Course details
- Entry requirements: 2:1 Bachelor's degree
- Full-time: 12 months
- Part-time: 24 months
Return to top
The Political Science and International Relations MA provides training in research methods, the application of political concepts and theories, and develops an advanced understanding of politics and political science. Your employability is enhanced through skills training, alongside the chance to gain advanced work experience through our Advanced Placement Scheme that places students with an employer to work on a project.
The MA offers a range of optional modules that enables you to specialise or generalise in key areas of political studies including British Politics, International Relations, and Comparative Politics. The MA also provides comprehensive methods training to equip you with the skills required for doctoral research, or a wide range of careers in fields such as journalism, business, the Civil Service, central government, local government, charities, and education.
If you are interested in applying for this MA, or if you have any questions whilst undertaking your programme of study, please do not hesitate to contact the Programme Lead.
This course is designed for graduates with a Bachelor’s in Politics/International Relations or a broadly related discipline who want to advance their understanding of politics and political science.
Discover what you'll learn, what you'll study, and how you'll be taught and assessed.
International students may be able to study this course on a part-time basis but this is dependent on visa regulations. Please visit the Government website for more information about student visas.
If you're able to study part-time, you'll study the same modules as the full-time master's degree over a longer period, usually 24 months. You can make studying work for you by arranging your personal schedule around lectures and seminars which take place during the day. After you complete all the taught modules, you will complete your final dissertation or project and will celebrate your achievements at graduation the following term.
Studying part-time means you can study alongside work or any other life commitments. You will study the same modules as the full-time master's degree over a longer period, usually 24 months. You can make studying work for you by arranging your personal schedule around lectures and seminars which take place during the day. After you complete all the taught modules, you will complete your final dissertation or project and will celebrate your achievements at graduation the following term.
On the standard Political Science and International Relations pathway, students take the compulsory module Political Science Research Methods and then can choose from a selection of optional 15 and 30 credit modules in semester one and a selection of optional 15 credit modules in semester two.
Students on this programme have the option to take a Contemporary Europe pathway, which involves different compulsory and optional modules. Please select Contemporary Europe pathway for information on this pathway.
The purpose of this module is to provide students with an understanding of fundamental issues in political research methods and an overview of some of the research methods used to investigate political and social phenomena. Students will be required to use and demonstrate knowledge of key methodologies, theoretical frameworks, and methods used in practical scientific research.
The module will introduce students to cross-disciplinary approaches to the study of trafficking and slavery in modern and contemporary contexts. It will draw on material from a range of fields including politics, sociology, criminology and law. Students will have an opportunity to study a range of sources, including policy documents and statistical information to engage critically with modern slavery and human trafficking. Current research from the Centre for the Study of International Slavery, the Anti-Slavery Knowledge Network and the Modern Slavery PEC will allow students to engage with the latest research and policy developments in the field.
The history of the nation-state formation and disintegration reflects the history of modern Europe which has been formed and often torn by these processes. While the nation-state is the most successful political organisation of modernity and a focus of peoples belonging, its design and its inherent association with a particular national group and its identity is not without controversy. The principal aim of this module is to analyse the political significance of the nation-state in European politics from 19th Century to the present. It covers waves of nationalism (1848, 1917, 1945 and 1989) and provides academic tools for understanding politics of national identity, minorities, immigration and citizenship in the past and in our time.
This module provides an opportunity for students to gain credit from experience acquired in a placement, usually off campus, and outside their immediate academic context, in a setting that matches their academic and possible career/industry interests. During this placement students will have the chance to develop materials and/or undertake tasks within a practical or vocational context; to apply academic knowledge from their degree, and to develop their personal and employability skills within a working environment. Students will also be encouraged to critically reflect on their time on their placement, and tie their experiences into a broader theoretical understanding of what constitutes ‘politics’.
