napoli L'Orientale
• Università di Salerno
• Università di Torino
• Università di Urbino Carlo Bo
• Università di Cagliari
• Università di Verona
• Università di Trieste
• Università di Messina
• Università di Catania (Catania and Ragusa)
• Università di Brescia
• Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
• Università di Milano

Qualified electrical engineers are desperately needed by the power industry. There is also a severe shortage of power engineering expertise in other sectors, such as government bodies and finance organisations, where a detailed knowledge of energy supply and demand is increasingly important. This shortage comes as societies develop and adapt to pressing environmental and economic constraints, dwindling reserves of fossil fuels, and the emergence of new energy technologies.

This course will give you the knowledge and skills required for a career in electrical power engineering and is an opportunity to update your knowledge with the latest developments in renewable energy and smart grids.

In Global Sustainable Development (GSD) we take a critical approach to the dominant discourse of sustainable development. We are committed to understanding as well as challenging existing practice, and want you to join us as we seek innovative, transformative responses to complex global challenges. Based in the School for Cross-faculty Studies, our academic home is a natural place for future transdisciplinary leaders to flourish.

On this course you will work with Warwick’s GSD Department, the Institute for Global Sustainable Development (IGSD), and partner departments across the University. Our staff are at the forefront of their fields and share your passion for global sustainable development.

Core modules will support your development as an intellectual leader dedicated to bringing about positive change. They will help to deepen your understanding of the core global challenges we face, and develop your critical and reflective approach, as well as your technical and methodological skills. Your learning will be rooted in critical intellectual enquiry and philosophical understanding, which will support your personal development as a leader of thought and action. In addition, by having a wide range of optional modules, you can tailor the course to your own areas of interest.

In Term Three and the summer, you will have an exciting opportunity to ‘learn by doing’ as you undertake a transdisciplinary capstone project. We will offer you a choice of research, practice, and work-based experiences. Your chosen project will enable you to develop a skillset most suited to your future career goals.

By the end of this course, you will be equipped to play an authentic role in reflective global citizenship. You will also have a defined understanding of what is necessary to act as a leader of positive change. The route you choose upon graduation will be defined by your own interests and aspirations. Your learning from the course will equip you with what you need for a career in applied research, in policy, business, or in third sector activity.

Who is this programme for?
This programme is ideal for you if:

• You have prior experience of GSD
• You are new to this field of study with a first degree and a strong interest in GSD
• You have work and life experience relating to GSD

Skills from this degree
You will learn to:

• Think systemically, recognising connections and interactions between factors, and understand that actions often have many consequences
• Identify and analyse the risk that system complexity can lead to unexpected and novel outcomes, and contribute to the proactive management of this
• Describe complex issues in clear terms and communicate about them effectively and succinctly, both orally and in writing
• Work naturally and consciously, as part of a community of practice, by learning from others in a culture of respect, mutual understanding and empathy, and managing disagreement and conflict through socially non-violent means, even in the context of formal power hierarchies
• Support and foster intellectual leadership by challenging assumptions, critically analysing information and negotiating alternatives to current practices
• Create new and personal knowledge in GSD both through research and self-managed learning

Italian Studies at Warwick provides the opportunity to explore the extraordinary breadth and depth of Italian language and culture in collaboration with recognised experts in the field. Intensive language work from advanced level opens up the richness of Italian language and cultural life.

Combining Italian with film means you will graduate as a highly qualified linguist with a deep understanding of key issues and developments in Italy’s past and present, advanced intercultural skills and an excellent knowledge of visual aesthetics, cinematic culture and narrative forms.

On this degree you are able to specialise in Italian language and culture, while spending a quarter of your time on Film Studies.

Study abroad

We strongly recommend that you take a year abroad as part of your modern languages degree, if you are able to. If you are unable to take a year abroad you may move to a three-year degree. In such cases, you will be required to complete further language reinforcement work. You will also be encouraged to spend time abroad in other ways, during vacation times.

You will usually spend your year abroad doing one of three things:

• Working as a language assistant teaching English in a primary or secondary school
• Studying full-time at a partner university in your chosen country
• On a work placement

Most students going to Italy opt for an exchange at a partner university. Some are successful in obtaining a (highly competitive) language assistantship. Most students apply through the British Council's English Language Assistant scheme during the first term of their second year at Warwick.

If you see yourself as a research mathematician of the future, this course may appeal to you. For enthusiastic mathematicians, it is a chance to further develop your knowledge if you already have an undergraduate mathematics, physics or statistics degree. If your academic background is not in these areas, this course could still appeal if you are a strong mathematician looking for a return to formal education. Your studies will include a mix of lecture based modules and independent research.  

