Topic outline

  • General

    Collapse all Expand all
    • Announcements Forum

    • How to select your modules

      Modules are divided into compulsory and optional modules.  You will need to select 120 credits overall consisting of:

      • 75 credits of compulsory modules.
      • 15 credits of semi-compulsory modules.
      • The remaining credits from the list of optional modules.

  • You must take ALL of these modules:

  • POL247 Modernity: Theories of the State, Economy and Society (Political Economist, Theorist)

    • POL247 Modernity: Theories of State, Economy and Society (POL247A – Autumn, POL247B – Spring)

      Credits: 30
      Semester: 1 & 2

      Assessment: Item 1: 15% Text Analysis (1500 words) Item 2: 25% Research Essay (2500 words) Item 3: 60% Exam 

      Module Convenor: Prof Ray Kiely

      The module explores the work of key thinkers who focus on the politics of modernity, with a three part division based on society, the state and the economy. It will look at writers such as Smith, Ricardo, Marx, Weber, Durkheim, Spencer, Keynes, Polanyi and Hayek, and how these writers have influenced different perspectives on issues that continue to dominate political debate in the current era, including class, the state. Social and political movements, and national identity.

      To view the 23/24 version of this module please click here https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=23437 This will give you access to the module as a viewer for 7 days only

  • POL280 Social Theory (Theorist, Activist)

    • Module intro video: https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/mod/page/view.php?id=2520692
      Credits: 30
      Semester: 1 & 2
      Pathways: Theorist, Activist

      Assessment: Item 1: 20% Critical Reflection (1500 words) Item 2: 30% Research Essay (2500 words) Item 3: 50% Examination

      Module Convenor: Dr Giulia Carabelli

      This module provides students with an advanced introduction to central theories and and concepts in Sociology, from nineteenth and early twentieth century theorists through to the present day. This will include consideration of the work of Marx, Durkheim, Weber, Du Bois, Adorno, through to more recent work by Foucault, Butler, Mitchell, Bauman, Stuart Hall and Beck.

      To view the 23/24 version of this module please click here https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=23367 This will give you access to the module as a viewer for 7 days only

  • You should choose 30 credits from this list:

  • POL243 British Politics (Comparativist)

    • Module intro video: https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/mod/page/view.php?id=2520893
      Credits:       30
      Semester: A & B
      Pathway: Comparativist

      Assessment: Item 1: 50% Portfolio 1 (3000 words) Item 2: 50% Portfolio 2 (3000 words)

      Module Convenors: Dr James Strong and Dr Daniel Gover

      This module offers an intermediate-level grounding in contemporary British politics and government. Students will learn about the UK's political constitution, sovereign parliament, electoral politics, public debate, cabinet government, civil service and devolved and local administrations. They will develop a breadth and depth of knowledge, and a range of capabilities, that will prepare them to pursue careers in Westminster, Whitehall and beyond.

      To view the 23/24 version of this module please click here https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=23435 This will give you access to the module as a viewer for 7 days only

  • POL271 Qualitative Methods For Social Science Research (Researcher)

    • Module intro video: https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/mod/page/view.php?id=2519814
      Credits:       15
      Semester: 2
      Pathway: Researcher

      Assessment: Item 1: 25% Presentation Item 2: 75% Project (2500 Words)

      Module Convenor: Dr Alexander Stoffel

      This module covers a wide range of qualitative methods designed for critical social science research. It breaks down diverse methodological approaches and turns them into a set of concrete guidelines and tools that you can apply in your own research. Whether you are interested in studying how specific texts or images reproduce wider political ideologies, immersing yourself in the complex mechanisms of a particular case study, explaining how public discourses emerge, spread, and dissolve over time, or tracing transformations in the global economic system, this module provides you with the skills and tools you need to put those research goals into practice.


      This module is running for the first time in 2024/25

  • POL272 Quantitative Methods for Social Science Research (Researcher)

    • POL272 Quantitative Methods for Social Science Research

      Credits: 15
      Semester: 2

      Assessment: Item 1: 50% Research Project Item 2: 50% Examination

      Module Convenor: Dr Javier Sajuria

      This module is designed to enhance undergraduate students' understanding and use of empirical methods, mostly quantitative, in the social sciences. Through the focus on substantive and relevant topics, the module will enable students to become more sophisticated users of quantitative readings in political studies. It will also enable them to undertake quantitative analysis in their own research, including their final-year research projects. The skills acquired in this course will enhance students' employability.

      To view the 23/24 version of POL269 which is the closest to this module please click here https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=23370 This will give you access to the module as a viewer for 7 days only

  • POL254 US Politics (Comparativist)

    • POL254 US Politics (POL254A – Autumn)

      Credits: 15
      Semester: 1

      Assessment: Item 1: 40% Essay 1 (1500 words) Item 2: 60% Essay 2 (2000 words)

      Module Convenor: Dr Richard Johnson

      The United States remains an important actor in the world and understanding its politics is vital both in comparison to other political systems and in terms of how its own political outcomes emerge. The module provides a comprehensive overview of US politics, starting from its foundations in the Constitution, through the core institutions of US government, and the political process itself. The module covers rival perspectives on understanding US politics and government, as well as core thematic areas such as political culture, informal actors in the political system, the influence of ideas, foreign policy, and an understanding of race, class and gender in US politics and society.


