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MA Political Economy (Standard Route)
Year of entry: 2020
Overview
- Degree awarded
- Master of Arts (MA)
- Duration
- 1 year (full-time); 2 years (part-time)
- Entry requirements
-
Applicants are expected to have a first or upper second class Honours degree or its international equivalent. We welcome applicants from a range of degree backgrounds, including Economics, Politics, Philosophy, Anthropology, Sociology, and Geography.
- How to apply
Apply here
Course options
| Full-time | Part-time | Full-time distance learning | Part-time distance learning | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MA | Y | Y | N | N |
Course overview
- Benefit from a course that draws on a long and highly distinguished tradition of political economy at The University of Manchester
- Develop your interest in a unique, cross-disciplinary curriculum of study in political economy
- Pursue your own particular interests in political economy through one of our distinct pathways
Open days
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.
During the open day, you will have the opportunity to 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 .
Fees
For entry in the academic year beginning September 2020, the tuition fees are as follows:
-
MA (full-time)
UK/EU students (per annum): £9,500
International students (per annum): £20,000 -
MA (part-time)
UK/EU students (per annum): £4,750
International students (per annum): £10,000
The fees quoted above will be fully inclusive for the course tuition, administration and computational costs during your studies.
All fees for entry will be subject to yearly review and incremental rises per annum are also likely over the duration of courses lasting more than a year for UK/EU students (fees are typically fixed for International students, for the course duration at the year of entry). For general fees information please visit: postgraduate fees . Always contact the department if you are unsure which fee applies to your qualification award and method of attendance.
Self-funded international applicants for this course will be required to pay a deposit of £1000 towards their tuition fees before a confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS) is issued. This deposit will only be refunded if immigration permission is refused. We will notify you about how and when to make this payment.
Policy on additional costs
All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).
Scholarships/sponsorships
The Manchester Alumni Scholarship Scheme offers a £3,000 reduction in tuition fees to University of Manchester alumni who achieved a first-class bachelor's degree and are progressing to a postgraduate taught master's course.
For more information, see fees and funding or search the University's postgraduate funding database .
Contact details
- School/Faculty
- School of Social Sciences
- Contact name
- Zoe Woodend
- Telephone
- +44 (0) 161 275 1296
- Facsimile
- +44 (0) 161 275 2450
- pg-soss@manchester.ac.uk
- Website
- http://www.manchester.ac.uk/politics
- School/Faculty
-
See: School Subjects
Courses in related subject areas
Use the links below to view lists of courses in related subject areas.
Entry requirements
Academic entry qualification overview
English language
- IELTS - overall score of 7, including 7 in writing with no further component score below 6.5;
- TOEFL IBT 103 with 28 in writing and no further score below 25 in each section. TOEFL code for Manchester is 0757.
Scores are valid for 2 years.
Please note that CAS statements are issued only when all conditions of the offer have been satisfied, PDF copy of passport received and the offer accepted.
Applicants from certain countries may be exempt from having to provide an IELTS or TOEFL score. For further advice, email pg-soss@manchester.ac.uk .
Pre-Sessional English Courses
If you are eligible to do a pre-sessional English course (either 6 weeks or 10 weeks, depending on your English score), you will need to successfully complete the course at the required level before you are permitted to register on your academic course.
English language test validity
Application and selection
How to apply
Apply here
Advice to applicants
Due to high demand for this course, we operate a staged admissions process with selection deadlines throughout the year:
- 1 November (decision by 8 December; accept offer by 15 January);
- 7 January (decision by 14 February, accept offer by 16 March);
- 2 March (decision by 8 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 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.
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;
- 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 .
How your application is considered
Re-applications
Course details
Course description
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.
The course is taught by members from 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.
Teaching and learning
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.
Course unit details
All students studying the MA Political Economy course take a core unit, Theoretical Approaches to Political Economy, which provides a thorough grounding in both classical and contemporary theories of political economy and introduces the basic concepts of the discipline.
If you are studying on the standard route, you will also take at least two core units, and three optional units from your chosen pathway. You will also undertake research training units in Dissertation Research Design. Taught units comprise two thirds of the course. The remainder of the course consists of a 12,000-15,000 word dissertation on a substantial issue in political economy.
Course unit list
The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.
| Title | Code | Credit rating | Mandatory/optional |
|---|---|---|---|
| Theoretical Approaches to Political Economy | POEC61011 | 30 | Mandatory |
| Dissertation Research Design | POLI60312 | 15 | Mandatory |
| Dissertation | POLI72000 | 60 | Mandatory |
| The Political Economy of Global Business | BMAN62012 | 15 | Optional |
| Multinationals and Comparative Employment Systems | BMAN70051 | 15 | Optional |
| Analysing Companies | BMAN72201 | 15 | Optional |
| Microeconomic Theory | ECON60101 | 15 | Optional |
| Macroeconomic Analysis | ECON60111 | 15 | Optional |
| Poverty, Inequality and Government Policy in Less Developed Countries | ECON60212 | 15 | Optional |
| Non-Market Valuation | ECON60422 | 15 | Optional |
| Displaying 10 of 40 course units | |||
| Display all course units | |||
Disability support
Careers
Career opportunities
Recent MA Political Economy graduates have gone into careers in academia, the civil service, journalism, the NGO sector, and wide range of related positions in both the public and private sectors among others.
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 .