‘Investing’ in a politics/IR degree: is the curriculum fit for purpose in the post-Browne environment?

Abstract

A little over a decade ago, a survey of politics departments in UK universities lamented the challenges that academics faced at that time: increasing student numbers, limited resources, but a necessity to maintain traditional approaches to teaching and learning (Stammers et al, 1999). We now stand on the cliffedge of a very different challenge – convincing society that a politics degree is worth greater personal investment. While particular sub-disciplines of politics and IR move in and out of fashion, we cannot escape the fact that, in recent years, the subject has undergone a recruitment boom (see, for example, Harrison and Sáez, 2009). We need to ask ourselves pressing questions about where our post-2012 intake will come from and where they will go. What schools have they attended? What qualifications will influence their choice? Are we sufficiently informed about the lifelong journeys our graduates pursue as a result of their degree choice? In doing this, we will be equipped with a number of opportunities and faced by certain challenges. Opportunities