Programme Specifications

Programme summary

1. Programme Aims

• To provide students with an intellectually stimulating environment within which they can develop knowledge, understanding and skills in both History and International Relations.
• To encourage a sense of enthusiasm for History and International Relations; to foster critical, creative and independent thinking; and to develop a sensitive and disciplined approach.
• To stimulate productive reflection on the similarities and differences between modes of study in both subjects.
• To develop competence and practical skills which are transferable to a wide range of professions and employment as well as life experiences.

2. Relevant subject benchmark statements and other external reference points used to inform programme outcomes:

• QAA Subject Benchmarking Statement - History
• QAA Subject Benchmarking Statement – Politics and International Relations

3. Programme Learning Outcomes

3.1 Knowledge and Understanding

On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• the idea of academic disciplines as dynamic, plural and contested; developed within the broader framework of the social sciences and humanities;
• the potential applications of concepts within a broader critical framework;
• the main methodologies used in the analysis and interpretation of texts, other sources and data;

and within the History portion of the programme:

• past societies and historical processes over a chronological and geographical range;
• the use of primary evidence in historical argument;
• History as an academic discipline, its schools of interpretations, and the variety of methodological approaches and theoretical foundations;

and within the International Relations portion of the programme:

• how states, international organisations and other transnational actors interact (both cooperatively and conflictually) within regional and global arenas;
• related questions of power, conflict, justice, order, legitimacy, decision-making and governance at the global and regional levels
• approaches derived from international political theory and political analysis;
• appropriate research methods and methodologies and how to apply these.

3.2 Skills and other attributes

a. Subject-specific cognitive skills:

On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:

1. demonstrate a reflexive approach to learning;
2. abstract and synthesise information;
3. assess the merits of contrasting theories, explanations and arguments;
4. critically evaluate and interpret a range of evidence, including texts, other sources and data;
5. undertake problem-solving and decision-making;
6. develop a reasoned argument;

and within the History portion of the programme:

7. appreciate the complexities and diversity of past events and mentalities;
8. show a critical awareness of the problems inherent in historical sources and in interpreting the past;
9. solve problems with imagination and creativity;

and within the International Relations portion of the programme: 

10. describe, evaluate and, where appropriate, critique political events, ideas and institutions operating at regional and global levels of analysis;
11. relate theory and political analysis to questions of ethical, moral and public concern at regional and global levels of analysis. 

b. Subject-specific practical skills:

On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:

1. locate and retrieve information using a variety of research methods;
2. select, combine, and interpret different types of source material;
3. recognise and critically debate moral and ethical issues underpinning particular debates or enquiries;
4. deploy bibliographic skills including accuracy in the citation of sources and the use of proper conventions in the presentation of scholarly work;
5. present cogent and persuasive arguments in oral, written and practical form;
6. undertake independent learning and research

c. Key transferable skills:

On successful completion of this programme, students should have developed skills in the areas of communication, presentations, self-organisation, working with others and time-management, and gained experience of using information and communication technologies for the retrieval and presentation of information.

4. Programme structure

This is a three-year long full-time degree programme.  In each of the three parts (years) of the degree (A, B and C), students take modules amounting to 120 credits with a minimum modular weight of 50 credits in each Semester, taking into account compulsory, optional and elective modules.

In addition, students have the opportunity to undertake a Placement Year (Part I) after Part B.

Important Note: No module may be taken and passed more than once.  Optional module availability is subject to timetabling constraints and optional modules may be subject to change.

Part A – Introductory Modules

History Component

(i) Compulsory Modules (total modular weight 40 Credits)

(ii) Optional Modules (total modular weight 20 Credits)

International Relations Component

(i) Compulsory Modules (total modular weight 40 Credits)

(ii) Optional Modules (total modular weight 20 Credits)

Part B – Degree Modules

EITHER

(a) Standard Route

(i) Compulsory Modules (total modular weight 20 Credits)

* Please note that this module counts as 10 of the 30 credits in Semester 2 for either the History or International Relations components.

(ii) Optional Modules (total modular weight 100 Credits)

Students should note that combinations of modules of the same titles but different credit-weightings are mutually exclusive.

Students should choose a total modular weight of 50 Credits, with no more than 30 Credits in either Semester from both the History and International Relations components. Please note that modules in Group 3 count as either History or International Relations.

Group 1 - History Component

Students should choose a total modular weight of 50 Credits, with no more than 30 Credits in either Semester from this component.

Group 2 - International Relations Component

Group 3 – History or International Relations

OR

(b) International Semester Route

Candidates may replace the modules required for Part B Semester 2 with an approved course of study taught in English at a foreign University.  In Semester 2, candidates will undertake assessed work equivalent to 50 credits, as required by Politics and International Studies, along with a Distance Learning Research Design module. Candidates who opt for this route must ensure that they have selected a total of 60 Credits in Semester 1.

(i) Compulsory Modules (total modular weight 70 Credits)

(ii) Optional Modules (total modular weight 50 Credits)

History Component

Students should choose a total modular weight of 20 Credits in Semester 1

International Relations Component

Students should choose a total modular weight of 30 Credits in Semester 1

Part I

Candidates will undertake one of the following approved study and/or work placements leading to the Diploma in International Studies (DIntS) or Diploma in Professional Studies (DPS) in accordance with Regulation XI.

Part C – Degree Modules

(i) Compulsory module (total modular weight 40 Credits)

(ii) Optional Modules (total modular weight 80 Credits)

Students should take 60 Credits in the History Component and 60 Credits in the International Relations Component.  The Dissertation weight of 40 Credits will be split equally between the two components, so students will need to choose 80 Credits of optional modules, 40 in each Component.

History Component

International Relations Component

5. Criteria for Progression and Degree Award

5.1 In order to progress from Part A to Part B, from Part B to C, and to be eligible for the award of an Honours degree, candidates must not only satisfy the minimum credit requirements set out in Regulation XX but also achieve a module mark of at least 30% in all modules in each Part.

5.2 Provision will be made in accordance with Regulation XX for candidates who have the right of reassessment in any Part of the programme to undergo re-assessment in the University's special assessment period.

6. Relative Weighting of Parts of the Programme for the Purposes of Final Degree Classification

Candidates' final degree classification will be determined on the basis of their performance in degree level Module Assessments in Parts B and C. The percentage mark for each Part will be combined in the ratio Part B 40%, Part C 60% to determine the final programme percentage mark.