Politics courses
Whether you’re seeking to understand the decision-making behind the headlines or looking to develop the analytical skills and knowledge of global systems that come with studying politics, we have the right qualification for you. Choose below from our range of politics courses at degree, diploma and certificate level.
Politics
Degrees
- Also known as an undergraduate or bachelors degree.
- Internationally respected, universally understood.
- An essential requirement for many high-level jobs.
- Gain a thorough understanding of your subject – and the tools to investigate, think critically, form reasoned arguments, solve problems and communicate effectively in new contexts.
- Progress to higher level study, such as a postgraduate diploma or masters degree.
- Credits measure the student workload required for the successful completion of a module or qualification.
- One credit represents about 10 hours of study over the duration of the course.
- You are awarded credits after you have successfully completed a module.
- For example, if you study a 60-credit module and successfully pass it, you will be awarded 60 credits.
How long will it take?
Politics
Diplomas
- Widely recognised qualification.
- Equivalent to the first two thirds of an honours degree.
- Enhance your professional and technical skills or extend your knowledge and understanding of a subject.
- Study for interest or career development.
- Top up to a full honours degree in just two years.
- Credits measure the student workload required for the successful completion of a module or qualification.
- One credit represents about 10 hours of study over the duration of the course.
- You are awarded credits after you have successfully completed a module.
- For example, if you study a 60-credit module and successfully pass it, you will be awarded 60 credits.
How long will it take?
Politics
Certificates
- Widely recognised qualification.
- Equivalent to the first third of an honours degree.
- Study for interest or career development.
- Shows that you can study successfully at university level.
- Count it towards further qualifications such as a DipHE or honours degree.
- Credits measure the student workload required for the successful completion of a module or qualification.
- One credit represents about 10 hours of study over the duration of the course.
- You are awarded credits after you have successfully completed a module.
- For example, if you study a 60-credit module and successfully pass it, you will be awarded 60 credits.
How long will it take?
Why study Politics with The Open University?
The Politics and International Studies team at The Open University are well versed in opening up seemingly inaccessible topics and communicating them clearly. We regularly collaborate with the BBC to deliver innovative and informative radio and television programmes, and our courses are made equally engaging and exploratory.
Study politics with The Open University to:
- Gain insight into debates that dominate the news and an understanding of the underlying issues.
- Be taught by faculty members committed to an innovative agenda in both teaching and research supervision.
- Explore how policies are constructed in theory and tested in practice.
- Increase your employability across the private and public sectors.
Careers in Politics
An understanding of politics is central to knowledge of how modern societies are organised and governed. Studying this subject will give you a combination of skills highly in demand across the private, public and non-profit sectors.
Some of the employers which politics graduates go on to work for include:
- Local and national government
- Charities
- Law firms
- Media organisations
Looking for something other than a qualification?
The majority of our modules can be studied by themselves, on a stand-alone basis. If you later choose to work towards a qualification, you may be able to count your study towards it.
All Politics courses
Browse all the Politics courses we offer – certificates, diplomas and degrees.
See our full list of Politics courses
Email us
From exploring the right course for you to helping you register, our advisers can help.
Call us
As part of the OU’s response to Coronavirus, we have temporarily removed this option.
Please use the ‘Email us’ option to contact us.
Write to us at:
Student Recruitment
The Open University
PO Box 197
Milton Keynes
MK7 6BJ
