Political Science and International Studies by Distance Learning

Overview

The only attendance requirements are that the student visits the university for two weeks each year for an organized programme of research training and/or supervision and is also present on campus for their final viva examination. Travel and accommodation costs for these visits must be borne by the student.

Distance learning does present challenges and applicants need to have a high capacity to work independently and in a disciplined fashion to pursue their research goals. However, supervisory teams are there to assist students, drawing up individual training plans to support students in acquiring the skills and knowledge to complete a thesis.

The School of Government brings together academic staff, research fellows and doctoral researchers across the Social Sciences. The School is one of the leading UK and international centres for Politics, International Relations, International Development, International Security and European Studies.

The Department offers supervision leading to the research degrees of PhD (minimum registration three years) allowing participants to complete an 80,000-word thesis constituting a major piece of original research work. These can be studied on a full or part time basis.

Career

If I gain a postgraduate research degree in this area, what are my career prospects?

Graduates of the Political Science and International Studies by Distance Learning programme from University of Birmingham develop transferable skills that are useful in many occupations. These include familiarity with research methods; the ability to manage large and diverse quantities of information; the ability to organise information in a logical and coherent manner; judging and evaluating complex information; and making reasoned arguments, both orally, in tutorials and presentations, and in written work. There are many careers where a political science and international studies degree is useful and past graduates have entered areas including commercial management, finance, administration, politics, and even the armed forces. Some of our PhD graduates also continue onto successful careers in academic research and teaching.