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Peace Studies and Politics

Courses available:

• Politics and Peace Studies
• International Relations and Security Studies
• Peace Studies
• Conflict Resolution
• Development and Peace Studies
• Politics
• Politics and Law

Useful Links

• Peace Studies course booklet pdf (will open in a new window)
• School of Social and International Studies
  • Department of Peace Studies
• Maps of the Campus

How many places are available?

We take up to 80 new undergraduates per year

What are the employment prospects like?

100% of our 2007 graduates in the department of Peace Studies found employment, or went on to further study, within six months of graduating *

* These statistics are derived from annually published data based on those UK domiciled graduates who are available for employment and further study and whose destinations are known.

How do I find out more?

Full course and syllabus details are available in a detailed booklet. Call 0800 073 1225

Contact our Admissions Team

Admissions Tutor
Dr Mandy Turner

Undergraduate Admissions Administrators
Karen Mason/Catherine Wood
T: 01274 235717/233981
F: 01274 233959
E: ssisugadmissions@bradford.ac.uk
W: www.bradford.ac.uk/acad/ssh

Special Features

• The Department is amongst the best in the country in terms of teaching quality, with experienced professionals and modern, well-equipped facilities.
• The Guardian University Guide 2009 ranked it in the top 20 Politics departments in the country
• The Department has a strong international reputation and is at the forefront of research and debate in both academic and policy arenas. Many of the staff have a global profile, and undertake regular media interviews, as well as advising governments, international organisations and non-governmental organisations around the world on their area of expertise
• Our courses are extremely flexible with the five Peace Studies degrees and the Politics degree sharing a common first year, at the end of which you choose your area of specialisation. Dozens of course modules are available to you, inside and outside the Department. Politics and Law students take their first-year politics modules in the Department and core law modules in the School of Management. They then also choose from a wide range of options in both subjects
• With an intake of around 80 undergraduate students per year, you can be sure of a close-knit group and an atmosphere conducive to serious but enjoyable study. The Department gives academic and pastoral support to all students via a personal tutor and small tutor groups, something now rare in large politics or international relations departments. Our very own Student Liaison Officer organises lots of social events, seminars, debates, study tours and training events

The Department of Peace Studies was established in 1973, and is now the world’s largest university centre for the study of peace and conflict, as well as one of the UK’s leading politics and international relations departments. Our teaching and research is centred on the analysis of peace and conflict from the international to the local level.

The Peace Studies courses emphasise conflict analysis and the related issues of security, social justice, human rights and development. We will engage you critically in practical and policy debates, focusing on developing an understanding of key global problems in the 21st century. The Politics and Law course and Single Honours degree in Politics course complement the five Peace Studies degrees, which have a core of politics, but are very interdisciplinary in approach, also drawing on sociology, history, philosophy, international relations and psychology.

Course Content

We offer seven distinct degree courses with a strong focus on analysis and the development of key skills including information technology and computing, data collection and communication, problem solving, report writing, oral presentation and group work. You may take a language through the University-wide Languages for All programme as one option.

We place considerable emphasis on helping you to develop creatively the skills and knowledge needed to accurately analyse, understand and shape practical responses to contemporary problems.

Degree Courses Available

Politics is concerned with developing a knowledge and understanding of government and society, sometimes defined as 'who gets what, when, how, why and where'. It is a broad field with many elements, including political theory, institutions and governance, international relations and area studies. It also includes the more specialised and growing areas of peace studies, conflict analysis, conflict resolution, and development studies. The degree course in Politics and Peace Studies at Bradford enables you to gain proficiency in the study of the wider discipline, but also gives you the opportunity to study these approaches with an applied focus upon a central set of political problems relating to peace and conflict in the UK and internationally.

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International Relations has been a distinct field of study since the horrors of the First World War made vital a proper understanding of how countries relate to each other. It focuses on war and peace, but also encompasses the study of all interactions at the international level - multinational corporations and terrorist groups as well as governments. Security Studies involves the study of military problems and threats but, in the light of environmental destruction and globalisation, is also concerned with individual, national and international security in relation to non-military threats.

"The course covers lots of interesting areas - conflict resolution, mediation, inter-personal communication, modern history and politics. I am really enjoying the conflict resolution classes, I have the chance to work in groups and get hands on experience of mediating in mock conflict situations. I am enjoying it so much that I have become involved with a group of students who are training to become Race Relations Advisors. They have formed their own group and have already had requests from local schools to go out and talk to their pupils."
Graeme Loarridge - International Relations and Security Studies

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Peace Studies was first developed as an academic subject just after the Second World War, and is now taught in more than 100 universities worldwide. It addresses some of the most enduring and intractable problems of human history, focusing on the analysis of the origins and nature of conflict within and between societies. It also critically considers and attempts to contribute to the further development of efforts to build peaceful and equitable forms of social coexistence.

