BA

International Relations and Climate Change

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You are viewing this course for September start 2024

Climate Change is the single most significant and complex challenge facing human, social, political and economic systems.

International Relations is key to understanding this complexity and confronting this global crisis.

By choosing the International Relations and Climate Change degree in the Department of International Politics at Aberystwyth University, you will have the opportunity to explore the complexity of this global crisis and learn how countries are confronting it.

You will develop a distinct multidisciplinary approach to the international politics of climate change, reflecting on ways that states and societies struggle with managing the planet's resources and ecological systems and developing effective political and societal solutions.

Course Overview

Why should you study International Relations and Climate Change at Aberystwyth University?

What are the obstacles to such cooperation? What possibilities are there to overcome them? These questions are at the heart of this innovative, incisive and intellectually stimulating degree scheme. The course provides a thorough and critical understanding of the interconnectedness of politics and international relations, climate change, the environment and natural resources, inequality and development, and cooperation and conflict. In particular this programme focuses on evaluating the nature of the climate emergency, its political, economic, social and ecological impacts, and the political, social, economic and human responses to it.

On this degree you will:

  • engage with and develop a distinct multidisciplinary approach to the international politics of climate change
  • analyse the causes and consequence of climate change and environmental degradation, especially from the perspective of international politics
  • reflect on ways that states and societies struggle with managing the planet’s resources and ecological systems and to develop effective political and societal solutions
  • examine links between climate change and other global challenges such as conflict, migration, inequality and governance
  • explore through simulations the experience of decision-making processes, negotiations and the politics surrounding contemporary climate governance.

Our Staff

Lecturers in the Department of International Politics are all research active and qualified to PhD level, and most also have a PGCHE.

Modules September start - 2024

Please note: The modules listed below are those currently intended for delivery during the next academic year and may be subject to change. They are included here to give an indication of how the course is structured.

Core

Module Name Module Code Credit Value
Climate Change and International Politics in the Anthropocene IP20720 20
International Relations: Perspectives and Debates IP20120 20
The Governance of Climate Change: Simulation Module IP22320 20

Options

Module Name Module Code Credit Value
A War on the Mind: Propaganda and Secret Intelligence from the Great War to the 21st Century IP28320 20
Britain and Ireland in War and Peace since 1800 IP28820 20
Britain and World Politics from Global Empire to Brexit: The Diplomacy of Decline IQ22620 20
Capitalism and International Politics IQ22820 20
China From the Opium War to the Present IP29820 20
Climate Change Politics IP21420 20
Contemporary Latin America IP28720 20
Contemporary Writing and Climate Crisis EN21120 20
Devolution and Wales IP25020 20
Economic Diplomacy and Leadership IQ24320 20
European Security in 21st Century IP23620 20
Gender, Conflict and Security IP26720 20
Global Politics and the Refugee Regime IQ25520 20
International Politics and Global Development IP29220 20
International Politics and the Nuclear Age IP20420 20
Intervention and Humanitarianism IQ20220 20
Knowing about Violent Conflict in International Politics IQ24420 20
Literature and Climate in the Nineteenth Century EN21220 20
Middle Powers in the Global Political Economy IQ27120 20
Militaries and Crisis: Where Strategy Meets Society IP20820 20
Nationalism in Theory and Practice IP29920 20
People and Power: Understanding Comparative Politics Today IQ23920 20
Political Theory IP22220 20
Politics in Diverse Societies IQ23720 20
Questions of International Politics IP26820 20
Race in Global Politics IQ20020 20
Refugee Simulation IQ25620 20
Russian Security in the 21st Century IP21820 20
Russian intelligence from Lenin to Putin IQ24920 20
Science, Technology, and International Relations IP23020 20
Strategy, Intelligence and Security in International Politics IQ25120 20
Terrorism & Counter Terrorism in the Modern World: Policing, Intelligence & War IP24520 20
The Arab-Israeli Wars IP21320 20
The BRICS in World Politics IQ20320 20
The British Army's Image in Battle, from the Crimean to the Present IQ20920 20
The European Union: Politics, Policies, Problems IP23820 20
The Long Shadow of the Second World War IP22720 20
The Past and Present US Intelligence IP26020 20
The Politics and Paradoxes of International Organisations IQ26020 20
The Second World War in Europe IP26420 20
Total War, Total Peace IQ23420 20
Trade Wars and the Liberal Order IQ21620 20
UK Politics Today: A Union Under Strain? IQ23820 20
War Crimes IQ25720 20
Warfare after Waterloo: Military History 1815-1918 IP25320 20
Women and Global Development IP29620 20

