European Politics and Policy (MSc) - 2013/2014 entry

This programme provides a good foundation for PhD/MPhil research. It is ideal if you are planning a career in the civil service, international organisations, journalism, policy research, pressure groups, local government, further and higher education, or public or private sector management.

Find out more about studying at Birkbeck's Department of Politics.

• Taught by research-active specialists.
• Develop an advanced understanding of politics and policy-making in West and Central European states, the European Union, and the European Union’s place in the world, using the concepts, models and theories of political science.

You will take a total of two core modules and two option modules, and will write a dissertation, enabling you to acquire an in-depth understanding of a particular topic in European politics and policy, and to develop research skills.

First core module:

• The European Union – Integration, Politics and Policy: investigates the institutions of the European Union, EU policies and policy-making in a range of sectors (including economic, environmental, agricultural and foreign policy), the EU’s evolving relationship with the member states and the challenge of enlargement.

The second core module is selected from either:

• Comparative Government and Policy in Europe: examines from a comparative perspective the impact of membership of the European Union on (a) national political institutions and processes in West and Central Europe by looking at the nature of political leadership, the position of the legislature and the political role of the judiciary, parties and party systems and the ideologies of Left and Right and (b) policy development in continental European states in several areas including economic policy, the welfare state, the protection of the environment, administrative reform, industrial, foreign and defence policies
• The Politics of Global Europe: examines the European Union’s emergence as a global actor by looking at: the evolution of the Common Foreign and Security Policy; the emerging global dimension of EU policies on energy, migration and macroeconomics; the EU's bilateral relations with the USA, Russia, China and India; and the EU's multilateral relations with bordering countries in the East, South East, Middle East and Northern Africa.  

The core modules are supplemented by option modules and completion of a dissertation on an agreed subject. Option modules are normally available in:

• British and US government and politics
• international relations, international security, and US foreign policy
• politics of globalisation and international political economy
• political theory and political sociology
• war, conflict, nationalism, politics and religion
• public management and public sector reform
• research methods.

Students who would like to develop their skills in research methods can take one or both of the corresponding option modules:

• Qualitative Political Analysis
• Quantitative Political Analysis.

Birkbeck Library has an extensive teaching collection of books and journals in politics and sociology. It also has an impressive range of electronic resources, including bibliographic databases and over 17,000 electronic journals. Most of these resources can be accessed online 24-hours a day. It is worth spending some time on the library website to familiarise yourself with its collections and services.

Students can also take advantage of the rich research collections nearby, including those of the Senate House Library, the British Library of Political and Economic Science (LSE Library) and the British Library.

Find out more about our learning resources and student support.

If you are interested in further research, we offer a PhD/MPhil in Politics/Sociology.

Graduates go on to careers in international organisations (including the European Union), local and national government, the diplomatic service, policy work, the voluntary sector, and as researchers or journalists.

• Applications from January.
• UK-based candidates satisfying entry requirements interviewed March–September.