In your final year, you will be able to explore a chosen subject in depth and present your findings in a written dissertation.

Skills from this degree

• Conducting independent research on a challenging problem
• Gathering and organising data to make a case
• Preparing and delivering a technical presentation
• Scientific communication
• Technical precision
• Organising, absorbing and consolidating information and techniques
• Applying knowledge in the solution of complex problems

This course will help you understand the importance of thinking critically about how we know and experience the world, and recognise the importance of linking precision in thought and analysis to a grounded understanding of different historical periods.

You'll learn to consider ideas for their own sake, while recognising that they are developed in particular contexts, for particular purposes, and reflect the conditions under which they are produced.

Students will be offered the opportunity at the start of their second year to apply for an optional Year Abroad. Following the application process, those students who are offered and take up a Year Abroad place transfer to the four-year History and Philosophy (with a Year Abroad) course, with the Year Abroad as the third of the four years.

Study abroad

History and Philosophy students have the opportunity to join history students for a term in Venice at the start of year and also to apply for an intercalated year abroad at one of our partner universities. The Student Mobility Team based in the Office for Student Opportunity offers support for these activities, and both Department's dedicated Study Abroad Co-ordinators can provide more specific information and assistance.

This course examines the political and social dimensions of history and international relations. We examine how historical events, actors and institutional legacies have influenced the world we live in today. And we discover complementary insights that can be gained from combining historical and political research. Together we will explore the theory and the reality of why people and states interact in the ways they do.

The two subjects complement each other - one exploring historical events and trends, and the other understanding how those legacies shape politics today. The two Departments in which you will learn (History and PAIS) approach shared research areas such as globalisation, conflict, democracy and human rights from different perspectives. You will explore themes in political, religious, cultural or social history, and will be able to select optional modules in both Departments to explore specialist themes and geographic areas in more detail.

Students will be offered the opportunity at the start of their second year to apply for an optional intercalated year of study abroad or year's work placement, or a combined year of study and work placements.

Following the application process, those students who are offered and take up a study and/or work placement place transfer to the four-year History and Politics (with a Year Abroad) course, with the Year Abroad or work placement as the third of the four years.

Study abroad

History and Politics students have the opportunity to join history students for a term in Venice at the start of year three. You can also apply for an intercalated year at one of the partner universities offered by either the History Department or the Department of Politics and International Studies (PAIS).

The Student Mobility Team based in the Office for Student Opportunity offers support for these activities, and the History Department's dedicated Study Abroad Co-ordinator and the PAIS Director of External Affairs can provide more specific information and assistance.

This degree has an emphasis on the influence of the Spanish language and Hispanic societies and cultures. The course considers the approaches to national and global political issues and political theory alongside international relations, and Spanish language study.

Your degree will be split 50:50 between Politics and International Studies and Hispanic Studies with the choice of a 75:25 split in favor of either subject in the final year. You will emerge with strong written and oral Spanish communication skills, as well as sought-after investigative, evaluative and presentation skills, gained through independent and collaborative study.

There is a compulsory year abroad in a Spanish-speaking country in year two or three.

Systems Engineering is an interdisciplinary approach that enables the realization of complex systems. Many complex engineering products (such as aerospace and automotive) involve a high level of integration and interaction across the mechanical, electronic and software domains. Systems Engineers analyze and design the behavior of these systems including active and intelligent software, which allows systems to detect and respond to changes.

A Systems Engineer needs to understand the broader context of a system including people, processes, and information flow.

Recent projects include the creating of a gesture detection system that recognizes British sign language and developing a systems model of iron storage in brain disease.

Study abroad

You may choose to take an intercalated year in industry, research or study abroad between years two and three (BEng and MEng), or between years three and four (MEng only). If you choose to take an intercalated year, this will be reflected in your degree title, and add a year to your degree program.

Escalating rates of environmental and climate change are forcing us to re-evaluate our management of agricultural and natural habitats. The competing demands on agricultural land for food production and for bioenergy provision must be reconciled with environmental stewardship and mitigation of climate change.

This master’s course provides a timely and integrated perspective on environmental bioscience, management, societal matters and regulation as these relate to issues such as sustainable production of food and provision of ecosystem services.

Skills from this degree
You will gain:

• The ability to evaluate the impacts of climate change locally and globally
• The ability to understand and evaluate the factors contributing to soil, air and water quality and recognise their roles in food production and society values
• Understanding of the roles different land management practices have on local, regional and global ecosystems
• Transferable skills including team working, communicating with peers and sector specialists, organising, planning and oral presentation
• Research skills including scientific report writing, evaluation of environmental accounts, problem solving, data analysis and project work