Politics, Sociology and East European Studies with a Year Abroad UCL

Overview

This Politics, Sociology and East European Studies with a Year Abroad programme offers modules in politics, sociology and international relations including focus on the political developments of Russia and other parts of the former USSR as well as Central and South-Eastern Europe. We use the region as a focal point to provide real life examples of how politics, sociology and international relations work in practice. We believe this gives our students the best possible preparation to enter diverse and complex careers.

In your final year you will write a dissertation based on an independent research project. You will choose from a wide range of options in politics, sociology, international relations, economics, history and culture, to match your interests. Themes include migration, security, policy, governance, and democracy.

What this course will give you

This is an exciting time to study this continually changing region. Many post-communist states are now part of the European Union but, instead of consolidating democracy, are witnessing the rise of right-wing populism. At the same time, Russia is re-emerging as an assertive power with major international consequences; for evidence, look no further than the war in Ukraine.

You will learn about major approaches in social and political science and how to use them to understand social and political change in Russia, the former Soviet Union and Central and Eastern Europe.

You will be taught by leading  University College London (UCL) experts in the field, all of whom speak one or more of the languages of the region.

Employability

You will acquire a solid understanding of politics and sociology, specialist knowledge of a region whose changing politics, economics and international relations are rapidly reshaping our understanding of the world, as well as a raft of transferable skills.

The foundation of your career

Career destinations of previous graduates include 

• government service,

•  international agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs),

•  consultancy (economic, political risk, security, marketing), 

• banking,

•  financial services,

•  law, 

• media,

•  teaching 

• and the leisure industry, 
• as well as further study.