SPIR handbook
Dear Student,
Welcome to the School of Politics and International Relations at Queen Mary, University of London.
Whether you are studying a single honours programme of Politics or International Relations, taking the Politics and International Relations joint degree, or taking Politics modules as part of a joint degree with another subject, you are an integral part of our School during your undergraduate studies at Queen Mary.
In terms of the quality of our teaching, we have been officially recognised as delivering 'excellent' teaching in a friendly and supportive environment. Our modules cover a broad range of topics in politics and international relations: political theory, government, public policy, processes of democratisation, global development, globalisation, international security, US foreign policy and conflict management. We hope that you will find them informative, stimulating and enjoyable.
In the School of Politics and International Relations you will be part of a multicultural group of students, working alongside academic staff who are enthusiastic and innovative teachers, as well as active researchers. We will do our best to give you appropriate support and guidance throughout your undergraduate degree; it is also up to you to work hard to secure the maximum benefit from your time in the School.
Please take time to read through this Handbook which provides information relevant to your studies.
We hope that you will enjoy your time studying Politics and International Relations at Queen Mary.
Professor David Williams
Head of School
This handbook should be used together with the Academic Regulations. It provides information specific to the School of Politics and International Relations, while http://www.arcs.qmul.ac.uk/students/ gives information common to all students at Queen Mary. The Academic Regulations provide detailed information on progression, award and classification requirements.
Nothing in this handbook overrides the Academic Regulations, which always take precedence.
You need to refer to the relevant Academic Regulations which are applicable to the year you started your undergraduate studies at Queen Mary. Additionally, the Assessment Handbook also provides important information on Queen Mary's assessment regulations.
The relevant Academic Regulations and Assessment Handbook can be assessed via the following link:
http://www.arcs.qmul.ac.uk/policy/
The information in this SPIR Student Handbook is correct as of September 2020. In the unlikely event of substantial amendments to the material, the School will inform you of the changes.
QM cannot accept responsibility for the accuracy or reliability of information given in third party publications or websites referred to in this handbook.
SOME SECTIONS OF THIS HANDBOOK ARE SUBJECT TO FINAL REVISIONS, WHERE THIS IS THE CASE, IT IS INDICATED.
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RepresentationThe School takes very seriously the representation of students’
views. Hearing from students help us respond to your needs and improve the
student experience, we use a variety of ways to achieve this: Staff and Student Liaison Committee Module evaluation - this takes place for all modules Course representatives Personal feedback to tutors Student Ambassadors (for open days, etc) Regular meeting with groups of students about particular issues, dates of these meetings are circulated in advance Surveys (see below) https://www.qmul.ac.uk/tell-us/ Surveys National Student Survey All final-year undergraduate students at UK institutions take part in the National Student Survey (NSS). The NSS is a nationally recognised annual survey of mostly final-year undergraduates in the UK. The survey gives you an opportunity to give your opinions on what you liked about your time at Queen Mary as well as things that you feel could have been improved. If you are a finalist, you will usually be contacted by email early in the spring term. Please do complete the NSS, and fill it in honestly. The NSS results are made publicly available to help prospective students make informed decisions of where and what to study. Queen Mary and the Students’ Union will also use the data to identify areas of strengths and weaknesses to help effect change and bring about enhancements to improve the student experience for future generations of students. Data from previous surveys are available on Unistats. http://my.qmul.ac.uk/your-voice/feedback/national-student-survey/ UK Engagement Survey (UKES) The UK Engagement Survey (UKES) is a national survey which gives you the opportunity to tell us about your learning experience at Queen Mary. It is open to all undergraduate students who are not eligible to complete the National Student Survey. The
UKES is facilitated by Advance HE, the national body that champions teaching
excellence. The survey asks you about things like how you engage with the
learning on your course, how you work with others, and what kind of activities
help you to learn. It is a chance to reflect on how you study and what might
help your studies in the future. | ||
