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King's College London
You are viewing a course in < Politics and economics
Postgraduate degree

Political Economy MA

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The Political Economy MA is a broad-based multidisciplinary course that will develop your critical understanding of the UK and global political and economic institutions. You will also acquire the theoretical and empirical skills necessary to engage with contemporary domestic and world affairs at an advanced level.

Key benefits

  • An interdisciplinary course utilising elements from the fields of politics, philosophy and economics.
  • Learn a wide range of theoretical approaches in political economy- both mainstream and heterodox.
  • Intensive study based on the relationship between institutional/empirical analysis and standards of ethical evaluation.
  • Located in the heart of London, the Department of Political Economy has a strong reputation for research-led teaching and links to industry.

The Political Economy MA is an innovative course designed to provide you with an understanding of the theory necessary to engage in the interdisciplinary analysis of political economy. The course will also equip you with essential research, analytical and critical thinking skills. The course is made up of optional and required modules. You must take modules totalling a minimum of 180 credits and a maximum of 195 credits to meet the requirements of the qualification, 60 credits will come from a dissertation of around 10,000 words. You will study Key Concepts in Contemporary Political Economy and in addition to completing a required 10,000-word dissertation, you will also choose further related modules to support your study interests.

Base campuses

strand-quad
Strand Campus

Located on the north bank of the River Thames, the Strand Campus houses King's College London's arts and sciences faculties.

waterloo-banner
Waterloo Campus

Waterloo campus is home of the Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing & Midwifery and facilities for other faculties

Regulating bodies

King's is regulated by the Office for Students

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Teaching methods - what to expect

Lectures
Seminars
Self-Study

Curious to find out more? Access on-demand content including taster lectures and talks, and meet our current staff and students on our subject hub page.

We will use a delivery method that will ensure students have a rich, exciting experience from the start. Face to face teaching will be complemented and supported with innovative technology so that students also experience elements of digital learning and assessment.

We use lectures, seminars and group tutorials to deliver most of the modules on the course. You will also be expected to undertake a significant amount of independent study.

 
Module Lectures, seminars and feedback Self-study
Per 15-credit taught module

The total contact time for each 15-credit taught module is 20 hours.

 Each 15-credit taught module has 130 hours of self-guided learning time.
Dissertation module A set of dissertation workshops plus one-to-one dissertation consultations. 592 hours self-study and project work.

Typically, one credit equates to 10 hours of work.

Assessment

  • Essays
  • Exams
  • Dissertation

The primary method of assessment for this course is a combination of written examinations and coursework. Assessment patterns will vary across modules, but examples of typical assessments for 15-credit modules would be a 3,000-word essay or a 2-hour unseen examination. The assessment of the dissertation module will be through a 1,000-word research proposal (10%) and a 10,000-word dissertation (90%).

Structure

Required modules

You are required to take the following modules:

Key Concepts in Contemporary Political Economy (30 credits)
Dissertation (60 Credits)

If you are taking the part-time course, you will usually take Key Concepts in Contemporary Political Economy during the first year of your programme and the dissertation during the second year.

Optional modules

You will take an additional 90 credits from a range of optional modules that may typically include:

Comparative Political Economy (15 credits)
The Politics of Regulation (15 credits)
Game Theory & Political Economy (15 credits)
Quantitative Methods in Political Economy (15 credits)
Media, Elections & Campaigning (15 credits)
Institutions & Economic Development (15 credits)

If you are taking the part-time course, the Department will allow you to select how many optional modules you wish to take during Year 1 and during Year 2. Students may take a maximum of 30 out of the 90 optional credits from level 7 modules outside of their programme’s approved module list, subject to approval by the Programme Director. Students may take an additional non-assessed credit language module in addition to the required 180 credits.

King’s College London reviews the modules offered on a regular basis to provide up-to-date, innovative and relevant programmes of study. Therefore, modules offered may change. We suggest you keep an eye on the course finder on our website for updates.

Please note that modules with a practical component will be capped due to educational requirements, which may mean that we cannot guarantee a place to all students who elect to study this module.

Employability

Studying a degree with the Department of Political Economy equips students with certain skills required in the public and private sectors, and for work in civil organisations. A typical postgraduate student will gain strong theoretical and empirical skills for the analysis of complex economic and political phenomena. These skills are highly valued in fields such as finance, consultancy, law and the civil service.

 

Destinations

Recent graduates have found employment within the following job roles and companies:

  • Junior political consultant
  • Public affairs executive
  • Financial analyst

Tuition Fees

UK:

Full time: £14,070 per year (2022/23)

Part time: £7,035 per year (2022/23)

International:

Full time: £25,950 per year (2022/23)

Part time: £12,975 per year (2022/23)

These tuition fees may be subject to additional increases in subsequent years of study, in line with King’s terms and conditions.

Deposit

When you receive an offer for this course you will be required to pay a non-refundable deposit to secure your place. The deposit will be credited towards your total fee payment.

The UK deposit is £500.

The INTERNATIONAL deposit is £2,000.

  • If you receive an offer on or before 31 March, payment is due by 25 April 2022.
  • If you receive an offer between 1 April and 30 June, payment is due within one month of receiving the offer.
  • If you receive an offer between 1 July and 31 July, payment is due within two weeks of receiving the offer.
  • If you receive an offer between 1 August and 21 August, payment is due within one week of receiving the offer.
  • If you receive an offer from 22 August onwards, payment is due within three days of receiving the offer.

If you are a current King’s student in receipt of the King's Living Bursary you are not required to pay a deposit to secure your place on the programme. Please note, this will not change the total fees payable for your chosen programme.

Please visit our web pages on fees and funding for more information.

