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University of Canterbury

Christchurch , Christchurch ,New Zealand

Bachelor of Arts with Honours - Political Science and International Relations

Are you interested in making a difference to the world around you? Does the future of Aotearoa New Zealand’s democracy interest you? Do news about politics and elections in other countries capture your interest? Are you concerned about major issues in international politics and international security? How about issues such as development, human rights, health, environment, nationalism, foreign policy, or peace and conflict? How social change happens and how power and resources are allocated in society? Do you want to think, study, examine, and critically analyse these questions and pursue a career based on your interest? If so, you should study Political Science and International Relations.

Political Science is often called the study of who gets what, where, how, and why. It is the independent and informed study of our communities and how we make decisions collectively as governments, why we behave as we do as citizens, and how we make public policy choices for the future.

Political scientists use a variety of theories, ideas, tools, and methods to: examine local, national, regional, and global processes, institutions, and relationships; to consider how we ought to live as political communities; and how we can create change.

Campus Information

Ilam Campus

The University has a main campus of 76 hectares (190 acres) at Ilam, a suburb of Christchurch about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from the centre of the city.

Intakes

  • Feb Deadline: Dec
  • July Deadline: May

Application Processing Time in Days: 25

Application Process

More Information Required 
14 Days
Possible Interview Call from Institution
0 Days
Provisional/Unconditional Offer 
20 Days
Visa Process
30 Days

Minimum English Language Requirements

English Level Description IELTS (1.0 -9.0) TOEFL IBT (0-120) TOEFL CBT (0-300) PTE (10-90)
Expert 9 120 297-300 86-90
Very Good 8.5 115-119 280-293 83-86
Very Good 8 110-114 270-280 79-83
Good 7.5 102-109 253-267 73-79
Good 7 94-101 240-253 65-73
Competent 6.5 79-93 213-233 58-65
Competent 6 60-78 170-210 50-58
Modest 5.5 46-59 133-210 43-50
Modest 5 35-45 107-133 36-43
Limited 4 32-34 97-103 30-36
Extremely Limited < 4 < 31 < 93 < 30

Job Opportunity Potential

Postgraduate study can bring many career benefits eg, specialist skills and enhanced knowledge, entry into specific occupations, higher starting salary/progression rates, research capability/achievement, and evidence of high academic attainment/self-discipline.

PSW Opportunity

  • During study, all students on a student visa can work up to 20 hours per week during semester and full time during vacations.
  • After completing Level 7 Bachelor’s Degree or Higher Qualification, a student will get a three years open post-study work visa.
  • After completing Level 8 Post Graduate courses of 1 year, students get 1 year PSW.

Admission Requirement / Eligibility Criteria

Academic entry requirements

Students must have qualified for a bachelor's degree, and satisfied the prerequisites for the major subject concerned. Prerequisites vary between departments, but normally good grades in 300-level courses in the subject is required.