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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Marking criteria, grading and feedbackAll assessed work within the School, both coursework and exams, is moderated or double marked by internal markers; Moderation means that a second marker with appropriate subject knowledge reads a representative sample of marked work from across the marking range to ensure the marking is fair, consistent and accurate. The moderator may recommend some rescaling of marks (raising or lowering all the marks across the board or within a specific range) to ensure fairness and consistency. Double marking means that a second marker reads and marks all the work for an assessment. In the case of any difference the two markers meet to agree marks. Which of these two methods is used depends on the type of assessment and the number of students on a module. The final year dissertation is always double marked. In addition to our internal procedures for ensuring fairness and consistency in marking, we also use external examiners. External examiners are experts from another UK university whose role includes reviewing a sample of assessed work (both coursework and exams) from each module. This normally takes place at the end of the academic year. Please note that, to be placed in a given class or range of marks, the work need not have all the required characteristics, AND work with some of the characteristics of a given class will not necessarily be located in that class. Our full marking criteria is attached below. To view your marks for assessment, log-in to MySIS (your personal area of SIS) with your usual computer log-in, where they will be listed. These are marks are provisional and subject to change until they are agreed by the appropriate subject examination board. MySIS will indicate whether the results are provisional or confirmed. Guides on checking your results on MySis are available on the Student Enquiry website (http://www.arcs.qmul.ac.uk/students/mysis-record/provisional-results/index.html). Additionally,
provisional marks for assignments with feedback (see below) are
available via the relevant assignment link on the QMPlus module page.
Please note that any mark shown on QMPlus is subject to change and also
does not include any late penalty deductions. Late penalty deductions
are only made after marks are loaded into MySIS and are identified by a
code of 'PL' - pass late or 'FL' - fail late. FeedbackFeedback is fundamentally important to improving your academic skills and the quality of your work. Feedback is much more than written feedback on your essays, and, depending on the module, you will get different forms of feedback:
Help is very much available to you. You are also very welcome to come and see us after the module has completed to discuss your work as a way to continue to improve in your other modules. | ||
Module RegistrationTo register for your modules you will log-in to MySIS (your personal area of SIS) with your usual computer log-in, and make preliminary choices from a list using the descriptions to tell you what the modules are about. Any core or compulsory modules will be preselected and you cannot change these. Once you are happy with your choices, these will automatically be sent to your school for approval (e.g. they will make sure there aren’t any timetable clashes and you have a balance of modules in each semester) – you can send comments to them with the selection if you wish. All of your selections must be confirmed and approved by the specified deadline. The final outcome of your choices will be confirmed to you by email. Module registration has to be completed by the specified deadline (normally mid October within the first two weeks of teaching). All modules have a limited number of places, and priority is given to students who are required to take them for their programmes. Therefore it is important that you choose your electives and complete module registration as soon as possible. Please note, new students register for modules in September whereas continuing students will register for modules before they come back to university in September i.e. continuing students will register in March 2020 for modules for the academic year beginning September 2020. | ||
Music at QMULMusic is central to cultural provision at QMUL. Music at QMUL
can help if you are interested in applying for music scholarships,
joining an ensemble, taking up tuition or simply attending one of the
many musical events organised by Dr Paul Edlin, Director of Music.
Please, visit Music at QMUL for further information. | ||