Careers and Employability

A degree in Politics can lead to a wide range of satisfying and rewarding careers. Our graduates are valued by employers in a diverse range of areas. Past graduates have gone on to become teachers, civil servants, accountants, marketing executives, academics, members of the armed forces, journalists and political researchers. Read our graduates’ career stories.

Skills and experience

Our degree programmes are designed to prepare students for the workplace, through diverse methods of teaching and assessment. By the end of your degree you will have experience of:

Using IT to undertake research, prepare and submit written work and to engage with other students
Project planning, time management, working flexibly and independently
Working as part of a team or group
Specialist research and information gathering
Considering a range of views and sources and forming an independent judgement
Presentations and public speaking
Critically reflecting on your own knowledge, skills and practices
Applying the highest ethical standards in everything that you do.

We also aim to encourage a commitment to internationalism - to educate students who are culturally agile and able to work in an increasingly global society and economy.

Work experience

We encourage our students to apply their knowledge through placements and work experience, and offer two schemes through which work experience can be formally recognised as part of your degree.

All our undergraduate courses can be undertaken as a Degree with Employment Experience. This gives students the opportunity to further develop their knowledge and skills by undertaking a one year work placement as part of their degree programme.

What goes on in the Department to support my career planning?

Students undertaking a dissertation at Undergraduate or Masters level may choose to do a Work-Based Learning Dissertation (WBLD). WBLD students collaborate with an outside organisation to undertake a piece of research which is specific to that organisation's needs, thus gaining experience of ‘real-world’ problem-solving and making a network of professional contacts.

We support the Sheffield Graduate Award, a prestigious University-wide award which formally recognises the valuable skills and experience students gain at university outside their degree course.

Careers information and support

The University Careers Service offers help to all students, and provides a wide-ranging programme of careers-related events each semester. Students are encouraged to use the Service at any time during their course of study, and support is also available for your first three years after graduation. You can also access advice on Careers with a Politics Degree.

We run regular careers events in the Department to help our students prepare for the workplace. For example, in October 2012, first year students met up with some of our graduates to find out what employers are really looking for.
Politics graduates share career insights