BA (Hons) Politics & Economics (with Foundation Year option)

Core units

• Academic & Professional Practice: You will build your confidence in both academic and professional skills. This unit will cover the academic skills which will be required at degree level study and you’ll practice them throughout the unit with support from key university services including the library and study skills team. There will also be the opportunity for you to reflect on and develop your own professional skills through interactions with employers, careers services and online resources. 
• Collaborative Communication Project: The unit focuses on the centrality of communicaiton, both as a process and as a project. Through the collaborative development of a communication solution to a specific communication problem, the unit aims to promote the principles and practices of team-based iterative project work. 
• Understanding Contemporary Britain: During this unit you will be introduced to key aspects of culture and society in Britain today. You will develop an understanding of the relationship between developments in culture, politics and society in the making of modern Britain and be able to identify a number of different critical perspectives on those developments. 
• Law & Government: You will trace a case study through the United Kingdom's political and legal system, following the case study from its inception in a political party's election manifesto, through the legislative process, to how the judiciary interprets its provisions within a court of law. Building out from this case study you will develop an understanding of practical and theoretical underpinnings of politics and law. 

Core units

• British Politics in a Globalised World: At home and abroad, British politics is undergoing a rapid and unprecedented transformation. From dealing with the legacies of the British Empire to relations with the European Union to the cost-of-living crisis, you will study the major debates and questions animating British politics today. 
• Principles of Microeconomics: This unit builds upon core theories of microeconomics (consumer demand, theory of the firm, pricing and output in competitive and uncompetitive markets) and aims to enhance your understanding of micro economic models and their applications in a variety of contexts. It will provide you with rigorous analytical skills that will help you in the analysis of contemporary economic issues and problems.
• Political Ideologies in Perspective: This unit explores key themes in political thought through the lens of ideology. You will discover the major conflicts and differences on questions of state power, civil rights, freedom and equality, justice, tolerance, and democracy among rival ideologies. These include liberalism, socialism, Marxism, fascism, anarchism, feminism, and other liberation ideologies, such as LGBTIQA+ rights. 
• The Foundations of International Relations: You will be introduced to a range of different perspectives on International Relations, such as liberal, realist, Marxist, feminist, and postcolonial approaches. The challenges and crises confronting global politics, including migration, state power, diplomacy, global inequality, international conflict and cooperation, will be investigated and you will develop an understanding of key policy issues facing nations or other actors in international affairs.  
• Basic Statistical Techniques: By the end of this unit, you'll be able to calculate a range of basic statistical techniques and interpret the results and perform various significance tests.
• Principles of Macroeconomics:  You will develop an understanding of Macroeconomic theory, enabling you to apply macroeconomic principles in the analysis of contemporary issues and problems. You will be given in-depth knowledge of Keynesian and Classical Macroeconomics, IS-LM model, Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply, Phillips curve, unemployment and inflation, growth and business cycle.

Core units

• Research Methods in Politics: This unit introduces you to methods and methodologies that underpin the study and research of politics. You will take an active, hands-on approach to understanding the research process, from the initial conception of a research idea and development of research questions to the generation of findings and conclusions. A range of methods will be considered, including surveys, interviews, focus groups, content and discourse analysis. 
• Intermediate Microeconomics: You will gain further understanding of the theory of demand, factors’ markets, general equilibrium analysis and welfare economics, as well as the tools needed to analyse the effects of imperfect competition, externalities, and environmental issues. 
• Environmentalism and the Politics of Sustainability: This unit traces the diverse and uneven development of environmental consciousness in political life. It explores the contribution of different organisations in this field, from governmental and corporate bodies to civil society and activist groups. Building on core units in year one, you will explore the impact of political ideologies, the media, and a range of local and global contexts in shaping competing conceptions of the environment and sustainability. 

Option units (choose one economics unit and one politics unit)

Economics option units

• Industry, Region & Environment: The focus of this unit is on three inter-related specialist areas of economics: industrial organisation, regional development, and the environment.
• Econometric Techniques: This unit will extend your knowledge of the fundamental statistical processes, techniques, and ideas used in the analysis and interpretation of economic data.

Politics option units

• Politics Goes Pop: Culture, Protest, Movements: This unit takes you on a journey through the various ways in which politics has been expressed and mobilised in cultural forms. It looks at the uses of art, music, film, posters, books, popular culture, DIY media etc in creating political meaning and the role played by subcultures, countercultures, and social movements in opposing and challenging dominant political ideas through culture.  
• Campaigning for Social Change: How do political organisations and movements sell their ideas to citizens? How do they gain a following and mobilise supporters? What are the keys to a successful campaign? This unit takes techniques and methods from psychology, communication studies, and marketing to investigate how campaigns are designed and executed. You will apply these insights to real-world campaigning scenarios, enabling you to develop both critical and practical skills. 

