Arts - Politics
Our BA degree programme at University College Cork is the gateway to the immense and exciting possibilities of education. We offer a wide variety of subjects across diverse fields – this allows you the flexibility and opportunity to choose your career pathway or postgraduate route.
| Award Name | Degree - Honours Bachelor (Level 8 NFQ) |
|---|---|
| NFQ Classification | Major |
| Awarding Body | National University of Ireland |
| NFQ Level | Level 8 NFQ |
| Award Name | NFQ Classification | Awarding Body | NFQ Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Degree - Honours Bachelor (Level 8 NFQ) | Major | National University of Ireland | Level 8 NFQ |
Duration
3 years, full-time.
Specific Subjects or course requirements
Leaving Certificate Entry Requirements
At least six subjects must be presented. Minimum grade H5 in two subjects and minimum grade O6/H7 in four other subjects. English and Irish are requirements for all programmes unless the applicant is exempt from Irish. Applicants will need to meet the following minimum entry requirements:
English O6/H7
Irish O6/H7
Other Language O6/H7
Leaving Certificate Vocational Progamme LCVP
Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme LCVP
Distinction 66 points
Merit 46 points
Pass 28 points
QQI FET Applicants General Information
Careers / Further progression
Skills and Careers Information
We aim to help our students develop a broad set of skills that will enhance their development as resourceful and reflective citizens. Politics graduates have excellent analytical and critical thinking skills and we emphasise effective communication skills throughout the programme. This means a focus on clear and insightful writing but also on effective oral communication, from making presentations to contributing to classroom discussions.
Our graduates have gone on to become:
political advisers
journalists
officials in international organisations
teachers
business analysts
campaign coordinators for charities, interest groups and political parties
policy analysts
administrators
recruitment consultants
and of course, a small number have become politicians!
Politics and Society is now a Leaving Certificate subject and this has opened up significant teaching opportunities for our graduates.
Further information
September 2026
CK101 Arts: Approximate Available Places 50
Find out about the mature entry requirements at https://www.ucc.ie/en/study/undergrad/entryreqs/matureapplicants/
CK101 Arts: Approximate Available Places Overall 500
Entry 2026
Early online application (discounted): Fee €35 Closing Date: 20 January 2026 at 5pm
Normal online application: Fee €50 Closing Date: 1 February 2026 at 5pm
Late online application - restrictions apply (see page 3 2026 CAO Handbook): Fee: €65 Closing Date: 1 May 2026 at 5pm
Change of Mind - restrictions apply (see page 3 2026 CAO Handbook): Fee: Nil Closing Date: 1 July 2026 at 5pm
Be sure to complete any action well in advance of closing dates. You should avoid making an application close to a closing date. No extensions to closing dates will be allowed and all application fees are non-refundable.
LATE APPLICATIONS
Late Applications are those which are received after 5pm on 1 February 2026. The closing date for late applications is 5pm on 1 May 2026, subject to the restrictions listed on page 3 of the 2026 CAO Handbook. The online facility for late applications opens on the 5 March 2026 at 12:00 noon - a fee of €65 applies.
Restrictions
As a CAO applicant you may experience one or more of the following restrictions based on your course choices, your category of application, or restrictions imposed by the HEIs that you wish to apply to. Please read the section on 'Restrictions' on page 3 of the 2026 CAO Handbook carefully. This section includes information on:
General Restrictions
1. Making a late application
2. Making changes to your course choices
Restricted Courses
3. Applying for a restricted course
Mature Applicants
4. Mature applicants
Supplementary Admissions Routes
5. Applying for DARE and/or HEAR
This programme gives you the space to explore your options. Ultimately you will not only excel in specific subject knowledge you will develop those intellectual, social and management skills essential for today’s working environment.
Our Arts CK101 programme is a full-time three-year honours programme, based at the College of Arts, Celtic Studies & Social Sciences (CACSSS). If you wish to spend a year abroad at one of our partner institutions in Europe and beyond, you can apply to our four-year Arts (International) CK108 programme which is open to language and non-language students.
Subject options on registration: Students choose four subjects from the list below in Year 1, with not more than one subject from any group.
Students continue with 2 of these subjects in Years 2 & 3:
Group 1: Asian Studies, Computer Science***, History, Portuguese
Group 2(a)*: History of Art
Group 2(b)*: European Studies, Folklore, Gaeilge/Irish, Greek and Roman Civilisation, Studies in Psychology****
Group 3: Archaeology, Chinese Studies, German, Latin***, Mathematical Studies, Politics
Group 4: French, Sociology, Studies in Music
Group 5: Béaloideas, Economics, English, Greek***, Religions and Global Diversity
Group 6(a)**: Geography, Italian
Group 6(b)**: Celtic Civilisation, Philosophy, Spanish
*Groups 2(a) and 2(b): Students can combine History of Art with any subject from Group 2(a) in Year 1 only.Students can only study one subject from Groups 2(a) and 2(b) in Years 2 & 3.
**Groups 6(a) and 6(b): From Year 2, students may combine Italian with Spanish, but students may not combine Italian with Celtic Civilisation or Philosophy; or Geography with Celtic Civilisation, Philosophy or Spanish.
***These subjects are available in First Arts and thereafter only as a 10-credit subject in the Single Subject Programme
****This subject is available in Year 1 only
A degree in Politics gives you a flexible qualification for the 21st century, providing you with sought-after analytical and practical skills, in research and communication
Politics is available in all three years of the BA degree, and you may study it as a single, major, or joint honours subject. Politics is built around three pillars with contributions from the Department of Government and Politics, the School of History, and the Department of Philosophy.
Modules
Year 1
PO1001 Introduction to Politics (15 credits)
Year 2
PO2001 Political Analysis (5 credits)
Elective Modules (Subject to change from year to year)
An Introduction to Political Philosophy;
Ancient Philosophy
Applied Ethics
Capitalism & Welfare
Chinese Politics
Citizen Participation
Comparative European Politics
Conflict and Conflict Resolution
Elections and Voting
Feminist Philosophy
Global Political Economy - Trade
Institutions of the EU; Mediterranean Politics
Model European Union
Philosophy of Knowledge
Roman Political Thought: Cicero
The European Union and the International System
USA Politics; Violence and War
Women, Gender and Politics
1989 Revolutions: Poland & East Central Europe - transition to Democracy.
Year 3*/4
PO3001 Dissertation (10 credits)
Elective Modules (Subject to change from year to year)
Censorship in Twentieth-Century Ireland
Climate Assemblies; Contemporary Debates in Ireland
Contemporary Ecological and Anti-Capitalist Politics; Democracy: Theories and Innovations
European Security; Global Governance
Global Political Economy - Finance
Ireland & International Relations
Issues in Irish Politics; Moral Philosophy in Theory and Practice
Moral Psychology
Nuclear Politics and Proliferation
Political Ideologies and Social Change
Political Philosophy in Theory and Practice
Professional Ethics
The Politics of Church and State
US Military Intervention and Memory after the Vietnam War (1975-2017).
*BA International students spend Year 3 studying in an approved foreign university in a country of the student's major language or subject. They will return to complete their final year in UCC in year 4.
Dr Fiona Buckley
f.buckley@ucc.ie
+353 (0)21 4903237
https://www.ucc.ie/en/government-and-politics/