Over the last decade the environment, and perhaps more importantly the concept of sustainable development, is claimed to have become a critical dimension that underpins decision making at a variety of different spatial scales, more particularly international, European, national, regional and local arenas. In this module we explore the extent to which environmental concerns are taken into account in various decision-making processes within the public, private and third sectors. The module will be assessed by an essay (50%) and an open book exam (50%) which provides students with significant choice to explore those parts of the module they find most interesting.
This module is designed to introduce students to the range and diversity of current research in languages and cultures. In individual sessions, students will be encouraged to consider the range of theoretical and methodological approaches which they could adopt in approaching their individual research projects. This module aims to provide students with an awareness of the key theoretical issues central to cultural studies, and to develop in them an understanding of current methodologies.
This module examines some of the most crucial topics in contemporary electoral research, and aims to provide students with a deep understanding of the factors explaining people’s political preferences and electoral behaviour in different contexts. The module takes an interdisciplinary approach that combines sociology, psychology and political science. Geographically speaking, this is a comparative module that focuses on full democracies, and students are encouraged to think about how the mechanisms covered in the different sessions may (or may not) work in other democratic contexts.
War Writing addresses the ways that wartime and peacetime are imagined by writers across the 20th and 21st centuries. We will focus on the theory of “permanent war,” which is the idea that the economy and discourse of war permeates social relations, even in periods that are notionally “peacetime.” We will consider the topic by addressing the essay and the novel, and we will discuss how the boundaries between fiction and nonfiction are sometimes blurred as writers find new forms to accommodate their responses to war.
This is a mandatory module of the MA Contemporary Europe offered by Politics department. This module provides an in-depth analysis of the external policies of the EU in the current context and critically analyzes the role of EU in international affairs. The module will trace the evolution of the EU as an international actor, scrutinize the EU’s external action in different policy areas and its relations with its regional and global partners.
This module follows the evolution of the field of conflict studies: from the early adoption of an IR framework of bargaining to explaining conflicts within states, to testing structural, country-level correlates of conflict resolution or recurrence, to the recognition of multidimensional conflicts and the shift toward dyadic data, and finally, to the recent focus on armed group fluidity and theories about how rebel spoiling, splintering, and alliances lead conflicts to take new forms.
The module analyses the process leading to Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union and the form it took (referendum and withdrawal agreement) as well as the ongoing implications for British politics, society and culture.
Anglo-American Relations
The Decline of Empire and the Commonwealth
Britain and the Post-War World
Britain and the Middle East
Legacies and Development
Britain in International Groups
Britain and Iraq
Britain and the Road to Brexit (And Beyond!)
Foreign Policy Ideology
At the end of the sixteenth century, England was making its first attempts to build a tradition as a nation of travellers and unsuccessfully attempting to establish colonies in north America. By the end of the Eighteenth century the European Grand Tour was a standard part of a British aristocratic education, and the British Empire was a global force actively participating in the international slave trade. This module looks at both literary and non-literary records of and responses to: the relationship between the ‘old world’ or the Mediterranean and the ‘new world’ of the Americas; the encounter with unfamiliar people and lands; the rise of and debate about the international slave trade, from the perspective of both the enslaver and the enslaved; the literary and cultural importance of these developments for the city of Liverpool.
Environmental issues are of growing importance to businesses both large and small. Companies and organisations have to comply with a burgeoning body of environmental legislation and environmental considerations are becoming more prominent in relations with industrial partners and clients, suppliers, customers, banks, insurers and local communities. Whilst such pressures are forcing businesses to pay more attention to the environmental implications of their actions, some businesses which are forward looking, perceive the environmental agenda as a great business opportunity. This module is designed to explore some of these issues more fully.
Comparative Peace Processes examines the similarities and differences between peace processes. What common features can be identified in terms of how and why peace processes develop? What aspects of threat removal are most common, such as decommissioning, disarmament and reintegration? What political tools, such as consociation, partition, secession, devolution or integration, might be used? After a short overview, the module addresses these questions via a series of case studies, including Northern Ireland, Lebanon, Israel-Palestine Bosnia and the Basque region.
