科克大学学院

The Higher Diploma in Arts (Politics) is intended for those who already have a degree and who want to study politics intensively over one academic year full time or two academic years part time (by day). This is a conversion course so you would not normally have studied politics to honours degree level previously.

It is aimed at graduates who may wish to be considered for a master’s course in politics subsequently (but do not have an honours degree in the relevant area) or who may want to add politics to their qualifications.

The Higher Diploma in Politics consists of modules to the value of 60 credits. You must take two classes that teach core research and analytical skills:

PO2001 – Political Analysis (5 credits)
PO3001 – Dissertation (10 credits)

You must also take 5 credits from each of the Department’s subject groups in second year (15 credits) and 5 credits from each of the Department’s subject groups in third year (15 credits). The remaining 15 credits can be taken from any of the second or third year modules, subject to timetable constraints. This allows you considerable flexibility to build your diploma around your personal interests in politics.

The list of available modules is a long one, but representative modules include:

Issues in Irish Politics
Ethics and Moral Psychology
Violence and War
Comparative European Politics
Feminist Philosophy
Politics in Northern ireland
Gender Perspectives on Politics
Politics of an individual country (including China and the USA)
International Relations
Citizen Participation
Global Governance
Conflict and Conflict Resolution

Skills and Careers Information

During your time on the Politics course, you develop a broad set of skills which you can apply in a variety of employment contexts. Varied teaching and assessment styles are used to ensure that you develop critical thinking abilities, hone your analytical capabilities and build effective communication skills, including both written and presentation elements.

In recent years, our Politics graduates have gone into a wide range of professions. They have become administrators; recruitment consultants; business analysts; campaign coordinators for charities, interest groups and political parties; policy analysts; and officials in international organisations, to name just some.