Studying Politics at Sussex will give you the knowledge and skills to get a career in a whole range of professions. You don’t just study politics to become a politician; you do so to understand more about who gets what, how and why. And what we can do about public life if we don’t like what we see.
Fast track your career
All of this information is vital in a range of careers spanning journalism to the civil service, NGO work to taking on roles in international organisations.
You will gain transferable skills in:
- processing evidence quickly and concisely
- presenting your own ideas to others
- crafting solutions to real-world problems
- unpacking what’s fakenews and what’s information that needs to be taken seriously
Career destinations of Sussex Politics graduates
Politics graduates go into a wide array of different jobs. Examples include:
- TV news producer and broadcast journalist at Sky News, Kit Bradshaw, Click here
- Investigations Lead at Transparency International UK Ben Cowdock, Click here
- Senior business developer at Credit Suisse Julie Brauch, Click here
Gain work experience in politics
If you are a single honours Politics student, you can gain experience of working in politics through our Westminster internship scheme. In your final year, you can apply for an internship with a Westminster MP or in local government at Brighton and Hove Council.
This opportunity allows you to apply your knowledge to politics and public policy. At the end of the placement, you will write a dissertation based on your experience.
Benefit from careers support
You can attend careers events which can help you find jobs in government and government institutions including the civil service, the world of public policy, and the public sector.
These events are run by the Careers and Employability Centre who also organise an annual Careers fair where you can meet employers and get information on graduate schemes and jobs.
Keep up to date with the latest developments in politics
The politics department regularly organises events of topical interest for politics students. Stephen Bush, the political editor of the New Statesman, is the department’s ‘Writer in Residence’ and he regularly takes part in events looking at UK politics but also his role (as a journalist) within that. Stephen runs sessions on writing in a crisp and clear manner and he judges a blog competition that’s part of the first year ‘British Political History’ module.
Other guest speakers regularly come to campus and in recent years representatives from parties as diverse as the Greens and UKIP have spoken to politics students. Our focus is, however, just the UK. Second year trips to both Paris and Berlin are part of the staple diet.
The Berlin Trip in particular has been running for 17 years and involves 20 students meeting in the Bundestag with German MPs from all the major parties. It takes place every March/April.