The module provides an overview of record keeping developments from an international perspective. It introduces students to record-keeping structures, traditions and practices throughout the world, and to the legislative, cultural and political traditions which affect those practices. In doing so it enables students them to approach record-keeping theory and practice in their home country both critically and comparatively. The module considers the role that records and archives have played over time, particularly, from 1945, in the area of human rights.
The module introduces students to the quantitative study of international relations, security studies and comparative politics. Much of the most important research on topics such as the foreign relations between states, public attitudes towards global issues, and violent conflict within societies is quantitative. The module provides a guide to navigating these areas of research.
Beginning at an introductory level with descriptive statistics, it will introduce students to the most frequently-used tools for the statistical analysis of politics. Using statistical software, students will replicate existing studies and familiarise themselves with some of the major datasets in the fields of comparative politics, international relations, and security studies.
By the end of the module, students should have the confidence to replicate existing research in political science, make use of quantitative datasets in the study of politics conduct their own quantitative empirical investigation. Having studied statistics in a previous university degree is not a requirement for the module as we start from an absolute beginner’s level.
This module explores a series of dissident perspectives in international politics which evaluate how the study of international affairs exists as part of a continuum of empire. Examining the core features of different knowledge traditions emanating from postcolonial theory, decolonial methodologies and non-western thought, and critical positions in geography, history, sociology, and legal studies; this module situates the study of international politics with each of their epistemic stances, methodologies, and distinctive themes. We will evaluate what are often regarded to be the core concepts of International Relations theorisation (e.g., the treaty of Westphalia, liberalism, realism) and topical events like far- Right extremism, climate change, the Migrant Crisis, and the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, with the diverse socio-political and ethical commitments that exist within the interdisciplinary field of anti-colonialism. This includes ideas of decolonization, abolitionist thought, reparative justice, and world repair.
Students taking the Contemporary Europe pathway will take 30 credits of required modules and 30 credits of optional modules in semester one.
Students on the Contemporary Europe pathway will take 15 credits of required modules and 45 credits of optional modules in semester two.
The purpose of this module is to provide students with an understanding of fundamental issues in political research methods and an overview of some of the research methods used to investigate political and social phenomena. Students will be required to use and demonstrate knowledge of key methodologies, theoretical frameworks, and methods used in practical scientific research.
The history of the nation-state formation and disintegration reflects the history of modern Europe which has been formed and often torn by these processes. While the nation-state is the most successful political organisation of modernity and a focus of peoples belonging, its design and its inherent association with a particular national group and its identity is not without controversy. The principal aim of this module is to analyse the political significance of the nation-state in European politics from 19th Century to the present. It covers waves of nationalism (1848, 1917, 1945 and 1989) and provides academic tools for understanding politics of national identity, minorities, immigration and citizenship in the past and in our time.
This is a mandatory module of the MA Contemporary Europe offered by Politics department. This module provides an in-depth analysis of the external policies of the EU in the current context and critically analyzes the role of EU in international affairs. The module will trace the evolution of the EU as an international actor, scrutinize the EU’s external action in different policy areas and its relations with its regional and global partners.
The module will introduce students to cross-disciplinary approaches to the study of trafficking and slavery in modern and contemporary contexts. It will draw on material from a range of fields including politics, sociology, criminology and law. Students will have an opportunity to study a range of sources, including policy documents and statistical information to engage critically with modern slavery and human trafficking. Current research from the Centre for the Study of International Slavery, the Anti-Slavery Knowledge Network and the Modern Slavery PEC will allow students to engage with the latest research and policy developments in the field.
This module provides an opportunity for students to gain credit from experience acquired in a placement, usually off campus, and outside their immediate academic context, in a setting that matches their academic and possible career/industry interests. During this placement students will have the chance to develop materials and/or undertake tasks within a practical or vocational context; to apply academic knowledge from their degree, and to develop their personal and employability skills within a working environment. Students will also be encouraged to critically reflect on their time on their placement, and tie their experiences into a broader theoretical understanding of what constitutes ‘politics’.
