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With our undergraduate degrees you will acquire a deep understanding and knowledge of the ideas and institutions that have shaped our society, and address today's most pressing global issues.
You can opt to undertake a placement year in industry or study abroad.
If you are looking to combine your study of politics and international relations with another discipline, you can choose from our range of joint degree courses.
Explore the world's most pressing political issues through this engaging, discussion-based degree course. You will have the opportunity to pursue your own interests through optional modules that cover a range of topical issues, from the politics of the welfare state to international terrorism.
You have the opportunity to take a placement year with this course, where you can gain valuable professional experience before your final year.
BA Politics and International Relations
BA Politics and International Relations with a Placement Year
Draw on our Department's research strengths and specialise in war, peace, strategy and the issues that surround conflict. Study war in a historical context and consider challenging questions such as whether war can ever be justified or whether peace should be maintained at all costs.
You have the opportunity to take a placement year with this course, where you can gain valuable professional experience before your final year.
BA War, Peace and International Relations
BA War, Peace and International Relations with a Placement Year
Develop a deep understanding of the critical political and economic issues that dominate the news agenda and shape the world in which we live. You will acquire a strong grounding in the fundamental elements of politics, and study the relationship between economics and society.
You have the opportunity to take a placement year with this course, where you can gain valuable professional experience before your final year.
Explore a wide range of exciting core and optional modules in international relations that cover topical issues such as European political integration and international terrorism. In economics, you'll study the relevance of mathematical and statistical techniques to applied problems and practical issues in society.
You have the opportunity to take a placement year with this course, where you can gain valuable professional experience before your final year.
BA International Relations and Economics
BA International Relations and Economics with a Placement Year
If you want to study politics at a British university but don’t have the correct qualifications, our four-year BA Politics and International Relations with International Foundation Year programme enables you to do so.
The foundation year is designed to equip you with the subject-specific and general study skills needed to cope with the demands of undergraduate study.
You can start this course either in September or January.
BA Politics and International Relations with International Foundation Year – September entry
BA Politics and International Relations with International Foundation Year – January entry
Explore the social processes which shape modern societies through our BSc Sociology degree.
You'll investigate the social dynamics that influence and drive social order and transformation in today's world.
Sociology at the University of Reading explores contemporary societies and how they are changing, challenging both your own and others' ideas.
You have the opportunity to take a placement year with this course, where you can gain valuable professional experience before your final year.
Our BA Philosophy, Politics and Economics is a joint degree with a rich history – this combination of subjects has been a well-known favourite choice for politicians and future prime ministers.
This course offers you the opportunity to study philosophy, politics and economics in the first year, and allows you to focus on two or continue with all three subjects in your second and final years.
Study the art of the possible and the art of persuasion with our BA English Literature and Politics degree.
You will gain a thorough understanding of the foundations of modern politics and the methods for studying political assent and conflict, while also having the chance to study literature from a broad range of perspectives.
Learn more about BA English Literature and Politics
This joint degree enables you to address today's key issues and investigate their roots in the past.
Explore both history and international relations and gain an understanding of how they influence one another.
Explore the roots of today's political issues with our BA History and Politics degree course.
You will benefit from the Department of History's expertise in a diverse range of regions and historical periods, while acquiring a strong grounding in the fundamental elements of political ideas and democratic processes.
This course will equip you with the ability to think logically, to evaluate arguments critically, and to challenge your own ideas and those of other people.
You will learn about international relations both in breadth and in depth, through a range of specialist core and optional modules.
Examine some of our most fundamental ideas about truth, reality, right and wrong.
You will develop an understanding of philosophical arguments and political theory through our joint BA Philosophy and Politics degree.
Study a modern language, and gain a broader view of the contemporary world’s most pressing problems, with our BA Modern Languages and International Relations degree.
This highly flexible degree enables you to study a modern language – choosing from our core languages of French, German, Italian and Spanish – alongside your studies in international relations.
Learn more about BA Modern Languages and International Relations
Explore how crime and criminal justice relate to broader patterns of social change and examine how contemporary societies function on our BSc Sociology and Criminology courses.
Offered by the Department of Politics and International Relations and the School of Law, this joint degree is an ideal course if you are interested in sociology, criminology, politics, law and social policy.
You have the opportunity to take a placement year with this course, where you can gain valuable professional experience before your final year.
We offer an exciting range of modules that enable you to pursue your own interests and gain direct insight into real-world political processes.
In particular we have innovative modules that enable you to build practical skills and first-hand experience that will serve you in your future career. For example:
Every year we review our range of modules on offer to ensure what you are studying is up to date with the latest developments in the discipline.
There is a variety of funding support available to our undergraduate students. You may be eligible for government loans, grants or bursaries.
Students from the UK can receive government loans to help towards tuition fees and living costs. UK students may also be eligible for other grants and bursaries depending on their circumstances.
Small-group seminars allow you to deepen your knowledge and develop your ideas through rigorous discussion. Gain transferable skills on placements and in innovative modules, and hear talks by inspiring guest speakers.