Please note that option units require minimum numbers in order to run and may only be available on a semester-by-semester basis. They may also change from year to year.

At BU, we recognise that placements are extremely valuable and can give you a head start when it comes to your future career. That’s why you’ll spend your third year on a professional work placement, lasting a minimum of 30 weeks, with public or private sector tourism-related organisations.

This includes the option to undertake your placement abroad – giving you the opportunity to develop yourself personally, academically, and professionally while you gain skills to help you stand out in the job market. Our students have completed placements in countries such as Spain, Greece, China, USA, Kenya and New Zealand.

Core units (choose two)

• Global Governance and International Justice: This unit explores the interconnections between power and justice in international affairs. You will get the opportunity to critically analyse the role of role of supranational organisations, such as intergovernmental organisations, multinational corporations (MNCs), and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), nation states and regimes, and other key actors in the sphere of human rights through an investigation of different case studies.  
• Politics Works: Career Portfolio: This unit is an applied, employability-focused unit where you will put into practice the skills and experiences you have gained in your first two years of study (plus placement). Working in small teams, you will undertake a public or community outreach project in collaboration with a local political or civic organisation, addressing one or more key political challenges in the Bournemouth region. The project includes careers guidance and training, and culminates in a group showcase and presentation. 
• Academic Dissertation or Consultancy Dissertation: The dissertation offers you an opportunity to become an expert on a topic of particular interest. You can develop a study that connects your learning with real-world observations enabling you to develop and demonstrate your critical, analytical, and research skills.

Option units (choose one economics unit and one politics unit)

Economics option units

• Global Markets, Development & Labour: The unit aims to develop you knowledge of economic theory and your ability to apply it to an inter-related set of specialist areas of economics: global markets, national labour markets and economic development.
• Microeconomics and the Digital Economy: You'll develop your understanding of the theory of game and will also be exposed to the microtechniques utilised in developing many web and internet based approaches. Overall the unit aims to generate sufficient quantitative techniques enabling further independent learning of microeconomics and digital economy. 

Politics option units

• The Philosophy of Politics: The unit invites you to debate political philosophies and theories, from populism to anarchism, socialism to eco-feminism, utilitarianism to critical race theory. We journey from Jeremy Bentham's "greatest happiness of the greatest number" to Ayn Rand's "virtue of selfishness", to Vandana Shiva's "earth democracy". 
• Nation Branding and Public Diplomacy: You will be introduced to new fields of study and practice, uncovering a range of issues, debates, and practices that involve practitioners and scholars alike in nation branding and public diplomacy. Topics include the rise of place branding and nation branding; the intersections of nation branding, nationalism and national identities; the impact of populism; migration and diaspora; protests and movements, as well as gender, emotions and trauma. 
• Race, Media and Inequality: You will develop critical understandings of historical and contemporary issues and debates on the dynamics of race, ethnicity, and culture in media and communication practice and political discourse. You will also develop the cultural competencies required to articulate the key issues and advance solutions for a specific industry.

Please note that option units require minimum numbers in order to run and may only be available on a semester-by-semester basis. They may also change from year to year.

Programme specification

Programme specifications provide definitive records of the University's taught degrees in line with Quality Assurance Agency requirements. Every taught course leading to a BU Award has a programme specification which describes its aims, structure, content and learning outcomes, plus the teaching, learning and assessment methods used.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the programme specification, the information is liable to change to take advantage of exciting new approaches to teaching and learning as well as developments in industry. If you have been unable to locate the programme specification for the course you are interested in, it will be available as soon as the latest version is ready. Alternatively please contact us for assistance.

A placement should be a highly rewarding experience for you and the employing company and we do our best to ensure that everyone involved feels that they have got the most that they can from the experience.

On your placement, you’ll get to:

• Put the theory learnt throughout the course into professional practice
• Enhance your study and help you decide on subject options (where appropriate)
• Learn a wide range of skills such as time management, problem solving and team work (all of these are important to succeed in any career)
• Make contacts, as it is not uncommon for our students to be offered permanent positions to return to after graduating
• Gain a real insight into how the industry operates in roles that would be almost impossible to achieve for an outsider

Many of our students, during their placement, are given responsibilities normally associated with graduate trainees.

