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University College Cork

Politics - Conversion Course

Course Outline
The Higher Diploma in Arts (Politics) is intended for those who already have a degree and who want to study politics intensively over one academic year full time or two academic years part time (by day). This is a conversion course so you would not normally have studied politics to honours degree level previously.

It is aimed at graduates who may wish to be considered for a master's course in politics subsequently (but do not have an honours degree in the relevant area) or who may want to add politics to their qualifications.

Why Choose This Course

The Higher Diploma in Politics at UCC is an interdisciplinary course taught jointly by staff from the Department of Government, School of History and School of Philosophy. The course staff are drawn from a broad range of specialist backgrounds and this contributes to a diverse and creative learning environment for our students.

Over the course of the diploma, you can participate in field trips to Irish and international political institutions, contribute to national policy analysis by making submissions to policy reviews, publish your own work in the student online journal Government and Politics Review and attend and speak at a wide range of conferences organised by staff across the course.

Entry requirements

Requirements
It is intended for those who already have a 3 or 4 year primary degree, preferably in the area of Arts or the Sciences, and who wish to study the subject Politics intensively over one academic year. The Higher Diploma in Arts is a conversion programme and applicants would not normally have studied the relevant subject to Honours Degree level previously.

English Language Requirements

Applicants that are non-native speakers of the English language must meet the university approved English language requirements available here.

For applicants with qualifications completed outside of Ireland

Applicants must meet the required entry academic grade, equivalent to Irish requirements, please find our grades comparison by country here.

International/non-EU applicants

For full details of the non-EU application procedure please visit our how to apply pages for international students. In UCC, we use the term programme and course interchangeably to describe what a person has registered to study in UCC and its constituent colleges, schools, and departments.

Not all courses are open to international/non-EU applicants, please check the fact file above.

For more information please contact the International Office.

Duration

Full-time 1 year
Part-time 2 years by day

CKA44 Full-time; CKA45 Part-time

While this course is available as both a full-time and part-time option, all classes take place during normal working hours. The amount of lectures you will attend in any given week will vary depending on the modules you choose, but might typically involve between ten and fifteen hours a week. You would be expected to spend around twice as much time reading and completing assignments.

Number of credits

60 Credits

Careers or further progression

Skills and Careers Information

During your time on the Politics course, you develop a broad set of skills which you can apply in a variety of employment contexts. Varied teaching and assessment styles are used to ensure that you develop critical thinking abilities, hone your analytical capabilities and build effective communication skills, including both written and presentation elements.

In recent years, our Politics graduates have gone into a wide range of professions. They have become administrators; recruitment consultants; business analysts; campaign coordinators for charities, interest groups and political parties; policy analysts; and officials in international organisations, to name just some.

Further enquiries

Ms. Irene Halpin
i.halpin@ucc.ie
+ 353 21 490 2770

Subjects taught

The Higher Diploma in Politics consists of modules to the value of 60 credits. You must take two classes that teach core research and analytical skills:

PO2001 – Political Analysis (5 credits)
PO3001 – Dissertation (10 credits)

You must also take 5 credits from each of the Department's subject groups in second year (15 credits) and 5 credits from each of the Department's subject groups in third year (15 credits). The remaining 15 credits can be taken from any of the second or third year modules, subject to timetable constraints. This allows you considerable flexibility to build your diploma around your personal interests in politics.

The list of available modules is a long one, but representative modules include:

Issues in Irish Politics
Ethics and Moral Psychology
Violence and War
Comparative European Politics
Feminist Philosophy
Politics in Northern ireland
Gender Perspectives on Politics
Politics of an individual country (including China and the USA)
International Relations
Citizen Participation
Global Governance
Conflict and Conflict Resolution

If you are applying for this course to gain a teaching subject please consult with the Teaching Council Subject Declaration Form to view specific requirements for this subject.

If you are applying for this course for future eligibility into the Profession Master of Education, further information is available here.

Additional Teaching Mode Information
The part-time option will be taught during weekday working hours over 2 years.

Modules

Further details on the modules listed above can be found in our book of modules. Any modules listed above are indicative of the current set of modules for this course but are subject to change from year to year.
https://www.ucc.ie/admin/registrar/modules/

Assessment method

Assessment

Students will participate in a wide range of challenging assessment methods over the course of the diploma. Core research and communication skills are developed through traditional methods such as reviews and essays but the focus of assessment has moved to creative techniques and you will design posters, write policy reports, make individual and group presentations, participate in negotiation simulation exercises designed around international institutions, write opinion editorials and complete funding applications. The varied assessment profile is designed to ensure that you acquire diverse skills during your degree

Application date

Applications for academic year 2020/2021 are open.

EU Applicants: UCC operates a rounds closing date system for the majority of postgraduate taught courses, which means offers are made four times a year on a rolling basis. Some courses have one specific closing date, please check your course prospectus page for this information.

The UCC rounds closing dates for postgraduate taught courses are below. Applicants are advised to apply as soon as possible.

Deadline for receipt of full applications:
For all completed applications received by January 10th 2020
Offers will be made by January 24th 2020

For all completed applications received by March 2nd 2020
Offers will be made by March 16th 2020

For all completed applications received by May 1st 2020
Offers will be made by May 15th 2020

For all completed applications received by July 1st 2020
Offer will be made by July 15th 2020

Late applications may be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis for any courses that have remaining capacity.

Non-EU Closing Date: 15 June
Non-EU Applicants: Information for Non-EU applicants may be found on the International Office Website https://www.ucc.ie/en/international/