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Conflict Resolution emerged as a distinct field of academic study in the period immediately after the Second World War. It is now recognised as a vitally important area of education, research and practice, and the Department of Peace Studies has an international reputation as a centre for its study. The degree provides an understanding of the theory, concepts and practices of contemporary conflict resolution, from local community mediation to humanitarian intervention and post-conflict peacebuilding.

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Development Studies is a well-established interdisciplinary field which emerged in the 1960s out of a concern to promote positive changes in the economies, societies and politics of the poorer countries in the world. Many of today’s conflicts and peace settlements are occurring in the global South, so an increasing number of development researchers and non-governmental organisations are turning to peace studies and conflict resolution to seek more effective analyses and policies. On this degree, experienced staff bring peace studies insights to contemporary debates on development issues, such as protracted civil wars, state collapse, democratisation, globalisation, gender equality, changing patterns of aid, and civil society participation.

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This Single Honours degree allows you to study politics within an unusually interdisciplinary department, with an applied approach. The course covers political theory, institutions and governance, international relations and area studies, but also includes the more specialised and growing areas of peace studies, conflict analysis, conflict resolution, and development studies. You will be able to choose from a wide range of exciting options covering issues such as globalisation (global civil society, global governance and the global South), nationalism and ethnicity, terrorism, human rights, development and democratisation in Southern and Eastern Europe and Latin America, religion, and peace and conflict.

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Our Politics and Law course is a multidisciplinary programme providing a combination of Politics and Law. In addition to modules in Politics, half the course is dedicated to Law modules contributed by our School of Management. Politics and Law is now a popular option as it gives a broader grounding than either discipline alone can give, enabling graduates to go into a wide variety of careers in which both legal knowledge and an understanding of politics and policy processes are required. It covers the main concepts and key debates in the field of Politics in relation to their application to contemporary issues, as well as giving a comprehensive survey of the history, fundamental doctrines, principles, and legal institutions underpinning the law and its application both in England and Wales, and in Europe.

This degree enables students to take some of the Foundation subjects specified by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Bar Standards Board and thus, where appropriate, apply for partial exemption from the academic stage of training for those who want to become solicitors or barristers.

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Bradford Foundation Year

The foundation year is a bridging course designed to provide you with an academic background to study this degree. Also, international students may enter our courses via the International Foundation Year, Social Sciences stream.

Are there any placements available?

All our courses are run as three-year full-time courses.

How will I be assessed?

Assessment throughout the course is by a mixture of formal examinations, essays, project work and the final-year dissertation. Assessment in the second and final years counts towards your final degree result.

What are the career prospects?

Graduates in Peace Studies are qualified for the full range of careers open to any social science student. These include law, accountancy, management, journalism, the civil service, teaching, research, the security sector, and the voluntary sector, including international organisations. Many of our graduates have gone on to careers in these areas, and have found that their peace studies training has made a very positive contribution, firstly to their ability to gain specific employment, and subsequently both to their performance and to their job satisfaction.

More than half the job vacancies advertised nationally do not specify a particular degree subject. Employers emphasise the need for intellectual skills, self-skills and interactive attributes such as teamwork or persuasiveness - all of which you will learn both on your course and at the University in general. As part of the degree and your wider student experience at Bradford, you will develop high levels of competence in many of these marketable and transferable skills..

The Department has a specific programme to help students identify and pursue their chosen career, which complements the work of the University's Careers Service.

Application and Admission

If you are offering any combination of GCE A levels, Vocational A levels, AS levels, and Scottish Framework qualifications, our standard offers are:

All courses

280 points (e.g. B,B,C), including 200 points from two GCE A levels (or their equivalent) in any subject. The remaining 80 points can include General Studies and Key Skills. For Scottish applicants, the points can be made up from a combination of Highers and/or Advanced Highers. All candidates must demonstrate an adequate level of English (this would normally be GCSE grade C or equivalent). We welcome applications from mature students. We also welcome students from overseas. Please contact the Department for advice on entry requirements for non-UK qualification holders.

Foundation Year course

120 points (e.g. D,D), or qualifications of equivalent depth and volume. All applicants will need to demonstrate drive and commitment as well as an adequate level of English. For mature students there are no specific requirements for formal qualifications. Also, international students may enter our courses via the International Foundation Year, Social Sciences stream.

For further and more detailed information on application and admission, including BTEC and other qualifications, please see our general Application and Admission pages.

14 August 2009