Global Political Economy

The new MSc Global Political Economy provides a cross-disciplinary perspective on the interplay of global political and economic forces that shape our world. You will develop an in-depth understanding of actors and structures governing the global economy. You will then be able to explore a wide variety of topics ranging from the politics of international production, trade and finance to the challenges of global economic governance, dynamics of North-South relations, patterns of inter-state economic rivalry and the future of international capitalism.

Our academic staff have a strong research reputation in this field. You will gain the perspectives of internationally renowned law, economics and management experts at Birkbeck who provide theoretical and policy insight into some of the most vital issues facing humanity today. This course will also give you the opportunity to undertake a major piece of supervised independent research on a topic of your choice.

A formal background in economics is not needed to study global political economy and we encourage you to apply if you have a degree and interests in other areas of social sciences and humanities.

Highlights

We organise a lively programme of seminars and conferences and are home to affiliated research centres, such as the Birkbeck Centre for British Political Life, which run seminars, conferences and other events where some of the world's best scholars present their latest research.

Our academic staff are international authorities in their respective fields, publishing and delivering stimulating teaching in a wide range of political topics including civil society and the state, public policy, development, gender, international security and terrorism, and social and political theory.

Students on this course will have the unique opportunity to take a joint module with political economy postgraduate students in other departments as part of the College-wide research partnership in this area within the Birkbeck Centre for Political Economy and Institutional Studies (CPEIS).

Our location in central London puts us at the heart of the UK’s political life and at the centre of academic London. You can walk down to Parliament and Whitehall, while Bloomsbury contains some of the world’s most famous libraries and centres of research. Our departmental building was once a key location for members of the Bloomsbury Group, so you could be studying in rooms that have hosted distinguished visitors, including T.S. Eliot, George Bernard Shaw and Maynard Keynes.

You can take advantage of the rich research collections nearby, including Senate House Library, the British Library and the British Library of Political and Economic Science at the London School of Economics. Birkbeck Library has a large politics collection, including the major specialist journals, and provides you with access to an extensive range of online materials.

Careers and employability

Graduates can pursue career paths in international organisations, policy research, journalism, the diplomatic services, the voluntary sector, and economic or political forecasting. Possible professions include:

Civil Service fast-streamer

government social research officer

diplomatic services operational officer

researcher

newspaper journalist

politician’s assistant.

We offer a comprehensive careers service - Careers and Enterprise - your career partner during your time at Birkbeck and beyond. At every stage of your career journey, we empower you to take ownership of your future, helping you to make the connection between your experience, education and future ambitions.