M.Sc. in Political Science

Course Content and Modules

The following modules are on offer in the M.Sc. in Political Science:

Michaelmas Term:

• Government Institutions - This module provides theories and concepts for the systematic analysis of the great variety of forms of government institutions found around the world. The core syllabus focuses on the most important areas of comparative institutions: executive-legislative relations, party systems, electoral systems, and the role of courts.
• Principles of Research Design (Dr Robert Thomson). This module enables students to critically evaluate political research, to understand the strengths and weaknesses of different methods and designs, and it provides a foundation for students’ own research projects/dissertations.
• Political Parties
• Parties & Public Policy (Dr Tim Hicks). This module looks at the influence that political parties have on public policy outcomes.  Should we expect different parties to pursue different policies?  Do they actually do this?  Empirically, we focus on developed democracies, taking a comparative approach.
  
  

Hilary Term:

• Introduction to Quantitative Research Methods (Dr Peter Stone). This module provides students with an introduction to working with quantitative data in political research. It assumes no prior knowledge of statistics.
  
• EU Politics 1 (Dr. Gail McElroy & Dr. Robert Thomson) The overall aim of this course is to provide students with a critical understanding and comprehensive knowledge of the political system of the European Union.  Particular attention will be paid to the major institutions: the Council, Commission, Parliament and European Court of Justice.   We will examine several literatures, including those on EU governance and EU integration but our primary focus will be on general theoretical explanations from the fields of comparative and international politics.  At the end of this course it is expected that students will have a good understanding of how EU institutions work, how public policy is formed and the main issues that dominate the EU public debate.
• European Union Policy (Dr Raj Chari) - The main aim of this course is to develop students’ knowledge of ‘what EU public policy is’ and ‘how policies are made in the EU.’ The course starts with a theoretical examination of the policy making process and then considers the importance of interest groups and their regulation as they seek to influence policy. The conceptual insights gained will be used to analyse developments in a number of substantive policy areas. These include competition, single market, economic and monetary, freedom, security and justice as well as common foreign and security policies.

Students then take two optional courses from the following list:

• International Conflict
• International Organization (Dr Jeffrey Weber) - This module is shared with the M.Sc. in International Politics and introduces students to the study of International organisations. It examines a range of international organisations, including those with economic and security mandates. The module also considers international organisations relevant to developing countries.
• Democratisation
• Development Policy
• International Political Economy (Dr Tim Hicks)
• International Environmental Policy (Dr Jeffrey Weber)
• Human Rights and Internatinal Politics (Dr Thomas Pegram)
• Global Justice (Dr Peter Stone) This module examines contemporary debates within political theory relating to global justice, at both an individual and social level. Core topics discussed include global distributive justice, the ethics of humanitarianism, just war theory, and civil disobedience.
• US Foreign Policy (Dr Jeffrey Weber)
  
  

After completing the taught component of the M.Sc. in Political Science, students select their own research topic on which they write a 10,000 word dissertation. Students are supported in their research by the Dissertation Seminar, in which students present their work in progress and receive feedback. Each student is also paired with a member of staff who becomes their dissertation advisor.

Enquiries

See application page. You are advised to please read the frequently asked questions before contacting the course director.