MA Political Economy (Standard Route)

The University holds regular open days, where you will have the opportunity to tour the campus and find out more about our facilities and courses.

On this day, you will find out more about the School of Social Sciences and our resources, and meet academic and admissions staff who will be able to answer any questions you have.

For more information, see open days and visits .

Apply here

Due to high demand for this course, we operate a staged admissions process with selection deadlines throughout the year, as follows:

• 1 November (decision by8 December; accept offer by 15 January)
• 7January (decision by 15 February, accept offer by 15 March)
• 1 March (decision by8 April, accept offer by 8 May)
• 1 May (decision by 1 June, accept offer by 1 July)

If we make you an offer, you will have approximately 4 weeks in which to accept (conditional and un-conditional offers). Any offers not accepted by the deadline will be withdrawn so that an offer can be made to another candidate.

All conditional offer holders will have until 1 August to satisfy the conditions of their offer.

Due to competition for places, we give preference to students with grades above our minimum entry requirements. 

You need to ensure that you submit your supporting documents with your online application as it may delay us processing your application before the decision deadline.

Whilst we aim to give you a decision on your application by the decision date, in some instances due to the competition for places/volume of applications received, it may be necessary to roll your application forward to the next deadline date. If this is the case we will let you know after the deadline date.

Applications received after our final selection deadline will be considered at our discretion if places are still available.

We can accept your application before you complete your undergraduate studies; please submit your latest transcripts with your online application. 

Please note: 

• all places are subject to availability and if you apply for one of the later dates, some courses may already be closed, we recommend that you apply early in the cycle to secure your place with us;
• meeting the minimum entry requirements does not guarantee an offer;
• international applicants who will require a visa to study in the UK can obtain up-to-date information on the latest student visa advice and guidelines;
• if you are a current undergraduate student at the University of Manchester, you may be eligible to apply via the 'Fast-Track' scheme, email pg-soss@manchester.ac.uk for further information;
• For a copy of the Postgraduate prospectus, email pg-soss@manchester.ac.uk .

The MA in Political Economy course at the University of Manchester offers a cross-disciplinary curriculum of study in political economy. The MA is housed in the Centre for the Study of Political Economy, which brings together the world-class research strengths in the field of political economy at the University of Manchester.

The course is taught by members across the Faculty of Humanities in the School of Social Sciences, the School of Environment and Development, and the Alliance Manchester Business School.

You will pursue your particular interests in political economy through one of our four pathways:

• theoretical political economy;
• political economy of society, space and environment;
• political economy of finance, business and work; or
• Political economy of development.

Each pathway offers courses drawn from across the different disciplines in the schools, offering you exposure to the full breadth of the field of political economy.

Part-time students complete the full-time course over two years. There are no evening or weekend course units available on the part-time route.  

You must first check the schedule of the compulsory units and then select your optional units to suit your requirements.  

Updated timetable information will be available from mid-August and you will have the opportunity to discuss your unit choices during induction week with your course director.

As a School of Social Sciences postgraduate at Manchester, you will have access to a wide range of careers support tailored to your career or further study.

For more information, see Careers and Employability .