Politics and Economics and complimentary subjects, and our BA degree pulls together existing teaching and research expertise in both these areas. Our course allows students to focus on important issues surrounding the influence of power, governance, sovereignty, conflict, order, mediation, obligation, justice, accountability, legitimacy, security, and decision-making. Students who follow this programme will be introduced to interdisciplinary approaches to the discussions of theoretical, philosophical, institutional and issue-based concerns revolving around governance.

Alongside the Politics strand of this degree, students will also consider economic issues at local, national and international levels. Students will develop an awareness of applications of economics in areas including business management, finance and public policy.

Politics: This course seeks to help students understand the nature, meaning and impact of politics as a human activity. Students will learn to apply concepts, methods and theories used in the study of politics to analyse political ideas, practices and institutions in both historical and contemporary contexts.

You will be taught through a combination of lectures, seminar, tutorials and workshops. Assessment will involve a mixture of examinations, essays, written work, presentations and portfolios.

Economics: Students will also have the opportunity to study economics within a real-world context, developing strong analytics skills and a career relevant qualification in economics and its application. Economics has been defined as the study of human choice, and the impact of choice on the production, distribution and consumption of scarce resources. Microeconomics deals with choice at the individual level, and macroeconomics analyses the economy as a whole. By studying both microeconomics and macroeconomics, students following this course will develop a solid understanding of economics

For the economics element, there is a combination of continuous assessment and written examinations. Students will complete assignments, prepare research projects and essays and complete problem-solving exercises.

What will you study on this course?

In Year 1 of your degree you follow 60 credits in Politics and 60 credits in Economics, intended to provide a solid grounding in the subject areas.

In Years 2 and 3, you will taking more specialist modules and investigating themes and topics in greater depth. In addition to further developing your skills, you will also be introduced to more specialist approaches, theories and concepts.

Recent modules have included   Statistical Methods, Microeconomics, Macroeconomics and Industrial Organisation, Modern Ideas and Movements and Methods of Social and Political Research.

In Year 3 you will also complete either a dissertation or a Special Subject module in a politics related area.

This course will prepare students for a range of employment options – especially in fields which require skills of communication, analyzing large quantities of information, and understanding issues of governance and society. Possible future career options may include local and/or national government, teaching, management and administration. This course will also be an excellent foundation prior to further postgraduate study, such as a Masters degrees in politics.

Staff in Bangor Business School have extensive links with industry, being at the top of their fields for research, widely published in books and leading journals and even conducting high level consultancy work for leading organisations such as the World Bank and the UK Treasury. This means that no matter what you go on to after graduating, you will leave Bangor with a degree that is current, relevant and in sync with the latest developments in the business and financial industries.

Sociology allows you to investigate social life and the way it shapes our behaviour, beliefs and identity. By studying Social Policy, you’ll be looking at social relations and systems that maintain and promote human wellbeing.