University of Johannesburg Politics Department

The vision of the Department of Politics is to advance critical and professional scholarship in politics and international relations through research, teaching and community service.​

The Department of Politics has a long tradition of teaching and research in the fields of politics and international relations at both undergraduate and post-graduate levels.  The Department boasts specialists in both politics and international relations.

At undergraduate level, we offer degrees in BA Politics, BA Politics Philosophy and Economics (PPE) and BA International Studies.

The undergraduate Politics curriculum includes courses in Introduction to Politics; South African Politics; Political Risk; Policy Analysis and Political Philosophy and Thought.

The undergraduate International Relations curriculum covers courses in Introduction to International Relations; Foreign Policy Analysis; South African Foreign Policy; Conflict and Cooperation and International Political Economy.

At postgraduate level, we offer degrees at Honours, Masters and Doctoral levels.

Our Honours degree offers both Politics and International Relations subjects and includes a compulsory module in Research Methodology. This module involves theoretical coursework as well as a compulsory mini-dissertation (or long essay).  The compulsory research module is taken with four auxiliary modules, chosen from International Organisations; Key Issues in International Relations; South African Politics; International Political Economy; International Conflict; Politics and Gender;  Thought Systems and Theories in Politics; and Key Issues in Comparative Politics.

Our graduates have entered a wide range of careers in the public service at national, provincial and local levels, the private sector, the media and academia, among others.  Some have opted for politics, serving in elected bodies at various levels of government.

Since graduate studies form a critical part of our teaching programme, we also offer an MA as well as a D Litt et Phil degree.  Both of these degrees are dissertation/thesis-based.​