Department of Political Economy

The Department of Political Economy provides a focus for cross-department and cross-School teaching programmes in which public policy is a pervasive theme. Drawing on King's existing strengths in the study of education, the law, the military, religion and European studies, the programme provides a multidisciplinary resource dedicated to the development and understanding of effective public policy with a blend of internationalism, interdisciplinarity and commitment to active policy engagement. The programme team work with other parts of the College to develop graduate programmes that integrate core public policy options with more specialist thematic courses.

A generic course in research design is provided to MA students as part of the dissertation preparation process. PhD students receive five types of training: (1) You will regularly discuss your work and methods with your supervisors; (2) The new doctoral training centre (the ‘KISS-DTC’) runs basic and advanced courses on research design and methods, including seminars and workshops with leading national and international scholars; (3) You and the other PhD students will meet our PhD director every few weeks, for group sessions on issues such as publication tactics; (4) The Research Development Programme runs courses on topics such as presentation skills and research ethics; (5) MA courses can also be attended to fill in gaps in your knowledge.

Teaching is based on the Strand Campus, offering extensive student facilities and with the cultural attractions of the South Bank and Covent Garden on its doorstep. The library and computing facilities are readily accessible, and students also have the opportunity to use the University of London library at Senate House.

Some limited bursaries are available for students taking MA programmes in the public policy field.