Politics

MA Politics

Graduate Taught (level 9 nfq, credits 90)



The MA Politics degree, which was developed for those who wish to understand the role of politics in shaping the great issues of our day including power and conflict, distribution and inequality, relations between nations, and the new challenges of globalisation, financial crisis, national security, and climate change.



The course focuses on the two traditional pillars of the discipline – political theory and comparative politics.

- Comparative politics looks at the European nation-states in a comparative perspective.

- Political theory— the reflection on the nature and morality of politics.

The MA Politics is a 90-credit programme. Full time students must take three 10-credit modules in the autumn trimester, and three 10-credit modules in the spring trimester. Students must also submit a thesis worth 30-credits or pursue an Internship instead.



SPIRe part time programmes run for 2 years and students normally do 1 -2 modules per semester. The final 30-credit module is completed during the second year of the programme. PT students should complete the research design module in year 2.



Please note that our part-time programmes run during the day and are not timetabled in the evenings or at weekends.



Core and Option Modules for MA Politics (credits in parentheses)



These are the current modules for 2023/24 but are subject to change. Each of the following modules carries 10 credits unless otherwise specified.



Autumn Trimester Core

POL42330 Research Design

POL40540 Comparative European Politics



Autumn Trimester Option

GS40110 Gender, Sexuality, and the Body; The Politics of Belonging

POL40050 Theories of International Relations

POL40140 Theories of Global Justice

POL40160 Comparative Public Policy

POL40950 Introduction to Statistics

POL41020 Politics of Human Rights

POL41510 Politics and Change in the Middle East and North Africa

POL41650 The Global Political Economy of Europe

POL41870 Political Economy of Institutions and Comparative Development

POL41980 Peace & Conflict Studies

POL42040 Gender & the Political System

POL42070 Politics of (mis-)information​

POL42470 Gender, Identity, & Difference

POL42490 Politics of Ireland North & South

SPOL41110 Ideas, Ideology in Public Policy



Spring Trimester Option

DEV40020 Gender and Development

POL40100 Politics of Development

POL40370 International Political Economy

POL40610 EU Foreign, Security, and Defence Policy

POL40970 Politics of European Governance

POL41030 Theory of Human Rights

POL41640 Qualitative Research Methods for Political Science

POL41720 Gender, Peace, and Security

POL41780 The Politics of Inequality

POL41860 Governance, Politics and Development

POL42050 Quantitative Text Analysis

POL42060 International Security

POL42340 Programming for Social Scientists

POL42440 Political Economy of Security

POL42480 Contemporary Election Campaigns: Democratic Norms and Empirical Research

POL42500 Politics of Authoritarianism

POL42510 Party Organisation in the 21st Century

SOC40620 Nationalism and Social Change



Summer Trimester

POL42300 SPIRe Internship (30 credits)

or

POL42310 Thesis (30 credits)

A primary degree with at least Second Class Honours Grade 1 (2H1) in a relevant subject such as political science, international relations, social science, sociology, history, geography, economics, global studies, public policy, development studies, EU studies, law. 2H1 is equivalent to 60 per cent, B minus or 3.08 GPA - in American system: B or 3.00 GPA.



- Your application will be considered on its individual merits and relevant professional experience will also be taken into account.



- English language requirements: applicants whose first language is not English should have met TOEFL, IELTs, or computer-based TOEFL requirements (600, 6.5, or 250 respectively), or the Cambridge English Test (Certificate in Advanced English at a minimum of Grade B, or Certificate of Proficiency in English at Grade C). Applicants who obtained a previous degree from an English-speaking university may be exempted from this requirement.



- Students meeting the programme’s academic entry requirements but not the English language requirements, may enter the programme upon successful completion of UCD’s Pre-Sessional or International Pre-Master’s Pathway programmes. Please see the following link for further information http://www.ucd.ie/alc/programmes/pathways/



- These are the minimum entry requirements – additional criteria may be requested for some programmes



You may be eligible for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), as UCD recognises formal, informal, and/or experiential learning. RPL may be awarded to gain Admission and/or credit exemptions on a programme. Please visit the UCD Registry RPL web page for further information. Any exceptions are also listed on this webpage. https://tinyurl.com/2ae2ffax

You will be assessed by in-course or continuous assessment (essays, report writing, projects, mid-term tests, presentations) and a final examination.

90

1 year full-time, 2 years part-time.

MA Politics (W023) Full Time

EU fee per year - € 8525

nonEU fee per year - € 19900


MA Politics (W111) Part Time

EU fee per year - € 5600

nonEU fee per year - € 9950


***Fees are subject to change


Tuition fee information is available on the UCD Fees website.

Commencing September 2025

Careers & Employability

Graduates work with a wide variety of international private-sector employers, government agencies and Non-Governmental Organisations, in roles that include:



Government Social Researcher

Diplomatic Advisor

Public Affairs Consultant

Public Relations Officer

Political Advisor



Recent graduates of UCD School of Politics & International Relations now work in:

United Nations, New York and Geneva

World Trade Organisation

IMF

OSCE

Asia Development Bank

Saatchi & Saatchi

Credit Suisse First Boston