麻豆传媒AV

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Areas of study

On our Politics and Philosophy MA you’ll study key categories and concepts in political philosophy through the lens of pressing political problems of our contemporary age. This includes areas such as right wing challenges to democracy and the rise of authoritarianism and populism, climate change, gender oppression and decolonialism.

Through our unique, radical and decolonialised approach to political thought you’ll become familiar with the wide range of critical and progressive literature on these topics.

Our MA sits in the rich research environment of our Centre for Applied Philosophy, Politics and Ethics – CAPPE.

You will benefit from visits from many of the theorists whose work you’ll read, regular conferences and workshops, and reading groups with PhD students and academic staff.

The optional placement module is an opportunity to gain valuable work experience with an organisation to help improve your employability.

Course structure

Full-time students should expect to dedicate around 40 hours per week to their studies. For part-time students aiming to complete in two years, this would be reduced to around 20 hours per week.

There will be a mixture of scheduled teaching activities, guided independent study and placement learning. Both core and option modules employ a range of teaching and assessment methods.

Core elements emphasise lectures and seminar-based learning, where you’ll engage in collective exploration and discussion of key topics. It may also include student presentations, workshops, debates, simulations and reading groups. Teaching and learning methods will vary depending on the chosen options.   

Individual tutorials are a key component, offering you extended verbal feedback on assessment plans. You will be encouraged to schedule pre-assessment tutorials to receive one-on-one guidance before your final submissions. 

Written feedback is provided for all summative assessments. You also have the opportunity to receive written feedback on draft dissertation work if submitted before a specified deadline.

The format of written assignments may include:

• essays
• blog posts
• specialist studies
• dissertations
• conference abstracts and papers
• placement reports
• research proposals
• doctoral proposals.

This diverse range of assessments reflects best practices across the academic sector. 

Modules

Modules

Core modules

• Key Categories in Contemporary Politics and Philosophy

  This module will develop your understanding of the key categories in contemporary politics and philosophy. You will investigate both the genealogy and the key debates within categories including:

  • ethics – contemporary ethical debates including democracy, equality and liberty in relation to longer histories of colonialism, racism and gender oppression
  • power – the state, sovereignty, disciplinary power and rights of exception
  • understanding AI and the new digital politics.
• Research Methods

  This module teaches you how to effectively carry out research in order to undertake an extended research project. You will learn a range of research methods across different disciplines and consider issues such as ethics, positionality and decolonising research. You will be guided to choose a research topic, develop a clear proposal with specific goals, methods and sources, and explain how your research connects to the issues addressed.

• Problems in Contemporary Politics and Philosophy

  This module focuses on the political and philosophical analysis of contemporary global crises. You will examine how issues such as anti-gender politics, populism, democratic instability, migration, environmental degradation and war are produced, governed and contested. The emphasis throughout is applied analysis and critical engagement with real-world political struggles, enabling you to connect theory with contemporary global challenges.

• Global Politics, Conflict and Human Rights

  On this module you will explore the global politics of contemporary conflict and human rights. You will examine the key frameworks in world politics for addressing human rights violations and responding to conflict, alongside examining underlying conceptual and ethical debates concerning the universality of human rights, conflict resolution, and the changing nature of global politics. 

• Research Project

  The Research Project is the culmination of the masters degree experience, where you'll develop your individual research and presentational skills by investigating in depth a critical debate, body of relevant material or a historical context.

  Guided by a supervisor, you will carry out a research project on your choice of topic that is relevant to your course and complete an extended piece of writing modelled on a journal article. In addition, you will have opportunities to develop skills in communicating your research to a range of audiences via workshops.

   

Options*

• Heritage in a Global Context

  Through weekly seminars and site visits, this module will enable you to reflect on what constitutes ‘heritage’ by exploring how historical, aesthetic and cultural value is attributed to material forms of the past. Combining theoretical and political debate, you will analyse global case studies (for example, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial) and create local case studies (for example, 麻豆传媒AV Pier). This will involve site documentation, the identification of interpretive techniques and reflection upon meaning.

• Philosophies of Research

  This module provides you with the philosophical, methodological and ethical tools and principles needed to engage in postgraduate research. You will gain knowledge and understanding of how these principles inform the research process and learn how to critically engage with the design and execution of research.