Residential Services and SupportResidential Services incorporates: Housing Services, based in the Housing Hub, Feilden House, Westfield Way at Mile End, deals with halls applications, room allocations, room transfer requests, summer accommodation, residential fees as well as providing a comprehensive alternative housing service. There is a 24 hour Reception, based in France House, Westfield Way at Mile End, handling all enquiries relating to the management of residential accommodation, including reporting of repairs and cleaning issues. Residential Support, also based in the Reception France House, provides support to halls residents, handles issues relating to discipline, pastoral care, social events and complaints. If you are a resident in College accommodation you should consult the Residents’ Handbook for comprehensive information on all hall related issues, and contact details for the relevant section of Residential Services: https://www.qmul.ac.uk/residences/handbook/. Contact Housing Services Telephone: 020 7882 6474 Email: residences@qmul.ac.uk Contact Residential Supprt Telephone: 020 7882 5064 | ||
ResitsAll students are automatically opted in to their resits. These resits will take place at the next available opportunity usually in the late summer period. Resits are free of charge. Further details can be found here: http://www.arcs.qmul.ac.uk/students/exams/late-summer-resits/ Where a student fails a module as a consequence of late penalties in an assessment, the original mark prior to the deduction of penalties for late submission will be automatically used for the resit attempt. Please refer to further information on late submission penalties | ||
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School and Staff DetailsThe School of Politics and International Relations is situated in Arts One, second floor. The main reception is 2.37. The office is open to answer queries Monday - Friday, 10am - 12.30pm and 1.30 - 5pm. A full list of staff is available at: http://www.politics.qmul.ac.uk/staff/ A list of staff office/feedback hours is available at the main reception. | ||
School Mission StatementWe aim to provide a stimulating undergraduate programme of study, designed to offer a broadly based range of modules in political theory, international relations, government and comparative politics. We seek to combine excellence in teaching with a commitment to research of national and international standing. As a School, we are committed to a number of objectives. They are:
On successful completion of our single honours and joint honours Politics/International Relations programmes, you will be expected to:
These objectives also apply to joint honours students whose second area is outside of SPIR, whose exploration of the discipline in less breadth (but equal depth) will be balanced by their knowledge of a complementary discipline. These objectives form part of Queen Mary’s wider goal of helping you to develop attributes that will prepare you for future employment. Full details of opportunities to develop your skills can be found at the following site: http://www.arcs.qmul.ac.uk/media/arcs/docs/quality-assurance/QMUL-Graduate-Attributes.pdf | ||
School PrizesThe school awards a number of prizes each year following the exam board: David Black Prize Awarded to the best overall performance on POL106 Introduction to International Relations. The Gary Brisley Prize Awarded for the best overall first year performance. The Professor William J Fishman PrizeAwarded for the best undergraduate dissertation in the field of Labour History, East London or Migration. The Professor Lord Smith of Clifton Prize Awarded for the best undergraduate dissertation in the field of the Government or Public Policy. Best Dissertation Prize Awarded for the highest overall module mark for POL318 dissertation. In addition to this the school has been allocated a number of college Prizes. These are to be awarded to 2nd and final year students. The sole criterion for the award of these prizes is academic excellence. For final year students this means First Class Honours; for those in the penultimate year, the student’s yearly average must not be less than 70%. | ||
School Student SupportThe School has Professional Services Staff whose main focus is to ensure that you have the necessary support available to you.
Bronwyn Murphy is the Student Support Officer (Student Experience). Bronwyn is the member of the Professional Services Team responsible for providing pastoral care to all second and final year students as well being the link between students-the school-central college. Her role is to ensure that the student voice is represented appropriately in the school decision processes. Bronwyn assists the Senior Tutors with the management of extenuating circumstances (EC), and together with the Student Support Manager (Timetabling & Engagement Monitoring) is the point of contact should students require information on extensions and extenuating circumstances claims. Both Jason and Bronwyn deal with EC applications. All EC applications should therefore first be submitted to them NOT directly to the Senior Tutor. Their contact details are here: http://www.politics.qmul.ac.uk/staff/ | |
Smoking on CampusOnly in designated areas, other than those areas which are clearly signed. QM is a smoke free campus. You cannot smoke in the QM halls of residence or any other QM building. | ||
Student Enquiry CentreWe provide support to all Undergraduate and Postgraduate Taught students and we can help with a wide variety of queries. If you are not sure about something or do not know who to contact, ask us! We are located on the ground floor of the Queens’ Building, CB01 Contact Student Enquiry Centre Online (accessed via MySIS - www.arcs.qmul.ac.uk/students/sec/SEC-online ) Email: studentenquiry@qmul.ac.uk Telephone: 020 7882 5005 Follow us on twitter @QMULSEC https://twitter.com/QMULSEC | ||
