The Certificate in Political Science is offered to Visiting Students only (i.e. JYA students, Visiting Erasmus students, etc). It runs in Semester 1 of each year (September - December).

To be considered for the award of Certificate in Political Science a student must have satisfactorily attended modules to the value of 30 credits below.

Core Modules

Students take 20 credits as follows:
GV1217 Introduction to Political Science (5 credits)
GV2232 Quantitative Methods for Political Science (5 credits)
GV2234 Core Issues in Comparative European Government (5 credits)
GV2236 International Politics 1: Concepts and Theories (5 credits)

Elective Modules

Students choose one module to the value of 5 credits from the following list of elective modules and one other 5 credit module from any academic department offering modules to Visiting Students, subject to timetable constraints.

GV1102 Introduction to Government and Politics (5 credits)
GV1204 Democracy, Ideology and Utopia (5 credits)
GV4101 Perspectives on French Politics (5 credits)
GV2223 Global Politics (5 credits)
GV2225 International Relations of Asia (5 credits)
GV2229 Citizen Participation (5 credits)
GV2235 Policy making in the European Union (5 credits)
GV2237 International Politics 2: Contemporary Debates (5 credits)
GV3216 Contemporary Ecological and Anti-Capitalist Politics (5 credits)
GV3218 Asia in Comparative Perspective (5 credits)
GV4000 The Politics of Public Health Management (5 credits)
GV4309 The European Union: Issues and Policies (5 credits)
GV4410 Democracy: Theories and Innovations (5 credits)
HI1115 Introduction to Irish History for Visiting Students (5 credits)
LW2102 Economic Law of the European Union (5 credits)
PH2004 An Introduction to Political Philosophy (5 credits)
SC3007 Introduction to Planning and Sustainable Development (5 credits)
SC3009 Sociology of Religions and Civilisations (5 credits)
SS2004 Personal Lives and Family Policy (5 credits)
SS3015 The Politics of Racism (5 credits)

Module Semester Information may be found here. Module Descriptions may be found here.

Examinations
Full details of regulations governing Examinations for each programme will be contained in the Marks and Standards 2016 Book, and for each module in the Book of Modules, 2015/2016.

Programme Learning Outcomes for the Certificate in Political Science (NFQ Level 7, Special Purpose Award)

On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:

• Understand key concepts in political science;
• Apply these concepts to contemporary cases;
• Assess the merits of competing arguments in political science;
• Research and write political science assignments.