Programme Overview:
- Duration:
- 1 Years / 2 Years
- Attendance:
- Full Time / Part Time
- Mode of Delivery:
- Face-to-Face
- Next Intake:
- 2024/2025 September
- Contact Name:
- Spire Graduate
- Contact Number:
- Please click 'Ask a Question'
- Fees:
- Fee Information
The course focuses on the two traditional pillars of the discipline – political theory and comparative politics.
Comparative politics looks at the European nation-states in a comparative perspective.
Political theory— the reflection on the nature and morality of politics.
Graduates work with a wide variety of international private-sector employers, government agencies and Non-Governmental Organisations, in roles that include:
Recent graduates of UCD School of Politics & International Relations now work in:
Curricular information is subject to change
The vision of this programme is to transform students into specialists in the field of politics at the levels of both theory and practice and to allow them participate effectively in both theoretical and practical debates in that field
The MA Politics is a 90-credit programme. Full time students must take three 10-credit modules in the autumn trimester, and three 10-credit modules in the spring trimester. Students must also submit a thesis worth 30-credits or pursue an Internship instead.
Core and Option Modules for MA Politics (credits in parentheses)
These are the current modules for 2023/24 but are subject to change. Each of the following modules carries 10 credits unless otherwise specified.
Autumn Trimester Core
Autumn Trimester Option
Spring Trimester Option
Summer Trimester
POL42300 SPIRe Internship (30 credits)
or
POL42310 Thesis (30 credits)
MA Politics (W023) Full Time
EU fee per year - € 9310
nonEU fee per year - € 21520
MA Politics (W111) Part Time
EU fee per year - € 6110
nonEU fee per year - € 10760
***Fees are subject to change
Tuition fee information is available on the UCD Fees website. Please note that UCD offers a number of graduate scholarships for full-time, self-funding international students, holding an offer of a place on a UCD graduate degree programme. For further information please see International Scholarships.
SPIRe operates a Graduate Scholarship programme, which opens on May 1st. To access details, see SPIRe Graduate Scholarship Scheme. Please note that not all programmes are eligible for this Scholarship, please check the T&C's carefully when they become available.
A primary degree with at least Second Class Honours Grade 1 (2H1) in a relevant subject such as political science, international relations, social science, sociology, history, geography, economics, global studies, public policy, development studies, EU studies, law. 2H1 is equivalent to 60 per cent, B minus or 3.08 GPA - in American system: B or 3.00 GPA.
Coral Richardson
Hello, my name is Coral and I am originally from California in the US. When looking at potential programs, the UCD Politics program stood out because it offered unique elective options and featured faculty members with expertise and current research in fields that interested me.
Starting a degree in a new field was daunting at first, however, the faculty, peers, and courses have overwhelming highlights of my time at UCD and I feel more than adequately prepared for future work in research and academia. I have had the chance to work with several faculty members in my own courses and as a tutor through the Master’s Graduate Scholarship program. Each professor has been engaging and passionate about their research as well as willing to help me narrow my academic interests.
In addition to the uplifting academic environment, I have met so many new friends from Europe and abroad that have introduced me to new customs and ideas that have expanded my worldview and made my time in Dublin even more enjoyable. Academically speaking, this course offered a balance of elective and required courses that simultaneously improved my research abilities and general understanding of modern politics without restricting opportunities to further my research interests in more specific subfields such as development politics. The optional elective courses are diverse and can accommodate most research interests with focuses on major political subfields: international relations, comparative politics, and political theory while the required courses were engaging and invaluable to building my confidence in research methods.
The following entry routes are available:
* Courses will remain open until such time as all places have been filled, therefore early application is advised
A1. The structure of full time and part-time programmes is the same, the timetable also. Both FT and PT programmes are 90 credits. Modules normally run from Monday to Friday between(09:00 – 18:00).
Your timetable would depend on your module choices.
Full-time programmes:
Autumn Trimester – 3 full 10 credit modules = 6 hours per week for a duration of 12 weeks.
Spring Trimester – 3 full 10 credit modules = 6 hours per week for a duration of 12 weeks.
Summer Trimester - Thesis or Internship 30 credit module
Part-time programmes:
Part-time students take a total of 90 credits also but over the two-year duration of the part-time course. It is advisable for part-time students to take core modules in their first year, with the exception of Research Design. Module choice is more flexible for part-time students.
Part-time students take the Thesis or Internship 30 credit module in their 2nd year of study
A2. Our modules are delivered in two-hour lecture sessions every week for 12 weeks. The majority of lectures take place between 09:00 and 18:00, Monday-Friday.
One or two modules (trimester I and II) may be run from 18:00 - 20:00 depending on the current academic year timetable.
A3. A part-time student will spread the workload over two years. See Q1.
A4. We have no plans to offer modules on weekends, however, we may offer a few modules from 18:00 - 20:00 every semester. We do not currently run any weekend or evening masters programmes.
A5. Currently, you cannot study any of our Master’s degrees online and must be present in-person in Dublin to attend class. The exception to this is the MSc Sustainable Development, which is online only.
A6. Some courses have the option of either an MA or MSc version of the same programme
Students opting for the MSc variation of the programme will, in addition, take core modules in research methods and statistics. This will provide a solid understanding of doing research and critically evaluating claims made by academics and other researchers. Those considering further study at PhD level or a career in research, policy analysis or journalism should certainly consider the MSc variant.
The MA track is broader and allows you to choose to complete a dissertation or apply for an internship to develop your professional skills in the field.
There are exceptions to this, so take a close look at your chosen programme structure and the core/optional modules offered.
A7. Yes, please see here for the current timetables for all MA/MSc/MEconSc and Grad Dip programmes.
A8. Yes there is the SPIRe Masters Scholarship, This page is updated regularly for information on how to apply and when applications open.
A9. There is a lot of information available for international students on the UCD Global site: https://www.ucd.ie/global/
If you are an international student and are seeking further information, you should get in touch with your Global Centre. The Global Centre is determined by the origin of the student.
If you have already applied, please quote your Application Number when you do. Here is a list of our UCD Global Centres and their contact information:
Asia Pacific: southeastasia@ucd.ie
Middle East & North Africa: dubai@ucd.ie
China: chinaoffice@ucd.ie
Latin America: latinamerica@ucd.ie
North America: northamerica@ucd.ie
South Asia: india@ucd.ie
ROW & Africa: internationaladmissions@ucd.ie
internationaladmissions@ucd.ie can also be used for more general queries related to registration, accommodation etc.
A10. Yes. The application fee must be paid before the UCD Application System will allow us to review it.
A11. Your reference should come from a lecturer of your undergraduate degree at your previous/current university. It should include a history of academic grades and why you should be recommended for the programme. It should be signed and on headed paper. You need to upload this to your application, SPIRe does not contact your references directly.
A12. No. We only require one reference.
A13. You may ask them to send the reference by email to graduatespire@ucd.ie. The email must be sent from a professional email account (e.g. XYZ@harvard.edu, XYZ@politics.ox.ac.uk, XYZ@tcd.ie) and not from a personal email account.
A14. We primarily require an academic reference. However, we may accept a reference from your current/recent employer as an exception provided the programme coordinator is willing to accept this.
A15. Yes, you can. As part of the admission process, most emphasis is placed on applicants’ academic transcripts and references. Relevant work/life experiences will also be taken into account.