Over the last decade the environment, and perhaps more importantly the concept of sustainable development, is claimed to have become a critical dimension that underpins decision making at a variety of different spatial scales, more particularly international, European, national, regional and local arenas. In this module we explore the extent to which environmental concerns are taken into account in various decision-making processes within the public, private and third sectors. The module will be assessed by an essay (50%) and an open book exam (50%) which provides students with significant choice to explore those parts of the module they find most interesting.
This module is designed to introduce students to the range and diversity of current research in languages and cultures. In individual sessions, students will be encouraged to consider the range of theoretical and methodological approaches which they could adopt in approaching their individual research projects. This module aims to provide students with an awareness of the key theoretical issues central to cultural studies, and to develop in them an understanding of current methodologies.
This module examines some of the most crucial topics in contemporary electoral research, and aims to provide students with a deep understanding of the factors explaining people’s political preferences and electoral behaviour in different contexts. The module takes an interdisciplinary approach that combines sociology, psychology and political science. Geographically speaking, this is a comparative module that focuses on full democracies, and students are encouraged to think about how the mechanisms covered in the different sessions may (or may not) work in other democratic contexts.
War Writing addresses the ways that wartime and peacetime are imagined by writers across the 20th and 21st centuries. We will focus on the theory of “permanent war,” which is the idea that the economy and discourse of war permeates social relations, even in periods that are notionally “peacetime.” We will consider the topic by addressing the essay and the novel, and we will discuss how the boundaries between fiction and nonfiction are sometimes blurred as writers find new forms to accommodate their responses to war.
This module examines the different ways in which states intervene in the domestic affairs of other states or territories such as humanitarian intervention, invasion, annexation, peacekeeping, and colonial interventions. It explores how intervention has changed and developed historically, especially during and after the Cold War. It analyses whether state-practice has out-run the rules and norms that guide international state behaviour, particularly the legal framework of the United Nations and other relevant bodies of international law. From this basis, the module will use examples of different kinds of interventions as cases to study and to evaluate whether their mere existence heralds a change in state-practice and a concomitant need to revise legal and political codes of conduct. Such cases include the shift in peace operations from first generation peacekeeping during the Cold War under the strict rules of impartiality, neutrality and the limitation of force to self-defence, to the robust and partial peace enforcement practiced by the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo and NATO troops in Afghanistan. It further includes historical and recent examples of invasion, such as Iraq in 2003, annexations of foreign territories such as the Crimean annexation by Russia in 2014, the contentious cases of humanitarian intervention for which Kosovo and Libya are used as precedents, and will ponder the question whether there is such a thing as the Responsibility to Protect. Finally, the module will also examine less overt more and subtle forms of state intervention such as covert action and state-sponsored terrorism in the physical and cyber realm.
This module follows the evolution of the field of conflict studies: from the early adoption of an IR framework of bargaining to explaining conflicts within states, to testing structural, country-level correlates of conflict resolution or recurrence, to the recognition of multidimensional conflicts and the shift toward dyadic data, and finally, to the recent focus on armed group fluidity and theories about how rebel spoiling, splintering, and alliances lead conflicts to take new forms.
The module analyses the process leading to Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union and the form it took (referendum and withdrawal agreement) as well as the ongoing implications for British politics, society and culture.
Anglo-American Relations
The Decline of Empire and the Commonwealth
Britain and the Post-War World
Britain and the Middle East
Legacies and Development
Britain in International Groups
Britain and Iraq
Britain and the Road to Brexit (And Beyond!)
Foreign Policy Ideology
At the end of the sixteenth century, England was making its first attempts to build a tradition as a nation of travellers and unsuccessfully attempting to establish colonies in north America. By the end of the Eighteenth century the European Grand Tour was a standard part of a British aristocratic education, and the British Empire was a global force actively participating in the international slave trade. This module looks at both literary and non-literary records of and responses to: the relationship between the ‘old world’ or the Mediterranean and the ‘new world’ of the Americas; the encounter with unfamiliar people and lands; the rise of and debate about the international slave trade, from the perspective of both the enslaver and the enslaved; the literary and cultural importance of these developments for the city of Liverpool.
