All taught postgraduate programmes in Politics and International Relations, Development Studies and Sociology can be studied on a part-time basis.

We have approximately 20 students studying part-time each year. Part-time students must complete 6 taught units plus the dissertation within 2 years rather than 1 year for full-time study.

All seminars run during daytime hours, so if you work you would need to negotiate time off during the week. Depending on how you split your unit choices over the 2 years you would need to commit between 2 and 4 hours per week to attend seminars. You should also set time aside during the week for work towards presentations. The rest of your time is for preparatory reading and essay writing.

The School is flexible and will try to slot you into seminar times to suit your work commitments but this is not always possible as the timetable changes each year. The timetable is confirmed in August of each year and the School will get in touch with all students holding a part-time offer to ask if they would like to choose their preferred seminar slots before registration.

Part-time students can take their taught units in widely varying patterns to fit their needs. For example, they can take fewer units in their first year and more in their second year. Alternatively, below is an example for a Part-time student taking an MSc commencing in September who prefers to take four taught units in their first year and two in their second year:

Year One: Teaching block 1

• Sept - Dec: 1 mandatory unit (2 hours per week)
• January: Essay hand-in

Year One: Teaching block 2

• Feb – May: 2 optional units (4 hours per week)
• May: Essay hand in

• Break for summer

Year Two:Teaching block 1

• Sept – Dec: 2 mandatory units (4 hours per week)
• Jan: Essay hand in

Year Two: Teaching block 2

• Feb – May: 1 optional unit (2 hours per week)
• May: Essay hand in
• Summer: Dissertation
• Sept: Dissertation hand in