These degree programmes help you acquire important analytical skills. You learn to find your way among different arguments, rival theories and alternative explanations. You also learn about campaigns, elections, protest movements, policy issues and political ideals. Politics may be studied with another subject as part of a Joint Honours degree programme. In each year of the degree you take two or three political science courses together with courses in your second subject. In the first year you take a foundation course and a module in Classical Political Thought. In the second year you take any two or three courses selected from the many options available to Single Honours students. In the final year you select two or three courses from those available to third-year Single Honours students. Social Policy is an interdisciplinary degree, drawing on subjects such as sociology, politics, psychology, history, media studies, and philosophy; hence the degree is suitable for students currently studying a range of A level subjects. Social Policy joint honours degree programmes enable students to blend the interdisciplinary approach to Social Policy with the study of a complementary discipline. Social Policy at Birmingham has been ranked among the top Social Policy programmes in the country.

An Employer Relations and Work Experience team leads on coordinating four major careers fairs each year, bringing a wide range of national and international graduate employers on to campus each year to meet with students. This team also manages a database of internships and graduate vacancies including Global Challenge; a unique scheme to give ambitious students once-in-a-lifetime opportunities as interns in top global companies.