Politics and International Relations BA (Hons)

Teaching is at the centre of the activities of the School of Government and International Affairs, where you will enjoy a vibrant and challenging intellectual environment. The School places great importance on research-led teaching, which integrates new and cutting-edge research into the curriculum and will introduce you to a variety of research-oriented skills and research-based projects. Teaching takes the form of lectures and small group seminars, with an emphasis on encouraging our students to become independent thinkers, able to locate, analyse, and question subject material with the skills learned in the course of their studies.Students on this degree learn through a diversity of assessment methods, including but not limited to examinations and unseen essay questions, essays, group projects, and a dissertation. Modules are assessed during the year of study, with each module offering multiple chances for assessment and feedback on student work. In your final year, you will submit a dissertation, which allows you to explore in depth a topic of your choice. You will be assigned a supervisor to assist you in the design and production of your dissertation.All of these are supported by a virtual learning environment, Durham University Online (DUO). Seminars provide the opportunity for students to engage in discussion of a particular topic and/or to explore it in more detail than might be covered in a lecture. Student participation is an important part of seminars. This emphasis on small-group teaching reflects a conscious choice to enhance the quality of the learning experience rather than the number of formal sessions.Small-group teaching and one-to-one attention from the personal academic advisor (provided for all students when they enter the degree) are part of the learning experience throughout, but by the final year classroom time gives way, to some extent, to independent research, including a dissertation – supported by one-on-one supervision – that makes up a third of final year credits.In this way, the degree systematically transforms you from a consumer of knowledge in the classroom to a generator of knowledge, ready for professional or postgraduate life. These formal teaching arrangements are supported by “drop-in” surgeries with teaching staff and induction sessions that begin in the week before the start of the course and continue at key times throughout each year of the degree.Our degree, through the diversity of assessments, simulations, independent learning, and various classroom based activities aim to provide students with multiple opportunities to develop a range of important transferable and employability skills including: complex problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, people management, coordinating work others, time management, judgment and decision making, and cognitive flexibility.As a student in the School of Government and International Affairs, you can also attend an extensive programme of research-focused seminars where staff, guest speakers, and visiting scholars present their cutting-edge research.