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Welcome to the Department

The Department of Politics at the University of Stirling has existed in its current guise since 1991. We are committed to the provision of high quality teaching and research and seek to provide both a challenging and supportive learning environment in which students can easily feel at home. We consistently receive top ratings for our teaching and student support in both internal and external teaching quality reviews and feel we have earned our reputation as one of the UK's top teaching departments. The 2008 Guardian League table placed Stirling as the 3rd best Politics department in Scotland and 20th in the UK overall.

Over 50 students graduate from the Department with Single or Combined Honours degrees in Politics each year. We offer a rich choice of modules providing a rounded perspective on a variety of different political systems, ideologies and policies. Our intention is to assist students in developing their analytical reasoning and ability to formulate arguments and assess issues from different points of view – the very essence of political argument. In short, the Department seeks to produce well-informed students capable of getting to grips with and making sense of complex ideas and issues in all areas of politics and to transfer these skills for use in a wide range of careers.

The Department has particular research specialisms in the following areas:

• International Conflict and Cooperation
• The External Relations of the European Union
• Scottish Politics
• German Politics
• Southern and Southeast European Studies
• Nationalism and Regionalism in Europe
• Party Politics and Political Communications
• Contemporary Liberal Political Thought

The Department offers individual postgraduate supervision at MLitt and PhD level and a taught MSc programme in International Conflict and Cooperation. The Department also hosts the Centre for European Neighbourhood Studies (CENS) which fosters research on the politics of post-Soviet, post-Ottoman and post-Yugoslav countries and regions.

We hope you find this website of use. Should you wish to find out more about our teaching and research activities, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Dr Jim Smyth, Head of Department