With the ever-growing interest among many young people in the politics of the United Kingdom, an equally fast-growing interest in learning politics at university rises. It is a popular degree wherever in the country you look, and with good reason.
Studying politics or any combined degree in political science can be a fantastic way to gain access to a whole new world of exciting and fulfilling career opportunities, ranging from local community interest jobs to becoming UK politicians or MPs.
What is the best UK uni for politics and political degrees?
As with any degree, where you choose to study will significantly impact what you get from your course, and making the right choice for you is very important. It can be tempting to examine the university rankings politics courses get at various Unis.
But something often overlooked in university choice is the course's approach and how the city's overall life will suit you. There is much to be learned from just looking at the university rankings for politics and using it to help guide your selection process.
There is equally much to be learned from talking to students about political science degrees or studying degrees in politics at a university you are interested in to find out if the style of teaching will be right for you.
What are the best UK universities for politics?
Politics university courses can vary wildly depending on where you look in the country, so where you go to university for politics will significantly affect what you learn on the course.
For example, choosing to study politics in London will give you a significantly different experience from the courses in politics you may find at other reputable political universities across the UK, such as Birmingham.
All three will provide you with an excellent, well-rounded and highly regarded politics degree, but they will go about it differently and uniquely.
What can I expect from a politics university course?
Again, what your university politics course will offer to you varies greatly depending on where you choose to take it.
For example, the many politics courses University College London offers are world-leading courses in central and Eastern Europe's politics, compared to somewhere such as King's College London, where your course would likely focus more on the side of Western European politics.
This is to say nothing of the differing teaching styles you would most likely encounter if you were to take politics courses or any political science degree at either university, with the difference in approaches from the different lecturers and academics being one of the essential parts of any degree in politics or otherwise.
How do I get a degree in politics?
UK universities offer many politics courses, and almost any combined politics degree in UK universities somewhere in the country will have you covered on what you want.
Some common types include an English and politics degree for those with a more creative and analytical mind or a politics and business degree for those with a more practical mindset.
There are many to choose from, each individual and combined course being equally fascinating in their own right. Of course, no matter which course you choose, you still have to get onto it, which is by no means a mean feat since many politics courses are, by their popularity, highly contested.
What grades do I need to get onto a politics degree?
Politics degree entry requirements will vary from university to university, but as a subject, it tends to have reasonably high academic requirements for prospective students.
Many politics degrees will expect you to have a successful grade in politics at an A level or equivalent as a way to show that you are able and already invested in learning politics at an advanced level. Politics study is no easy thing, after all.
If you are applying for a combined course, you will probably also be expected to have a decent grade in something contributing to your knowledge of your combined field, although this may not always strictly be called for.
For instance, history and politics degrees at many universities will expect you to have studied politics and history to a reasonable degree. This is not always the case, though; you can probably find universities willing to take you onto such a combined course without needing a qualification in both.
If you know it's what you want to do, it never hurts to have it!
What can you do with a politics degree?
Perhaps the biggest question for those considering all types of politics courses becomes quite simple: what can I do with a politics degree?
Fortunately, as one of the best-respected degrees that one can take, there are plenty of valuable and fascinating pathways of life that studying politics can lead you on.
Politics study can lead you directly into working in the government in some capacity, perhaps if you aspire to end up as a member of a local council or even a member of parliament.
This is far from the only option available to you, though.
What to do with a politics degree apart from government?
Common perception might leave you wondering if politics is a good degree for those who don't want to go into actual government directly, to which the answer is yes.
Many professions value a politics degree and, perhaps more importantly, the skills and mindset a politics or political science degree teaches exceptionally highly.
You might be tempted to ask why you study politics if you only take the soft skills into the real world. Still, the fact is that these soft skills are held in very high regard, especially when backed by a political degree, to prove proficiency in them to the highest level.
There are all sorts of jobs that one can lean into as a potential career path with a politics degree. Aside from the obvious of holding a position in the office, many jobs call for excellent mastery of social nuance, such as a social media manager, public relations assistant or a career in social service.
These are just a few examples of the careers you can lean into using the soft skills you take from your degree. However, there are endless opportunities in every field, from medicine to business to manufacturing, in administrative positions that will find great value in a politics, political science, or combined political science degree.
The other most prominent and high-profile place a political degree can take you aside from government work is political journalism. This particular avenue could see you locally or all around the world, putting your soft skills, creative mind, and, most importantly, the latent political knowledge you have taken from your degree into a single focused outlet.
After all, for as long as there have been politics and those politics have affected people, there will always be a demand to read about them. That's simply human nature.
Is a politics degree an excellent degree to have generally?
One great advantage of studying politics at university is that it is a relatively tricky degree, which carries a weight of prestige that many potential employers will look favourably on even outside the realm of political jobs.
Aside from having a specific degree to train you for a position, a politics degree will put you ahead of candidates with most other degrees for unrelated positions, as it is respected up there with degrees such as engineering and business.
In general, a politics degree and the skills you get from it will always be highly valued in society and will put you right where you need to be in getting into any walk of life that you should find calling to you.
Overall, studying politics in the UK is likely to give you a great experience in the days of the UK university lifestyle but also thanks to many world-leading political departments in Manchester, and the rest of the UK. This degree holds weight and commands respect everywhere in the world.
A political science degree will give you a great gateway into many walks of life, as well as being a fascinating program of study whether you choose to study it on its own or with another subject in parallel, making it without question one of the most worthwhile degrees you can choose to take in the UK.
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