About Us

Since its establishment in 1964, the Department of Government at Essex has steadily consolidated its reputation as the best Politics department in the UK and in Europe. The Department has gained the highest possible rating in all Research Assessment Exercises (RAE), most recently being judged the UK’s best Politics department in the 2008 RAE. Uniquely, the Department submitted its entire full-time academic staff for assessment. The Department offers a full range of Undergraduate, taught Postgraduate and Research degrees, all informed by its world-class research excellence, commitment to rigorous, high-quality political science analysis, and focus on contemporary political problems. As one of the largest departments at the University of Essex, it is able to cover a wide range of approaches and specialisms and hosts:

• The British Journal of Political Science
• The British Election Study
• The Essex Summer School in Social Science Data Analysis
• Departmental Seminars
• IDA World
• The European Consortium for Political Research

For Undergraduates, the Department offers:

• Core degree courses in Politics and International Relations
• Joint degree courses with other university departments and centres, including Law, Economics, Philosophy (including the PPE), Sociology, Human Rights, History and Modern Languages
• Study Abroad options
• A thorough grounding in analytical skills and research methods

For Postgraduates, the Department offers:

• A comprehensive suite of MA, MSc and MRes courses covering the full range of research fields, approaches and methodologies
• Rigorous training in analytical skills: qualitative and quantitative; theoretical and empirical; global, local and comparative
• Teaching and supervision by staff who are specialists in their fields, share a cosmopolitan background and outlook, and publish research that is internationally recognised (95% according to the 2008 RAE)

 For PhD Students, the Department offers:

• A stimulating research environment
• Supervision by internationally recognised specialists
• A high-quality Professional Development Programme
• A rolling programme of advanced modules to provide training in advanced modules to provide training in advanced research skills and methods

Currently, there are 30 full-time academic members of staff, close to 400 Undergraduate students, approximately 70 Masters and 100 PhD students in the Department.

Graduation 2010

In July 2010, the Graduation ceremony for the Department of Government took place. A selection of photos are available to view.

Last modified on 01 October 2011