Bachelor of Arts in Politics and International Studies

at University of Warwick United Kingdom

On this joint degree, you will be a member of both the Politics and Sociology departments. Both departments are in the same building on campus and are closely associated.

This joint honours degree explores theoretical and empirical approaches to political and social ideas and issues, and the impact of these on our everyday lives. An interdisciplinary approach encourages you to consider the world from different political and sociological perspectives.

It enables you to think critically about contemporary society in the UK and beyond. It also encourages you to explore sub-fields such as gender and sexuality, race and difference, international relations, international political economy, sociology of media and culture, and international development.

Study abroad

There are two options to apply for study abroad in the Department of Politics and International Studies: Integrated or Intercalated. Students can also choose to apply for an intercalated year through the Sociology department.

This programme analyses European politics explicitly in the context of both International Relations (IR) and International Political Economy (IPE). It is designed for students keen to understand past and present international relations of Europe, and the EU, amidst times of crisis and in a constantly changing world.

The combination of IR, IPE and the EU makes this programme distinct from many others. The economic crisis in Europe, Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic provide an opportunity to explore how the EU is shaped internally and can respond externally to growing political, economic and societal challenges. This course examines the EU, its significance in and for the world system, its relationships with key developed and emerging countries and regions, and the various ways in which it engages with the international milieu on issues of global significance.

This degree emphasizes the way in which social cleavages such as race, gender and class intersect with the study of crime and criminal justice in an international context. Combining these subjects will give you a thorough, yet broad understanding of the surrounding issues and concepts that relate to questions of justice and criminalization today.

Drawing on established strengths within our Sociology Department, you will explore a variety of areas: culture and ethnic identities, geopolitical conflict, gender, environmentalism, social movements, sexuality, social theory, state crime, terrorism and modern society, punishment and community justice, youth crime, youth justice, policing, and issues of security in a global context.

Study abroad

You have the option of studying abroad which will add one year to your degree, as you will spend your third year abroad. Immerse yourself in life in another country and grow as a global citizen. Explore other cultures, languages, and understand global connections and inequalities.

Our programme is a disciplinary degree that focuses on the region for its case studies and offers strong disciplinary expertise combined with genuine regional expertise.

East Asia’s emergence as the most dynamic region in the global political economy continues despite a series of economic and security crises since the early 1990s. If anything, the crises reinvigorated the study of the international relations and political economy of East Asia. Instead of just focusing on economic growth, the crises highlighted key actors’ interests and historical and ideational factors behind them, the impact of globalisation on the region and existing development paradigms, US-China great power competition, and the need for greater regional cooperation to cope with future security and economic risks.

Germany has always been at the heart of European intellectual and cultural traditions, not least the birth of early cinema. This creates a natural synergy between these two subject areas.

German Studies at Warwick provides the opportunity to explore the extraordinary breadth and depth of the German language and culture in collaboration with recognised experts in the field.

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

You will normally spend your second or third year abroad, consolidating and enhancing your learning.

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 will move to a three-year. 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

The BA Sociology degree will provide you with a strong base to understand how society and people have changed over time.

With the study of social life at its heart, the scope of sociology is almost limitless. This course will introduce you to its broad subject matter, which encompasses family life, education, crime, work, war, religion, capitalism, power, love, the self, the media, to name just a few. You will also gain skills in quantitative and qualitative research methods that can be applied across a range of different subject areas.

Sociology also has an abiding concern with the main markers of social difference in modern society – class, gender, race or ethnicity, age, sexuality and (dis)ability. You will explore how these often intersect in shaping the life chances and experiences of individuals. In addition to lectures, interactive seminars will add depth to your learning.

Study abroad

You have the option of studying abroad which will add one year to your degree, as you will spend your third year abroad.

Immerse yourself in life in another country and grow as a global citizen. Explore other cultures, languages, and understand global connections and inequalities.

This course engages you in the systematic study of language with a specific focus on English. You will learn to analyse the structure of English, and the ways people use English to structure the world.

You will explore the evolution of English from a set of dialects on an island to a global lingua franca, and examine ways that English continues to change today. You will learn more generally about how language is formed, acquired, learned, and used. You will develop an extensive set of qualitative and quantitative research skills, and practise oral and written communication intensively.

You will be eminently employable in careers ranging from journalism, media, publishing and marketing to teaching English internationally, and may pursue further study toward fields like speech pathology or speech recognition.

Study abroad

If you wish to spend a year abroad (which we thoroughly recommend), this will take place in your third year, meaning that you will complete your degree in four years instead of three. All students have the opportunity to apply for an intercalated year abroad at one of our partner universities.

The Student Mobility Team offers support for these activities, and the Department's dedicated Study Abroad Co-ordinator can provide more specific information and assistance. Students who elect not to complete the year abroad, or who do not academically qualify for it, may complete the course without a year abroad.

This four-year course enables you to pursue your interest in the languages, literature and thought of Greece and Rome, while considering the broader cultural, social and political contexts of the classical world.

You will study a broad range of literary and non-literary sources, which are taught in innovative and dynamic ways by staff engaged in groundbreaking research.

You will study Ancient Greek alongside a modern European language (current options are Italian and German) and will spend your third year studying classical subjects at one of our partner universities in Europe.

Currently, placements are available in Bologna, Padua, Rome or Venice, with recent confirmation of new placements in Berlin and Tübingen, Germany. Confirmation of available placements will be made in your second year.

This course draws on areas of both computer science and mathematics. You will acquire skills in software engineering, combinatorial analysis, formal proof and algorithmic analysis.

Regular individual and group projects will consolidate what you have learned by allowing you to apply it to practical problems.

Your learning experiences throughout the course will enable you to both analyse and solve problems in an abstract sense, and realise solutions through computer software. These abilities, alongside transferable skills in communication, planning, and self-organisation are highly valued by employers.

Study abroad

You can spend a year at one of our partner institutions overseas.

We have an established exchange programme with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, which provides opportunities for our students to experience teaching and learning at another world-leading institution.

In addition to benefitting from a rich cultural experience, students returning from studying overseas exhibit an international profile that is attractive to potential employers.

The demand for mathematical statisticians has expanded so rapidly in recent years that both within and outside the academic world there is a severe shortage of well-qualified people.

These degrees enable you to specialise in both pure mathematics and statistics. They offer flexibility and a wide choice of options in Computing, Operational Research and all the other topics available to Mathematics students.

Study abroad

• We support student mobility through study abroad programs and all students have the opportunity to apply for an intercalated year abroad at one of our partner universities.
• The Study Abroad Team based in the Office for Student Opportunity offers support for these activities, and the Department's dedicated Study Abroad Co-ordinator can provide more specific information and assistance.