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University College Cork

Politics - Conversion Course

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 masters 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.

Registration with the Teaching Council: For applicants who are taking the Higher Diploma with a view to Teaching Council subject registration, the Higher Diploma is recognised by the Teaching Council for teacher subject registration in certain teaching subjects. In general, if you wish to qualify as a teacher, you are advised to refer to the school curriculum and match the modules to that broad field. Modules are chosen in consultation with the programme coordinator in September.

Unique Aspects of the 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

You will have a degree, preferably in the area of Arts or the Sciences.

The Higher Diploma in Arts is a conversion programme and applicants would not normally have studied the relevant subject to Honours Degree level previously.

If you are applying with Qualifications obtained outside Ireland and you wish to verify if you meet the minimum academic and English language requirements for this programme please see the course webpage (link below) to view the grades comparison table by country and for details of recognised English language tests.

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. Dawn French
E: d.french@ucc.ie
P: + 353 21 490 2325

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 Departments subject groups in second year (15 credits) and 5 credits from each of the Departments 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:
Politics in Ireland
Models of Democracy
Comparative European Politics
Feminist Philosophy
Gender Politics
Politics of an individual country (including France, Germany, USA)
International Relations and Organisations
Ireland and International Relations
Global Governance
Contemporary International Crises
Registration with the Teaching Council: For applicants who are taking the Higher Diploma with a view to Teaching Council subject registration in Civic Social and Political Education, in general, if you wish to qualify as a teacher, you are advised to refer to the school curriculum and match the modules to that broad field. Modules are chosen in consultation with the programme coordinator in September.

Many subjects have discipline-specific requirements and you are advised to check the requirements for the subject area by consulting the following:
◾Curricular Subject Requirements: Teaching Council: Curriculur Subject Requirements
◾Subject Declaration Forms (including a self-assessment checklist of whether you meet the requirements for your subject area): Teaching Council Subject Declaration Forms

Full details of module choice and please also see the College Book of Modules for more detailed descriptions of the modules.

Comment

Who Teaches This Course
The Politics MA is taught by staff members from three academic units; Government, History and Philosophy. From History, Drs. David Fitzgerald and Mervyn ODriscoll offer expertise in international relations and terrorism. Dr Andrew Cottey from the Department of Government teaches European security. Dr Patrick Crowley (Dept of French) leads students through sessions on the Arab Spring and decolonization. Drs Clodagh Harris, Emmanuelle Schon- Quinlivan and Laurence Davis from the Department of Government teach on political participation, governance and democracy and rights, while Drs Cara Nine, Vittorio Bufacchi and Jason Dockstader from Philosophy teach on Ethics, Moral Psychology, territoriality and human rights.

Assessment method

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 2017-18 intake are now open.

While UCC operates a rounds system for Postgraduate Taught courses (detailed below) we would advise you to apply as soon as possible.

Deadline for receipt of Applications: Offers will be made:

For all completed applications received by January 16th 2017 Offers will be made by January 30th 2017

For all completed applications received by March 1st 2017 Offers will be made by March 15th 2017

For all completed applications received by May 1st 2017 Offers will be made by May 15th 2017

For all completed applications received by July 3rd 2017 Offers will be made by July 17th 2017

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

Non-EU Applicants:

Please visit the following page for further information for Non EU applicants http://www.ucc.ie/en/international/studyatucc/postgraduateprogrammes/tau...

Course fee

2017/2018 Irish/EU 6,000 full-time; 3,000 per year part-time

Enrolment and start dates

Next Intake: 11 September 2017

Application Weblink

Course web page

Link to course fee

International Students

Key information

Qualification letters:

HDip in Arts

Qualifications:

Higher Diploma (Level 8 NFQ)

Attendance Types:

Daytime

Counties:

Cork

Apply to:

PAC

Application Weblink

Course web page

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