MSc European Politics and Policy

A first or 2.1 undergraduate degree in a relevant social science or humanities discipline (or an equivalent qualification). 

English language requirements

IELTS minimum overall: 6.5

IELTS minimum by component: 6.0

All fees are subject to increase or review for subsequent academic years. Please note that not all visa routes permit part-time study and overseas students entering the UK on a Tier 4 visa will not be permitted to study on a part-time basis.

Compulsory Modules

European Politics and Policy

This module will consider how the European Union functions and the range of what it does. By looking at the key institutions of the Union and building an understanding of the ways in which citizens, interest groups and states use their voice in the system, students will develop an appreciation of the world’s foremost example of regional integration. Coupled to a review of the EU’s policies and policy-making, the module offers an essential introduction to a key site of contemporary political action.

Introduction to Research

This module provides an introduction to the design and conduct of social science research. Emphasis is placed on the applicability of these methods to other subject areas across the social sciences.

Research in Practice

This module has a strong practical focus. You will gain experience of using both qualitative and quantitative methods and applying your knowledge of research methods.

Optional modules include:

European External Relations

This module examines the political dynamics of the European Union as an actor in global politics from the perspective of the member states, the EU itself as a unique political entity and the rest of the world. To that extent, the module explores the nature of the EU’s leverage in world affairs and how it can exercise its pressures, as well as its impact on the foreign policies of the member states. By using theories of European integration, as well as more traditional foreign policy analysis and theories, the module examines the development of a common foreign, security and defence policy framework for the EU and its wider external relations, such as the relations with NATO and other global powers, and issues of the immediate neighbourhood (ENP), trade and development, security and terrorism, as well as specific regional contexts.

Theories of European Integration

This module provides a critical overview of the theories applied to the process of European integration. It engages with different families of theory before comparing, contrasting and reconciling the differing approaches.

Democracy and Identity in the EU

This module examines the claim that questions of nationality, migration and identity have become a central focus of European insecurity, despite or because of the factors tending to erode the autonomy of the nation state. It is concerned with factors pushing towards increasing fragmentation of Europe, as manifested particularly in the resurgence or continuance of various forms of nationalism and the assertion of ethnic, religious and cultural identities, whether through exclusion of incoming ‘others’, or through resistance to perceived threats of absorption, loss of autonomy and suppression of collective identity.

European Economies and Economic Integration

This module will equip students to understand general models of economic integration and to account for the particular route taken by economic integration and economic policies in Europe over recent decades.

The EU and Its Neighbourhood

This module considers the EU’s perception of threats and opportunities, and the methods it employs in order to reduce threat and maximise potential. Identity is a particular focus: what it means to be European and how much of that identity is shaped by the EU versus other actors. Specific policy areas are examined, including the European Neighbourhood Policy, Eastern Partnership, Union for the Mediterranean and Black Sea Synergy. Russia is treated as a particular case that reveals the successes of the EU’s multilateral activities and the complexities engendered by its member states’ bilateral relationships.

The Europeanisation of National Politics

This module asks how national politics can be understood and analysed in the context of Europeanisation – the influence of the European Union (EU) on its member states. Since the Maastricht Treaty of 1992, it has become clear that national and EU-level policies, politics and legislation are difficult to distinguish; ostensibly national policies are often the result of EU-level decisions, and EU-level policies have often been ‘uploaded’ from one or more of the member states. The module asks three core questions:

• How and why has this situation arisen?
• How extensive is it?
• What is its impact on national polities and politics?

The European Social Dimension

This module assesses the development of a ‘European social dimension’. It explores the impact of Europeanisation and globalisation on the European welfare model and introduces theoretical approaches to the study of European social policy.

International Security and Defence

This module will enable the student to examine different types of state, non-state and international, regional and sub-regional security and defence providers in the context of new security threats, including the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, failed states and the new interventionism. Actors include the UN, the EU, NATO, ECOWAS, the US, France, Germany, the UK, Poland, NGOs and private military companies. Students will have the opportunity to engage with a variety of relevant theoretical approaches which in turn will provide them with the tools to analyse how these different security actors have evolved, how they cooperate or conflict with each other and the role each plays in the new international security environment.