• Queer and Now

  Capitalising on 麻豆传媒AV’s location as the UK’s unofficial LGBTQ+ capital, this interdisciplinary module will explore traditions of LGBTQ+ community spaces and local and global writing in the context of the histories and politics of sexuality and queer identities and their contemporary manifestations. Using a wide range of case studies, you will examine current and potential forms of community and radical kinship, informed by key critical debates in queer theory.

• Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

  This module is an opportunity to gain experience of teaching practice particularly if you are considering a career in teaching. You will attend and observe the lectures and seminars of one undergraduate course in our humanities programme before delivering part of one lecture and facilitating a seminar enabling you to work through the preparation, experience and reflection on undergraduate teaching. 

• Professional Placements

  Placements are an opportunity to gain experience of work with, for example a third sector organisation (eg, an NGO or charity), gallery, museum or archive, and to explore how the issues covered in your academic studied play out in practice. 

*Option modules are indicative and may change, depending on timetabling and staff availability.

Professional Placement

The Professional Placements option module offers the opportunity to go on a work placement with one of our partners.

We have links with organisations including:

• political parties
• activist groups
• charities
• newspapers and magazines
• law firms
• publishers
• housing trusts
• 麻豆传媒AV & Hove City Council. 

The Professional Placement module will help you to develop a deep understanding of working practices through 10-days of hands-on experience.

You’ll be able to extend and apply the knowledge gained during your studies and will write a reflective essay on the placement experience and your learnings. 

You will be fully supported leading up to and throughout your placement.

Lab facilities

Mithras House has a series of lab rooms which can be used for teaching on your course or in your independent research work.

Life lab
A skills-based lab for practice-based teaching, social work, psychotherapy and counselling, and employability. The Life lab is fitted with lounge furniture to provide a comfortable space for conducting qualitative research with larger groups. The lab can be used to conduct research activities with children of all ages and can be used for meetings and events. The room also contains a dedicated space to conduct assessed role play or interviews with children.

City lab
This is a qualitative research methods and creative methods resource for all students, staff and researchers, as well as research participants, including children, community groups and the general public. It can also be used for meetings and events. The City lab contains a kitchen, a teaching/meeting room with enhanced acoustic isolation and two meeting spaces that can be separated with a screen or combined to accommodate larger groups.

Design lab
Housing our extensive collection of historic dress and textiles, which are used in some teaching on our History of Art and Design courses, this has the space and equipment for you to work on textile projects. Displays created by students on these programmes are on view in the social spaces of the building.

Community lab
The Community Lab is a flexible teaching space designed for collaborative student learning and for working on qualitative research projects with a range of participants. 

Stats lab
The Stats Lab is a specialist workspace for carrying out statistical analysis, and video and audio editing projects. The Stats Lab is also used for workshops, demonstrations and seminars and can be used by students as a study space.

Applied cognition lab
A dedicated research space for psychological research involving measures such as electrodermal activity (EDA) and electroencephalography (EEG). The space is designed to allow the participant and researcher to sit at separate desks whilst psychophysiological data is being collected. 

VR and eye tracking lab
The VR and Eye-Tracking Lab is used for psychological research using equipment, such as eye-trackers and virtual reality headsets. The space has adjustable lighting and a blackout blind for maintaining consistent lighting conditions during eye-tracking research, as well as sensors set up in the room to allow individuals to move freely around the room during virtual reality research.

Take a video tour of the labs with technicians Andrea and Grace 

Meet the team

Course fees

Scholarships, bursaries and loans

We offer a range of scholarships for postgraduate students. Bursaries and loans may also be available to you.

Find out more about postgraduate fees and funding.

The fees listed here are for the first year of full-time study if you start your course in the academic year 2026–27.

You will pay fees for each year of your course. Some fees may increase each year.

UK undergraduate and some postgraduate fees are regulated by the UK government and increases will not be more than the maximum amount allowed. Course fees that are not regulated may increase each year by up to 5% or the Consumer Price Index (RPI), whichever is higher.

If you are studying part-time your fee will usually be calculated based on the number of modules that you take.

Find out more

• Fees, bursaries, scholarships and government funding info for UK and international postgraduate students
• Student finance and budgeting while studying
• About the university’s fees by checking our student contract and (pdf).

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