You will begin your placement after completion of your second year of study and you can choose to complete four weeks or a minimum 30-week placement.

The faculty running your course will offer the support of a Placement Co-ordinator. 

They’ll help you plan your placement to make sure you get the right experience for you. That includes offering help and support if you need to move to another part of the UK – and even another country – to get the most out of your time.

We’ve also built close industry links over the years – so our network of employers that are keen to work with placement students is always growing. Or if you’d prefer to arrange your placement independently, we can offer advice on how to do that too.

• Office of Education and Quality
• Herts Mind Network
• Bournemouth West Conservative Association
• Citizens Advice
• Apollo Private Wealth

AccessBU: AccessBU provides you with the opportunity to tell us about your circumstances that are not always evident in your UCAS application. This widening access initiative also considers relevant criteria such as being in care or if you live in an area with a low participation rate in Higher Education - if you are eligible, your offer could be up to 16 UCAS tariff points below the published tariff.

Apprenticeships: We recognise the transferable knowledge and skills gained through apprenticeships and welcome applications from students with a Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship recognised by the Institute for Apprenticeships. Each application will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Deferred entry: We are happy to consider eligible applicants for deferred entry. If you have already submitted your application, please submit your deferral request through our website.

Direct entry: We welcome applications from students who have previously studied at degree level at other institutions and wish to transfer onto a BU course. Our Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) procedure enables credit awarded from one institution to contribute to a BU award, subject to an application process. Please visit our RPL webpage for more information.

Mature applicants: We recognise that mature applicants may have a wealth of experience rather than formal qualifications, so we’ll consider your application on these merits if included in your application. You’ll need to apply to BU in the usual way through UCAS and you may be invited to an interview to discuss your suitability for the course based on the experience you tell us about in your application.

We select candidates for this course by looking at your application; there are usually no interviews or selection activities needed. For that reason, make sure your application really stands out from the crowd, and leave us in no doubt as to why you should be joining BU. You can find some handy hints about filling in your UCAS form on our how to apply web pages.

We look at individual applications and make a tailored offer based on your potential to succeed on the course considering a range of factors, including your academic achievements, work and other experience, reference and personal statement, and in some cases, your performance at an interview or a portfolio review. Typically, we make an offer at the bottom of the tariff range.

AccessBU gives you the chance to tell us more about you and your life experiences if you haven’t had the same educational opportunities as other applicants. If you are eligible for AccessBU, your offer could be up to 16 UCAS Tariff Points below the published tariff.

Our offer-making will typically be based on your most recent qualifications, including any required subjects where applicable. We'll consider all qualifications when assessing your application, although these may not be part of our offer.

If you do not meet the criteria of your original offer, we may still offer you a place. We will review your whole application and consider all academic qualifications (including those not in the offer) to see if you have the academic potential to succeed on the course. If we feel the answer is yes, we will confirm your place.

• Political press officer/spokesperson
• Campaign strategist
• Digital communication strategist
• Political project manager.

• Politics
• Diplomacy
• PR
• Marketing
• Journalism.

Once you have completed an undergraduate Honours degree, you can further develop your education by studying for a postgraduate degree. Please visit our postgraduate section for further details about our range of Master's degrees.

What’s included in your tuition fee?

Your tuition fee covers expenses associated with your course including tuition materials, access to facilities, mandatory field trips and the following:

For September 2023 entry:

• Materials for laboratory and mandatory field-based teaching activity
• Support for finding placements (UK or abroad) and fieldwork, and non-financial support whilst on placement if this is part of your course of study
• A range of student services – advisors, help desks, counsellors, placement support and careers service
• Access to Brightspace, our virtual learning environment, which offers a responsive and personalised learning experience with powerful learning analytics capabilities, integrated social media and advanced video features
• The Library – access to a wide range of electronic resources (databases, e-journals and e-books), print and multimedia collections, subject librarians and study spaces
• IT labs (some open 24/7), wireless network, AV equipment to borrow
• Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) scheme
• Disability and additional learning support, according to individual circumstances
• The BU Language Centre to help you develop/improve foreign or English language skills
• 24 hours a day, 365 days a year security team.

