BA in Politics and International Relations

Overview

The Bachelor of Arts in Politics and International Relations is a four-year programme that combines global disciplinary foundations with sustained engagement with Kurdish, Iraqi and Middle Eastern political realities. It develops historically informed, theoretically rigorous and methodologically competent graduates who can analyse political institutions, ideas, international relations, political economy and public policy at local, regional and global levels.

The award title and programme abbreviation remain Bachelor of Arts in Politics and International Relations (BA PIR). Individual modules use the prefix POL, denoting the broader disciplinary field of Politics within which Political Science and International Relations are taught. The programme is informed by the interdisciplinary philosophy of Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE), particularly its integration of political ideas, institutional analysis and economics, while retaining a clear disciplinary identity as a Politics and International Relations degree.

Its distinctive contribution is not the addition of isolated regional case studies to an externally designed curriculum. Kurdish, Iraqi and Middle Eastern histories, institutions, political movements and policy problems are embedded across the programme and are studied comparatively, critically and in relation to international structures.

Admission Requirements

• High School Diploma: High school certificate with a general high school score of 60% or above
• English Language Proficiency: Minimum English Language requirement is 45 in PTE, 5.5 in IELTS, 64 in ibt-TOEFL or 95 in Duolingo.
• School Interview
• Equalised transcript for Public universities is required for students who have graduated from international institutions.

• Application Form: Online application is required
• Official transcripts: Provide a copy of your official transcript (for applicants who graduated from international institutions, an equalized transcript is required).
• Certification Letter from High School: Provide an official letter from your High School Confirming your High School Average.
• A copy of your Passport/ID

Curriculum

The programme contains 32 core modules. Each module carries 15 credits and represents 150 notional learning hours. Students normally complete 60 credits in each semester, 120 credits in each academic year and 480 credits across the four-year programme. The dissertation is divided into two separately assessed 15-credit modules: POL404 Dissertation I and POL408 Dissertation II. Together they form a 30-credit year-long dissertation sequence.
Year 1 – Foundations: history, ideas, systems and inquiry
Students establish disciplinary vocabulary, historical knowledge, academic communication, introductory economics, ideological understanding, comparative systems and the foundations of research design.

Year 2 – Theory, institutions and methods
Students deepen political and international theory, political economy, law, comparative politics and political sociology while completing their formal qualitative and quantitative methods training.

Year 3 – Applied regional and global analysis
Students apply theory and methods to Iraq, the Middle East, Kurdish politics, security, constitutionalism, global political economy, foreign policy and professional fieldwork.

Year 4 – Advanced integration and independent research
Students undertake specialised study in resource politics, KRI public policy, nationalism, digital politics and human security while completing a two-semester dissertation and a research-led contemporary politics seminar.

International Schools Requirements

Graduates of international schools are exempt from the English language proficiency test.
American System
GPA: 2.0 and SAT I: 800
British System
5 IGCSE Literary Subjects; 2 A-Level / Full A Level or 1 A-Level + 1 AS-Level (Pass all modules)
International Baccalaureate (IB)
1 High Level (HL) + 1 Standard Level (SL) Both HL and SL must be literary subjects and 24/45.

Skills Development

On successful completion of the programme, graduates will be able to:

1. PLO1: Explain and critically apply the principal concepts, approaches and theories of Politics and International Relations.
2. PLO2: Evaluate normative arguments concerning authority, liberty, equality, justice, rights and the good society.
3. PLO3: Analyse political institutions, governance processes and comparative political systems.
4. PLO4: Analyse international relations, security, foreign policy, international law and global governance.
5. PLO5: Apply economic and political-economy reasoning to development, globalisation, energy and public policy.
6. PLO6: Interpret Kurdish, Iraqi and Middle Eastern politics through historically grounded, comparative and context-sensitive analysis.
7. PLO7: Design ethical and feasible political research using clear questions, concepts, theories and appropriate methods.
8. PLO8: Collect, evaluate and analyse qualitative and quantitative evidence with appropriate methodological caution.
9. PLO9: Communicate political analysis effectively in academic, policy, professional, oral and digital formats.
10. PLO10: Integrate theory, context, methods and evidence in independent judgement and a substantial research project.