Additional Costs

In addition to your tuition costs, you can also expect to pay for:

  • Books if you choose to buy your own copies
  • Clothing for optional course related events and competitions
  • Library fees and fines
  • Personal photocopies
  • Printing course handouts 
  • Society membership fees
  • Stationery 
  • Travel costs for travel around London and between campuses

Funding

The Political Economy MA is an innovative course designed to provide you with an understanding of the theory necessary to engage in the interdisciplinary analysis of political economy. The course will also equip you with essential research, analytical and critical thinking skills. The course is made up of optional and required modules. You must take modules totalling a minimum of 180 credits and a maximum of 195 credits to meet the requirements of the qualification, 60 credits will come from a dissertation of around 10,000 words. You will study Key Concepts in Contemporary Political Economy and in addition to completing a required 10,000-word dissertation, you will also choose further related modules to support your study interests.

Base campuses

strand-quad
Strand Campus

Located on the north bank of the River Thames, the Strand Campus houses King's College London's arts and sciences faculties.

waterloo-banner
Waterloo Campus

Waterloo campus is home of the Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing & Midwifery and facilities for other faculties

Regulating bodies

King's is regulated by the Office for Students

Loading...

Teaching methods - what to expect

Lectures
Seminars
Self-Study

Curious to find out more? Access on-demand content including taster lectures and talks, and meet our current staff and students on our subject hub page.

We will use a delivery method that will ensure students have a rich, exciting experience from the start. Face to face teaching will be complemented and supported with innovative technology so that students also experience elements of digital learning and assessment.

We use lectures, seminars and group tutorials to deliver most of the modules on the course. You will also be expected to undertake a significant amount of independent study.

 
Module Lectures, seminars and feedback Self-study
Per 15-credit taught module

The total contact time for each 15-credit taught module is 20 hours.

 Each 15-credit taught module has 130 hours of self-guided learning time.
Dissertation module A set of dissertation workshops plus one-to-one dissertation consultations. 592 hours self-study and project work.

Typically, one credit equates to 10 hours of work.

Assessment

  • Essays
  • Exams
  • Dissertation

The primary method of assessment for this course is a combination of written examinations and coursework. Assessment patterns will vary across modules, but examples of typical assessments for 15-credit modules would be a 3,000-word essay or a 2-hour unseen examination. The assessment of the dissertation module will be through a 1,000-word research proposal (10%) and a 10,000-word dissertation (90%).

Structure

Required modules

You are required to take the following modules:

Key Concepts in Contemporary Political Economy (30 credits)
Dissertation (60 Credits)

If you are taking the part-time course, you will usually take Key Concepts in Contemporary Political Economy during the first year of your programme and the dissertation during the second year.

Optional modules

You will take an additional 90 credits from a range of optional modules that may typically include:

Comparative Political Economy (15 credits)
The Politics of Regulation (15 credits)
Game Theory & Political Economy (15 credits)
Quantitative Methods in Political Economy (15 credits)
Media, Elections & Campaigning (15 credits)
Institutions & Economic Development (15 credits)

If you are taking the part-time course, the Department will allow you to select how many optional modules you wish to take during Year 1 and during Year 2. Students may take a maximum of 30 out of the 90 optional credits from level 7 modules outside of their programme’s approved module list, subject to approval by the Programme Director. Students may take an additional non-assessed credit language module in addition to the required 180 credits.

King’s College London reviews the modules offered on a regular basis to provide up-to-date, innovative and relevant programmes of study. Therefore, modules offered may change. We suggest you keep an eye on the course finder on our website for updates.

Please note that modules with a practical component will be capped due to educational requirements, which may mean that we cannot guarantee a place to all students who elect to study this module.

Employability

Studying a degree with the Department of Political Economy equips students with certain skills required in the public and private sectors, and for work in civil organisations. A typical postgraduate student will gain strong theoretical and empirical skills for the analysis of complex economic and political phenomena. These skills are highly valued in fields such as finance, consultancy, law and the civil service.

 

Destinations

Recent graduates have found employment within the following job roles and companies:

  • Junior political consultant
  • Public affairs executive
  • Financial analyst

Tuition Fees

UK:

Full time: £14,070 per year (2022/23)

Part time: £7,035 per year (2022/23)

International:

Full time: £25,950 per year (2022/23)

Part time: £12,975 per year (2022/23)

These tuition fees may be subject to additional increases in subsequent years of study, in line with King’s terms and conditions.

Deposit

When you receive an offer for this course you will be required to pay a non-refundable deposit to secure your place. The deposit will be credited towards your total fee payment.

The UK deposit is £500.

The INTERNATIONAL deposit is £2,000.

  • If you receive an offer on or before 31 March, payment is due by 25 April 2022.
  • If you receive an offer between 1 April and 30 June, payment is due within one month of receiving the offer.
  • If you receive an offer between 1 July and 31 July, payment is due within two weeks of receiving the offer.
  • If you receive an offer between 1 August and 21 August, payment is due within one week of receiving the offer.
  • If you receive an offer from 22 August onwards, payment is due within three days of receiving the offer.

If you are a current King’s student in receipt of the King's Living Bursary you are not required to pay a deposit to secure your place on the programme. Please note, this will not change the total fees payable for your chosen programme.

Please visit our web pages on fees and funding for more information.

Additional Costs

In addition to your tuition costs, you can also expect to pay for:

  • Books if you choose to buy your own copies
  • Clothing for optional course related events and competitions
  • Library fees and fines
  • Personal photocopies
  • Printing course handouts 
  • Society membership fees
  • Stationery 
  • Travel costs for travel around London and between campuses

Funding

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