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International Foundation Year in Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities
The International Foundation Year in Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities is designed to prepare you for the first year of your undergraduate degree at Royal Holloway. This is a fast-paced, three-term foundation programme, specifically designed for international students interested in beginning their international education journey.

What you will study
The programme consists of core and pathway-specific modules. The core modules will improve your academic and English language skills, while the pathway-specific ones will build specific knowledge about your progression degree.

Once you have successfully completed your International Foundation Year and achieved the required progression grades, you will be well-equipped to start your undergraduate degree at Royal Holloway.

Leading to: Politics and International Relations BA

BA Politics and International Relations looks at political ideas and processes, as well as global issues such as war and security, diplomacy and development.

You will gain a solid foundation in politics, the history of international relations and IR theory, studying subjects such as democracy, decolonisation, democratisation, international organisations, foreign-policy making, human migration and human rights. As you progress through the degree, the flexible nature of the course allows you to specialise in those aspects of domestic politics, political theory and international relations that most interest you.

By combining Politics and International Relations, you will gain an advanced understanding of how individuals, groups and states interact across borders, and how political institutions and ideas differ around the world.  As you progress through your studies, you will engage with important contemporary challenges, including, for example, the recent global economic crisis, changes in the European Union, human migration and the threats posed by terrorists and new communications technologies.

The Department of Politics and International Relations has a strong commitment to high-quality, cutting-edge research, all of which informs our teaching. We are a research community that applies various theories and methods to the study of domestic, transnational, regional and global politics.  We have expertise in African, British, Chinese, European, Middle East, North American and South Asian politics, and our research covers areas such as security, democratisation, youth politics, international diplomacy and political communication, as well as contemporary and radical theories of democracy and power.

• Learn how to approach problems in a rigorous and analytical way.
• Gain a solid foundation in politics, the history of international relations and IR theory.
• Our graduates pursue roles in many sectors including the civil service, public affairs and law.
• Consider contemporary challenges, such as terrorism, climate change and refugees.
• Work placement opportunities at MPs’ offices, NGOs and local government.

From time to time, we make changes to our courses to improve the student and learning experience. If we make a significant change to your chosen course, we’ll let you know as soon as possible.