Study politics
Study at a world-renowned centre of influential political research, in beautiful Bloomsbury, on a degree that fits around you.
Our academic staff are international authorities in their respective fields, publishing and delivering stimulating teaching on a wide range of political topics including public policy, foreign policy, international security and terrorism, gender and the welfare state, British politics, and the politics of Asia and the Middle East. Birkbeck was also host to the Jean Monnet Chair in Parliamentary Democracy and European Integration (2020-23).
Reflecting this expertise, we offer a wide choice of politics programmes in a broad range of areas including government, policy and politics; global politics; international relations (including the study of war); international security and global governance; political communications; social and political theory; and public policy and management.
We organise a lively programme of seminars and conferences and are home to affiliated research centres, such as the Birkbeck Centre for British Political Life.
Our central London location puts us at the heart of the UK’s political life and of academic London. Parliament and Whitehall are a short distance away, while Bloomsbury has some of the world’s most famous libraries and centres of research. Our subject building was a key location for members of the Bloomsbury Group, so you could be studying in rooms that have hosted distinguished visitors such as T.S. Eliot, George Bernard Shaw and Maynard Keynes.
Our graduates go into a range of careers in the private and public sectors. Our alumni include the current Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Lisa Nandy; former Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer John McDonnell; other current and former MPs such as Tulip Siddiq, Luciana Berger and Gloria de Piero; and Claire Ainsley who was Director of Policy for the current Prime Minister Keir Starmer when he was Leader of the Opposition.
As a measure of our teaching and research success, the 2022 National Student Survey ranked Birkbeck Politics 1st in London for teaching, learning opportunities, and academic support. Further, in the Research Excellence Framework in 2021, 100% of our work was ranked internationally excellent and world leading for impact, and 88% of our research outputs ranked in top categories.
Find out more
- Take a look at our British Politics Substack
- Explore our range of politics degrees
- Contact our staff to find out about studying at Birkbeck
- Read about Birkbeck's rich history as a centre for political research and teaching