Environmental issues are of growing importance to businesses both large and small. Companies and organisations have to comply with a burgeoning body of environmental legislation and environmental considerations are becoming more prominent in relations with industrial partners and clients, suppliers, customers, banks, insurers and local communities. Whilst such pressures are forcing businesses to pay more attention to the environmental implications of their actions, some businesses which are forward looking, perceive the environmental agenda as a great business opportunity. This module is designed to explore some of these issues more fully.
Comparative Peace Processes examines the similarities and differences between peace processes. What common features can be identified in terms of how and why peace processes develop? What aspects of threat removal are most common, such as decommissioning, disarmament and reintegration? What political tools, such as consociation, partition, secession, devolution or integration, might be used? After a short overview, the module addresses these questions via a series of case studies, including Northern Ireland, Lebanon, Israel-Palestine Bosnia and the Basque region.
The module provides an overview of record keeping developments from an international perspective. It introduces students to record-keeping structures, traditions and practices throughout the world, and to the legislative, cultural and political traditions which affect those practices. In doing so it enables students them to approach record-keeping theory and practice in their home country both critically and comparatively. The module considers the role that records and archives have played over time, particularly, from 1945, in the area of human rights.
The module introduces students to the quantitative study of international relations, security studies and comparative politics. Much of the most important research on topics such as the foreign relations between states, public attitudes towards global issues, and violent conflict within societies is quantitative. The module provides a guide to navigating these areas of research.
Beginning at an introductory level with descriptive statistics, it will introduce students to the most frequently-used tools for the statistical analysis of politics. Using statistical software, students will replicate existing studies and familiarise themselves with some of the major datasets in the fields of comparative politics, international relations, and security studies.
By the end of the module, students should have the confidence to replicate existing research in political science, make use of quantitative datasets in the study of politics conduct their own quantitative empirical investigation. Having studied statistics in a previous university degree is not a requirement for the module as we start from an absolute beginner’s level.
This module explores a series of dissident perspectives in international politics which evaluate how the study of international affairs exists as part of a continuum of empire. Examining the core features of different knowledge traditions emanating from postcolonial theory, decolonial methodologies and non-western thought, and critical positions in geography, history, sociology, and legal studies; this module situates the study of international politics with each of their epistemic stances, methodologies, and distinctive themes. We will evaluate what are often regarded to be the core concepts of International Relations theorisation (e.g., the treaty of Westphalia, liberalism, realism) and topical events like far- Right extremism, climate change, the Migrant Crisis, and the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, with the diverse socio-political and ethical commitments that exist within the interdisciplinary field of anti-colonialism. This includes ideas of decolonization, abolitionist thought, reparative justice, and world repair.
In both pathway options, the compulsory Political Science Dissertation (60 credits) is completed during the Summer vacation period.
The dissertation will enable students to demonstrate their research skills and knowledge in a single substantive independent piece of study. Students will select their chosen topic under the umbrella of ‘political science and international relations’, thereby affording students with a wide range of potential topics upon which to research. The opportunity to conduct this piece of research will enable students to focus on a topic they are intellectually interested in, and so motivated to conduct the research.
The modules on the programme are delivered using combinations of lectures, seminars, workshops, personal tutorials, and group tutorials. These are held on the main campus, with timetabled sessions for you to attend. On average, each module would have 2-hours face-to-face teaching per week. For those undertaking the Advanced Placement Scheme, personal sessions are held with the Placement Scheme Director.
Students undertake a range of authentic assessments such as policy documents, presentations, reports, reflective logs, amongst others. These are included alongside essays and online examinations (depending on which optional modules students select). Students also undertake a 60-credit dissertation, which is undertaken in the second and summer semesters for submission in September.
We have a distinctive approach to education, the Liverpool Curriculum Framework, which focuses on research-connected teaching, active learning, and authentic assessment to ensure our students graduate as digitally fluent and confident global citizens.