For September 2024 entry:

• Materials for laboratory and mandatory field-based teaching activity.
• Support for finding placements (UK or abroad) and fieldwork, and non-financial support whilst on placement if this is part of your course of study
• A range of student services – advisors, help desks, counsellors, placement support and careers service
• The Library – access to a wide range of electronic resources (databases, e-journals and e-books), print and multimedia collections, subject librarians and study spaces
• Access to Brightspace, our virtual learning environment, which offers a responsive and personalised learning experience with powerful learning analytics capabilities, integrated social media and advanced video features.
• IT labs (some open 24/7), wireless network, AV equipment to borrow
• Free software download to your personal device of Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus while you are studying, as well as access to applications provided on AppsAnywhere, subject to licensing and compatibility restrictions
• Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) scheme
• Disability and additional learning support, according to individual circumstances.
• The BU Language Centre to help you develop/improve foreign or English language skills
• 24 hours a day, 365 days a year security team.

Additional costs

We are committed to offering you value for money and ensuring there are no hidden costs while you are studying with us, therefore we have listed below any additional costs you may incur that are not covered by your tuition fee:

For September 2023 entry:

• Laptops, tablets and mobile devices devices and any software used on personal devices. Access to a personal computer is strongly recommended for your study. If you are experiencing financial difficulty, visit our website for information regarding hardship funds
• Accommodation and living costs. Our accommodation price guide can be found on our website
• Travel costs for optional field trips, outdoor wear and footwear for mandatory and optional field trips (if applicable)
• Textbooks, general stationery and other supplies. Our award-winning library is stocked with a large range of textbooks and online resources, free of charge. The Students’ Union shop stocks a wide range of stationery supplies 
• Clothing or equipment costs required for your placement if this is part of your course of study
• Travel costs to and from the University campus. An annual bus pass is included in your rent if you are living in halls of residence/Unilet accommodation or may be purchased separately
• Travel costs to and from your placement (both in the UK and overseas). Information about funding your placement year can be found on our website
• Sport BU membership.

For September 2024 entry:

• Laptops, tablets and mobile devices and any software used on personal devices. Access to a personal computer is strongly recommended for your study. If you are experiencing financial difficulty, visit our website for information regarding hardship funds.
• Textbooks, general stationery and other supplies. Our award-winning library is stocked with a large range of textbooks and online resources, free of charge. The Students’ Union shop stocks a wide range of stationery supplies.
• Accommodation and living costs. Our accommodation price guide can be found on our website. 
• Travel costs to and from the University campus. An annual bus pass is included in your rent if you are living in halls of residence/Unilet accommodation or may be purchased separately.
• Travel costs to and from your placement (both in the UK and overseas). Information about funding your placement year can be found on our website.
• You will need to meet the cost of any Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check if required by your placement setting, including any Post Office verification changes. 
• Clothing or equipment costs required for your placement if this is part of your course of study.
• SportBU membership.

If you need to repeat one or more units during your studies (with or without attendance) the pricing will be pro-rata of the full-time fee.

Dr Jenny Alexander is a Senior Lecturer in Politics, Media and Communication in the School of Humanities and Law. Her primary research, teaching and publishing interests are in environmental politics and environmental communication, and in gender, sexuality and politics/ gender, sexuality and communication.

Her PhD (University of Sussex) was on nineteenth century anarchist autobiographies. She has published on gender, sexuality, disability and representation (including on fan-fiction, anarchism and sexuality, and the semiotics of the 2012 Paralympics) and on environmental politics and communication (including on "eco-celebrity" and eco-fascism). Her most recent journal article, "Green White Nationalism: Eco-Fascism and the Alt-Right in the Era of Climate Breakdown" is forthcoming (2020). She is also currently writing a book for Routledge on Environmental Advertising: New Forms of Transnational Persuasion, about the global politics of promotional communication on the subject of the environment. Another book is at the planning stage; on the ethics of contemporary homoerotic subtext, titled Queercoding or Queerbaiting: The Homoerotic Subtext of Supernatural (A Study in Reading Subtext on Screen).

Dr Ian Gwinn is the programme leader for BA Politics and Economics in the Department of Humanities and Law, and teaches politics and history at undergraduate level. He is a historian of late-twentieth century Britain and Germany, who specialises in the study of social movements, cultural politics and the history of the social sciences. His current research concerns the formation and development of a feminist intellectual culture in the 1970s and 80s in Britain, West Germany and the Netherlands. Ian has previously studied at Queen Mary, University of London and the University of Birmingham, and received his PhD from the University of Liverpool in 2015 on the topic of the History Workshop movement in Britain and West Germany. He is currently working on turning his thesis into a monograph entitled A Different Kind of History is Possible due for publication in 2020.

Dr Elena-Alina Dolea joined Bournemouth University on September 1, 2017. She holds a PhD in Communication Sciences and her research themes include public diplomacy and strategic communication of organisations (public relations, nation branding), migration, public issues, political communication. She is interested in supervising PhD students in any of these areas.

