Social Sciences (Politics) (Honours)

Overview

You’ll have an opportunity to focus on either international politics or contemporary political ideas. On completion of the Social Sciences (Politics) (Honours) degree at The Open University UK, you’ll be able to apply political and social theories and analytical techniques to a variety of applied topics that affect individuals and society, and you’ll have gained a wide range of transferable skills – opening up employment opportunities in private, public and voluntary sector organisations.

Key features of the course

• Specialise in politics within a broad interdisciplinary social science degree

• Focus on either international politics or contemporary political ideas

• Enhance your employability with valued skills, including analysing and evaluating evidence, and communicating specialist ideas and information to different audiences 

• Gain a degree applicable to a wide range of professions, including international agencies and government bodies, businesses and non-governmental organisations

Skills for career development

Employers value the diverse skills of the social sciences very highly. The ability to work across different academic disciplines will provide you with a broad portfolio of transferable skills including the ability to:

• interpret, analyse, and critically evaluate quantitative and qualitative evidence

• apply learning to real world situations

• communicate effectively to a variety of audiences using different media

• employ a wide range of digital practices to find, use, and create data

• learn autonomously and plan, conduct, and present independent work

• work effectively with others to achieve joint outcomes

Career relevance

A degree in the social sciences can lead to employment across the public, private and voluntary sectors. Businesses, public sector organisations and educational institutions increasingly have to deal with social issues, and value the skills that social science graduates can provide, making this degree relevant to a wide range of professions including local government officer, civil servant, secondary school teacher, social worker, charities, journalism and trade union officials. You can also use your BA (Hons) Social Sciences for further study in the higher education sector.