You will benefit from the expertise and community found within the Department of Politics, which is based within the School of Histories, Languages and Cultures in 8-14 Abercromby Square. Students will be taught in a variety of building on campus.
From arrival to alumni, we’re with you all the way:
Want to find out more about student life?
Chat with our student ambassadors and ask any questions you have.
Student career development is a major interest for the department and we actively encourage you to integrate career planning into your academic studies. The programme offers students the chance to discuss and develop their career options by working to secure placements and other activities that maximize employment potential.
The programme’s Advanced Placement Scheme involves you working within an organisation on a set project in its entirety, enhancing your project management skills. Previous placements have been based in various departments within The Liverpool Combined Authority, Communications within Liverpool City Council, Trade Unions and National Charities.
The MA delivers ideal training if you are interested in an academic career in doctoral research. The MA also provides a solid foundation if you are interested in exploring a career in education, media, third sector industries, the Civil Service, central/local government, or business.
If you have a professional background in any of these (or other relevant) areas, the MA provides you with the opportunity for continuing professional development, whilst enabling you to bring your experiences to the cohort which will further enrich the programme.
Career options are wide and extensive, including working in:
Your tuition fees, funding your studies, and other costs to consider.
UK fees (applies to Channel Islands, Isle of Man and Republic of Ireland) | |
---|---|
Full-time place, per year | £10,400 |
Part-time place, per year | £5,200 |
International fees | |
---|---|
Full-time place, per year | £21,400 |
Part-time place, per year | £10,700 |
Tuition fees cover the cost of your teaching and assessment, operating facilities such as libraries, IT equipment, and access to academic and personal support.
If you're a UK national, or have settled status in the UK, you may be eligible to apply for a Postgraduate Loan worth up to £12,167 to help with course fees and living costs. Learn more about tuition fees, funding and Postgraduate Loans.
We understand that budgeting for your time at university is important, and we want to make sure you understand any course-related costs that are not covered by your tuition fee. This could include buying a laptop, books, or stationery.
Find out more about the additional study costs that may apply to this course.
We offer a range of scholarships and bursaries to help cover tuition fees and help with living expenses while at university.
The qualifications and exam results you'll need to apply for this course.
My qualifications are from: United Kingdom.
Your qualification | Requirements |
---|---|
Postgraduate entry requirements |
You will need a 2:1 Bachelor’s degree in Politics/International Relations studies or in a broadly related discipline (eg classics, history, philosophy, sociology, English, modern languages etc.). |
International qualifications |
If you hold a bachelor’s degree or equivalent, but don’t meet our entry requirements, a Pre-Master’s can help you gain a place. This specialist preparation course for postgraduate study is offered on campus at the University of Liverpool International College, in partnership with Kaplan International Pathways. Although there’s no direct Pre-Master’s route to this MA, completing a Pre-Master’s pathway can guarantee you a place on many other postgraduate courses at The University of Liverpool. |
You'll need to demonstrate competence in the use of English language. International applicants who do not meet the minimum required standard of English language can complete one of our Pre-Sessional English courses to achieve the required level.
English language qualification | Requirements |
---|---|
GCSE | C |
IELTS |
C View our IELTS academic requirements key. |
International Baccalaureate |
Standard Level (Grade 5) |
INDIA Standard XII | 70% or above from Central and Metro State Boards |
WAEC | C4-6 |
Hong Kong use of English AS level | C |
Cambridge Proficiency | C |
Discover more about the city and University.
Liverpool bursts with diversity and creativity which makes it ideal for you to undertake your postgraduate studies and access various opportunities for you and your family.
To fully immerse yourself in the university experience living in halls will keep you close to campus where you can always meet new people. Find your home away from home.
Discover what expenses are covered by the cost of your tuition fees and other finance-related information you may need regarding your studies at Liverpool.
Have a question about this course or studying with us? Our dedicated enquiries team can help.
Programme Lead: Dr Alexander MacKenzie
Last updated 27 July 2023 / / Programme terms and conditions /