Alina was Fulbright Senior Scholar 2015-2016 and visited USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism between November 2015 and March 2016. She was also Visiting Scholar at the University of Fribourg (Switzerland), during May-October 2015, researching public diplomacy in Switzerland (through the Swiss Scientific exchange program for new member states as part of Swiss Contribution to EU)

Dr Anastasia Veneti joined Bournemouth University in September 2014. Prior to this, she was teaching at the University of Leicester and in several educational institutions in Greece (Akmi Metropolitan College, University of Athens, Technological Educational Institution of Ionian Islands). Moreover, she also worked as a research analyst in Greek market research companies (MRB S.A. and QED Hellas) and as communication consultant in various political campaigns, an NGO (‘ANIXI’) and the Hellenic Parliament. She is a HEA Fellow.

Her research lays at the intersection of media and politics. So far, she did research on political communication including political advertising, political campaigns, the use of SNS and digital applications (Twitter and selfies) by politicians and political parties. Her research also includes projects on protests and social movements: the most recent work in this area involves the examination of the media framing of protests and social movements from the Indignados to the Hong Kong Umbrella movement, as well as the exploration of the broader relationship between protesters and activists and the different forms of art that are used as outlets for political expression.

Dr David McQueen is a lecturer at Bournemouth University and his research interests include questions of media & power, conflict coverage and PR. He has been teaching on media courses at different levels since 1991 and is author of a popular undergraduate textbook Television: a Media Student's Guide. In 2010 he successfully completed his PhD research entitled BBC TV's Panorama, Conflict Coverage and the Westminster Consensus.

As a full-time member of staff he has developed and taught on a number of BA and MA units within the Media School and is an active researcher with an interest in issues around media and power, conflict coverage, film and television history and public relations.

Dr Savvas Voutyras holds a PhD in Ideology and Discourse Analysis from the University of Essex. His research interests include the relation between discourse and affect, the use of psychoanalysis for political analysis, nationalism, and alternative community economies. He has published on the discourses of austerity in Greece and the emergence of new social and political movements in this context. 

Tim Lloyd is Professor of Economics in the Faculty of Management. He was appointed in July 2015 having previously been Associate Professor in the School of Economics at the University of Nottingham. Professor Lloyd’s research interests lie in the fields of agricultural and food economics, particularly pricing, diet and health and competition in the food industry.

Recent work, funded by both the European Commission and the UK’s Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has focused on the transmission of prices through the food chain and food price inflation in the UK and other Member States. Much of this work involves the econometric analysis of high-frequency data from commodity markets and supermarket barcode scanners. He is currently collaborating in projects with researchers at the Universities of Exeter, Sheffield, Nottingham and Scotland’s Rural College in Edinburgh.

Dr Mehdi Chowdhury is the Deputy Head of the Department of Accounting, Finance and Economics, Business School, Bournemouth University, UK and joined as a Lecturer in Economics in September 2011 after obtaining my PhD from the School of Economics of the University of Nottingham and was later promoted to the post of Senior Lecturer and finally the Deputy Head. He received Masters Degrees in Economics from Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan and the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. He worked as a Teaching Assistant in Economics at the Department of Economics of the University of Bristol from 2009-2011.

Current research interests include the refugee crisis, international migration, education and human capital development. A blog on his current project on the Rohingya Refugee Crisis is available on this link https://blogs.bournemouth.ac.uk/research/2018/04/30/responsible-project-management-in-bangladesh/. He is interested in supervising students for PhD on the refugee crisis, international migration and international 

Dr Tabitha Baker is a lecturer in Politics in the department of Humanities and Law, Faculty of Media and Communication. She is also the programme leader for the Foundation Certificate in the Faculty of Media and Communication. Her teaching spans across the BA Politics and BA Politics & Economics programmes, and the MA Political Psychology and MA International Political Communication programmes. Her research interests include Political Psychology, Postcolonialism, National Identity, Defence Mechanisms, Emotion and Rural voters. She gained her PhD in 2022 with her thesis titled 'The psychosocial relationship between national identity and political sentiment in England: 2016-2020".

Dawid Pekalski is a final year PhD postgraduate at Bournemouth University’s Department of Psychology and Department of Humanities and Law. His research interests centre around information processing, decision making and rationality in a post-truth era. He obtained his MA in International Political Communication, and works as a lecturer and researcher at Bournemouth University’s Department of Politics. He recently worked on an AHRC funded project – ArtoP: The Visual Articulations of Politics in Nigeria and Horizon 2020 project- Observatory for Political Text in European Democracies.