Politics

Options with a degree in Politics

A degree in Politics equips you with a wide range of skills and knowledge that are applicable across a wide range of sectors.

show a thorough knowledge of political ideas, institutions and practice
demonstrate understanding of key political events which have shaped the world
formulate and advocate solutions to problems
identify, analyse and interpret complex information drawn from a variety of sources
prepare and present an argument coherently and with authority
demonstrate transferable skills relating to communication, organisation, teamwork and critical reasoning.

These skills, along with other factors of career choice – what you like doing (your interests), what’s important to you (your values) and your personality type – will help you make informed career decisions. Remember that your career may be based on the skills you’ve gained over the course of your degree studies.

Some of the main career options with a Politics degree are:

You can find out more about these on Prospects what can I do with a politics degree? as well as the wide variety of jobs where your skills and knowledge are applicable. TARGETJobs also has very detailed information on politics based careers

Useful resources to help with your careers research

The icould.com website also has a full range of careers information interviews and case studies featuring numerous different roles which you can search through a selection of a few are listed below:

To help you explore the wide range of career options open to you have a look at Prospects what can I do with my degree? and take the Prospects Career Planner Quiz.

Volunteering

If you are interested in gaining some voluntary experience locally you may find the following websites helpful

Volunteer Scotland – search for Dundee and current vacancies will come up
Dundee Volunteer and Voluntary Action

Looking to make the most of your volunteering? Why not sign up for the Dundee Plus Award which helps you reflect on and develop your employability skills. It even gives you evidence to add to your CV.

Internships & work experience

GOV.UK – Working for FCDO – Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Civil Service Fast Stream Internships
United Nations Internship Programme
GoinGlobal– International Internships and Job options
Organising Work experience in a MP’s office
Operation Black Vote – MP Shadowing Scheme gives BAME people a chance to work shadow MPs

Citizens Advice Bureau – Volunteer with the CAB and help members of the public resolve various issues. There may also be the opportunity to get involved with research or campaigning
Chatham House – Internships in international economics and regional studies
Adam Smith Institute – Internships specialising in the free market and social policy
CIVITAS– Voluntary and paid internships in research
Traineeships and study visits to the European Parliament
Henry Jackson Society– Voluntary internships in research
Carnegie Trust Scholarships – develop your research skills through a summer project
Saltire – a world-class internship programme, which prepares students in their penultimate year of study by taking part in projects in Scotland and all over the world
Forage – host of thousands of free virtual job simulations
For some University of Dundee students, you may be eligible to take our 20 credit level 2 Internship Module.

Sometimes, making a speculative application may be the way to get that work placement or internship that you want. If you’d like to talk through how to approach a potential employer, feel free to contact the Careers Service.

Finding a graduate job

General job searching sites for graduates – all disciplines

The following websites may be helpful to search the wider job market, where your transferable skills can be applied.

University of Dundee JobShop
Prospects
TARGETjobs
Graduate Career Advantage Scotland – GCAS funds internships and provides careers support to bridge the gap between recent graduates and employers in Scotland.
Milkround
GradJobs
Bright Green Business

Graduate schemes

Many leading UK employers across all industries run graduate training programmes, to discover the benefits of these schemes and how you apply the links below will help: