Birkbeck is a distinguished centre of research and teaching excellence in politics. Our central London location puts us at the heart of the UK's political life and at the centre of academic London. Our courses are designed to encourage independent thinking and hone your argumentative, analytical and critical skills, while our teaching uniquely moves across the boundaries between subjects, encompassing, among others, economics, history and sociology. Our Department of Politics is over 40 years old and has a reputation for the excellence of its teaching and its internationally significant research. In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF), Politics at Birkbeck was ranked 17th in the UK. In the 2017 National Student Survey, our courses came top in London and fourth in the country for overall course satisfaction. Our departmental building was once a key location for members of the Bloomsbury Group, so you could be studying in rooms that have hosted distinguished visitors, including T. S. Eliot, George Bernard Shaw and Maynard Keynes.

Applicants from Russia would be expected to have completed one year of a Bakalavr/Specialist Diploma at a recognised university with an average grade of at least 4/5 OR a recognised undergraduate Foundation course, which allows students the chance to progress onto Birkbeck’s Bachelor programmes.