      To view the 23/24 version of this module please click here https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=23407 This will give you access to the module as a viewer for 7 days only

  • POL255 Colonialism, Capitalism and Development (Political Economist, Activist)

    • Module intro video: https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/mod/page/view.php?id=2519568
      Credits:       15
      Semester: 1
      Pathways: Political Economist, Activist

      Assessment: Item 1: 50% Book Review (2000 words) Item 2: 50% Examination

      Module Convenor: Dr Felipe Antunes de Oliviera

      This module covers both the origin and trajectory of colonialism, capitalism, and development. It simultaneously surveys competing theoretical explanations for the emergence and reproduction of structural inequalities in the world system over the last 500 years. The module analyses a range of theoretical approaches to development – modernization, dependency, uneven and combined development, postcolonialism, and Marxism. It also connects historical inquiry to more recent processes, such as decolonization, Third World Revolutions, global commodity chains, ecological crisis, and the fate of the world’s peasantry.

      To view the 23/24 version of this module please click here https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=23406 This will give you access to the module as a viewer for 7 days only

  • POL258 The International Politics of Security (Internationalist)

    • The International Politics of Security POL258 (POL258A - Autumn)

      Credits: 15
      Semester: 1

      Assessment: Item 1: 40% Review Essay (1000 words) Item 2: 60%  Examination

      Module Convenor: Prof Jef Huysmans
      Overlap: None
      Prerequisite: None

      This module examines the study of security in world politics, investigating the development of the study of the international politics of security and the key concerns surrounding security today. The module broadly surveys different kinds of security practice and their contemporary significance. It also introduces political questions and contestations that both shape and are resulting from developments in security practice. Overall, the module gives a wide-ranging perspective on the politics of security in contemporary international politics.

      To view the 23/24 version of this module please click here https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=23400 This will give you access to the module as a viewer for 7 days only

  • POL268 The UK and EU (Comparativist)

    • POL268 The UK and the EU (POL268A - Autumn)

      Credits: 15
      Semester: 2

      Assessment: Item 1: 60% Examination  Item 2: 40% Essay (2000 words)

      Module Convenor: Dr Paul Copeland

      Traditional modules analysing the UK's relationship with the EU begin with two or three sessions devoted to its historical development. Students often find this uninspiring, even though it is essential to understand the evolution of the EU. Academically, such an approach can be misleading, as it is descriptive and not particularly analytical. In response, the first half of the module is designed differently to the more conventional approaches. We begin by studying the most contemporary issue of European Integration: Brexit. Within the module we analyse why the UK joined when it did, the role it has played in the development of the EU, the position it has taken on key Treaty reforms, and why, in the summer of 2016, it took the decision to leave. This approach provides an insight into a very topical EU issue, while enabling students to learn about the history of the EU in a stimulating and engaging approach.

      To view the 23/24 version of this module please click here https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=23372 This will give you access to the module as a viewer for 7 days only

  • POL273 Unsettling Methods: Creativity in/for Social Science Research (Researcher, Activist)

    • POL273 Unsettling Methods -  Creativity in/for Social Science Research

      Credits: 15
      Semester: 2

      Assessment: Item 1: 50% Methods Portfolio (2000 words) Item 2: 50% Research Project Assignment (3000 words)

      Module Convenor: Dr Sharri Plonski

      This module is designed with two core goals in mind: On one hand, to introduce students to qualitative methods in the design and production of research in politics and international relations. On the other, to develop a critical toolbox for engaging and challenging methods as a form of colonial epistemological practice, bound up with historical and contemporary modes of domination and erasure. Through a range of relevant topics, students will reflect on dominant knowledge systems and structures, practice ‘doing’ qualitative research, and develop the skills to design their own research projects.

      To view the 23/24 version of POL270 which is the closest to this module please click here https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=23368 This will give you access to the module as a viewer for 7 days only

  • POL285 Intro to Social Science Methodologies (Researcher)

    • Module intro video: https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/mod/page/view.php?id=2520627
      Credits:       15
      Semester: 1
      Pathway: Researcher

      Assessment: Item 1: 40% Research Log (1500 words) Item 2: 60% Project (2000 words)

      Module Convenor: Dr Mirko Palestrino

      This module provides students with an introduction to social sciences methodologies. The lead questions are: How do we know and research the social and political world? What is the relation between knowledge and power? How do different research questions and methods make different aspects of social and political life legible? By taking a familiar site (e.g., a street, one’s home, Queen Mary University), event (e.g., an election, a festival), or artefact (e.g., a pamphlet, a statue, a picture), the module explores different ways of developing sociological and political knowledge and the role of methods in doing so.


      To view the 23/24 version of this module please click here https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=23570 This will give you access to the module as a viewer for 7 days only

  • POL256 War in World Politics (Internationalist)

    • POL256 War in World Politics

      Credits: 15
      Semester: 2

      Assessment: Item 1: 40% Fact Sheet 1000 words Item 2: 60%  Review Essay 2000 words

      Module Convenor: Dr Katherine Hall

      This module examines the study of war in world politics, investigating the practices of war in the modern international system and the key concerns surrounding them today. The module surveys three interrelated issues: the connections between war, violence and politics; war and socio-political change; and war as normative problem


      To view the 23/24 version of this module please click here https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=23403 This will give you access to the module as a viewer for 7 days only

  • POL257 The International Politics of the Developing World (Internationalist, Political Economist)

    • Module intro video: https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/mod/page/view.php?id=2520979
      Credits:       15
      Semester: 2
      Pathways: Political Economist, Internationalist

      Assessment: Item 1: 50% Case Study (2000 words) Item 2: 50% Examination

      Module Convenor: Dr Felipe Antunes De Oliveira

      Cartel violence in Central America, rapid urbanisation in West Africa, and huge wealth disparities in the 'rising powers' of India and China. What connects these issues? How useful and accurate is it to talk Autumn semester only associates: To be confirmed about 'the developing world' in these contexts? This module introduces students to a number of case studies across what is referred to as the developing world, in order to explore the historical and ongoing relationships between wealth and poverty, the 'international' and the 'domestic'.

      To view the 23/24 version of this module please click here https://qmplus.qmul.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=23402 This will give you access to the module as a viewer for 7 days only