Core

Module Name Module Code Credit Value
Dissertation * IP30040 40

Options

Module Name Module Code Credit Value
A War on the Mind: Propaganda and Secret Intelligence from the Great War to the 21st Century IP38320 20
Britain and Ireland in War and Peace since 1800 IP38820 20
Britain and World Politics from Global Empire to Brexit: the Diplomacy of Decline: IQ32620 20
Capitalism and International Politics IQ32820 20
China From the Opium War to the Present IP39820 20
Climate Change and International Politics in the Anthropocene IP30720 20
Contemporary Latin America IP38720 20
Crisis Writing WR31820 20
Devolution and Wales IP35020 20
Economic Diplomacy and Leadership IQ34320 20
European Security in the 21st Century IP33620 20
Gender, Conflict and Security IP36720 20
Global Biodiversity Conservation BR33420 20
Global Politics and the Refugee Regime IQ35520 20
International Politics and the Nuclear Age IP30420 20
Intervention and Humanitarianism IQ30220 20
Knowing about Violent Conflict in International Politics IQ34420 20
Middle Powers in the Global Political Economy IQ37120 20
Militaries and Crisis: Where Strategy Meets Society IP30820 20
Nationalism in Theory and Practice IP39920 20
Political Theory IP32220 20
Politics in Diverse Societies IQ33720 20
Race in Global Politics IQ30020 20
Refugee Simulation IQ35620 20
Russian Security in the 21st Century IP31820 20
Russian intelligence from Lenin to Putin IQ34920 20
Science, Technology, and International Relations IP33020 20
Terrorism & Counter Terrorism in the Modern World: Policing, Intelligence & War IP34520 20
The Arab Israeli Wars IP31320 20
The BRICS in World Politics IQ30320 20
The British Army's Image in Battle, from the Crimean to the Present IQ30920 20
The European Union: Politics, Policies, Problems IP33820 20
The Long Shadow of the Second World War IP32720 20
The Past and Present of US Intelligence IP36020 20
The Politics and Paradoxes of International Organisations IQ36020 20
The Second World War in Europe IP36420 20
Total War, Total Peace IQ33420 20
Trade Wars and the Liberal Order IQ31620 20
UK Politics Today: A Union Under Strain? IQ33820 20
Urban Risk and Environmental Resilience GS37520 20
War Crimes IQ35720 20
Women and Global Development IP39620 20

* Also available partially or entirely through the medium of Welsh

Careers

Employability is embedded within all our courses. Our degrees provide a solid foundation for a vast array of careers across a range of sectors.

In a rapidly shifting global economy, our graduates are adaptable and are able to draw on a range of transferable skills, ensuring that they are always in demand.

As a graduate of this degree, you will be well-placed to pursue a career in climate change management, adaptation and mitigation, both in the UK and abroad. Additionally, you will be suited to careers in related areas, such as environmental education and consultancy or conservation. Another option would be to undertake further study, either at Masters or Doctoral level.

Teaching & Learning

The breakdown below will provide you with an illustration of what you may study during the three year degree scheme.

What will I learn?

First Year:

  • Exploring the International: Central concepts and core skills
  • Globalisation and Global Development
  • Climate Change: Impacts, Perceptions, Adaptations
  • The Science of Climate.

Second year:

  • The Governance of Climate Change: Simulation Module
  • International relations: Perspectives and debates.

Third Year:

  • Dissertation.

On each year of the degree, and especially in your second and third years, you will study several optional modules. These may include:

  • International Politics in the Anthropocene
  • People, Progress, Environment: Theories and Histories of Environmental Politics
  • Refugee simulation
  • International Politics and Global Development
  • Global Inequality and World Politics
  • Global Politics and the Refugee Regime.

Typical Entry Requirements

UCAS Tariff 120 - 96

A Levels BBB-CCC

GCSE requirements (minimum grade C/4):
English or Welsh

BTEC National Diploma:
DDM-MMM

International Baccalaureate:
30-26

European Baccalaureate:
75%-65% overall

English Language Requirements:
See our Undergraduate English Language Requirements for this course. Pre-sessional English Programmes are also available for students who do not meet our English Language Requirements.

Country Specific Entry Requirements:
International students whose qualification is not listed on this page, can check our Country Specific Entry Requirements for further information.

The University welcomes undergraduate applications from students studying the Access to Higher Education Diploma or T-level qualifications, provided that relevant subject content and learning outcomes are met. We are not able to accept Access to Higher Education Diplomas or T-levels as a general qualification for every undergraduate degree course.
Our inclusive admissions policy values breadth as well as depth of study. Applicants are selected on their own individual merits and offers can vary. If you would like to check the eligibility of your qualifications before submitting an application, please contact the Undergraduate Admissions Office for advice and guidance.

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