MA, 1 year full time/2 years part time
Subject overview
Politics at Sussex was rated joint 2nd in the UK in its unit of assessment in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). 90 per cent of our research was rated as internationally recognised or higher, and 60 per cent rated as internationally excellent or higher.
Sussex is ranked among the top 20 universities in the UK for politics in The Times Good University Guide 2013 and in the top 25 in the UK in The Complete University Guide 2014.
We also rank among the top 100 universities in the world for politics and international studies in the QS World University Rankings 2013.
The politics faculty at Sussex offer teaching and research expertise that covers the spectrum of UK, European and international issues, encompassing political theory, as well as comparative and party politics.
We offer teaching excellence, with four winners of national teaching awards among our faculty.
The Department offers particular research expertise in European integration, comparative politics, party politics, British politics and citizenship, ethnicity and migration, and comparative political economy.
The Department includes the Sussex European Institute (SEI) – a Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence for the study of European Integration.
Programme outline
This new interdisciplinary MA is unique in the UK and explicitly looks at issues of corruption and governance. It also breaks new ground in encouraging you to take up three-month internships within non-governmental organisations, regulators, government offices or businesses, with a view to putting the theory learned in the seminar room in to practice.
The degree is designed to develop your understanding of what corruption is, where it flourishes, why it proliferates, what challenges it poses for policy-makers and the business community and, ultimately, what can be done to counteract it.
This MA is for you if you have an interest in the study of corruption and governance issues, no matter what background you come from – legal, business, sociological, anthropological or political science. This degree should also be of interest for existing practitioners in the field.
The MA addresses challenging issues of how different disciplines define corruption and how this can lead to very different anti-corruption approaches. It introduces analytical and theoretical tools, allowing you to analyse corruption across time, space and discipline and, importantly, aims to offer you practical experience of tackling corruption in the real world.
Armed with these tools, you will be able to choose from a wide range of cross-disciplinary options, allowing you to examine specific examples of corruption across the developed and developing world, ranging from systematic abuses of power by parties, politicians and civil servants to small-scale, almost trivial, petty misdemeanours. The role of business (for example corporate social responsibility strategies, the introduction of ‘business ethics’ programmes and so on) can also be analysed.
You have the opportunity to undertake a three-month internship with an organisation active in the field. This might be with Transparency International in London, or with another organisation/body working in this area. Sussex has already developed links with a variety of organisations that are willing to take our students as interns as part of the MA, but you also have the option of organising your own internship if you wish.
We continue to develop and update our modules for 2013 entry to ensure you have the best student experience. In addition to the course structure below, you may find it helpful to refer to the 2012 modules tab.
Autumn term: you take Analytical Approaches to the Study of Corruption • Methodological Dilemmas in Analysing Corruption.
Spring term: you choose either one (if you opt for an internship) or two of the following options (this list is not exhaustive): Business and Ethics in Anthropology • Criminalisation, Plea-Bargaining and Corruption • Development, Business and Corporate Social Responsibility • International Transnational Offending • Political Parties and Party Systems • Public Policy Dilemmas and Challenges • State Capacity, Energy and Corruption • Tackling Corruption: Methods, Means and Mechanisms • The European Union: Justice and Home Affairs.
Summer term: you write a 20,000-word dissertation in an area of your choice.
Assessment
All modules are assessed by 5,000-word term papers, presentations and exams. You also write a 20,000-word dissertation in the summer term. The internship will be assessed by a 5,000-word report on what you did and how this links into theories of corruption, anti-corruption and/or good governance.
Current modules
Please note that these are the core modules and options (subject to availability) for students starting in the academic year 2012.
Energy and Environmental Security in Europe
30 credits
Spring teaching, year 1
This course addresses the growing importance of security as an issue for energy and environmental policy and analyses the way in which different concepts of security have emerged (or re-emerged) to redefine policy priorities in both areas. While global developments form an important context to the course, our primary focus is European, taking Europe not only as major source of energy demand and environmental damage but also as an important protagonist. We will examine how EU energy and environmental policies have sought to address security issues internally and externally, the latter in its bilateral, neighbourhood and multilateral diplomacy.
Interdisciplinary Approaches to Analysing Corruption
45 credits
Autumn teaching, year 1
The objective of this core module is to develop analytical and theoretical tools that will allow us to analyse corruption across both time and space. The module begins by analysing exactly what we understand 'corrupt' behaviour to be and how this appears to differ (often quite starkly) across national boundaries and over time. Do humans appear to be naturally corrupt? If so, does this matter? Is corrupt behaviour absolute and universal or does it depend on location and context? Indeed, can corruption sometimes even be a good thing? The module will have contributions from the political science, legal, anthropological, business and management and development studies disciplines.
Armed with the analytical tools aimed at unpacking the complex phenomenon of corruption, we will examine specific examples of corruption across the developed and developing world, ranging from systematic abuses of power by parties and politicians to small-scale, almost trivial, petty misdemeanours. This analysis then provides a foundation for examining what reforms might contribute to lessening instances of political corruption in the western world and beyond.
International Crimes
30 credits
Spring teaching, year 1
This module will focus on the four core crimes in international law, including genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression. In each case we will highlight their development, application in international and domestic courts and matters of controversy in relation thereto, before examining other so-called quasi-international crimes including torture, hijacking, and terrorism.
International and Transnational Offending
30 credits
Spring teaching, year 1
In order to assess the effectiveness of legal responses to offending that cross national boundaries, it is essential that you gain an insight into the phenomenon itself, rather than merely into the legal responses which we have examined in International and Transnational Offending. This module explores the nature and extent of both state and sub-state or individual offending. It includes such examples as the use of torture, war crimes, economic criminality, including illegal arms and drug dealing, corporate crime, computer and share frauds and organised crime and international crimes of violence.
Research Methods in Corruption Analysis
15 credits
Autumn teaching, year 1
This module is designed to introduce you to some of the fundamental methodological issues faced by scholars as they try to analyse corruption around the world. The module illustrates the importance of knowing why scholars approach corruption and governance problems and issues in particular ways, and how this can (and does) have a fundamental effect on what they think should be done about it. The module introduces you to some of the challenges inherent in quantifying and qualifying corruption and help gain a much more nuanced understanding of where corruption flourishes and why there is significant disagreement surrounding what to do about it.
You will be introduced to quantitative methods that many of the large NGOs adopt in measuring corruption and the advantages and disadvantages of using surveys, questionnaires and statistical packages to analyse real world corruption. You will be required to assess and analyse various types of data as well as the logic and method that a researcher has used in generating them.
In the latter part of the module a completely different mode of enquiry is introduced; those based on interpretist understandings of corruption. This will involve contributions from lawyers, political scientists, development studies scholars as well as those in business and management. We discuss some of the strengths and weaknesses of using these methods, analysing why they are chosen in the first place and how they link with more quantitative approaches.
By the end of the module, you should have an enhanced understanding of how scholars conduct corruption research. You should also be able to critically interpret many of the claims and counter-claims, often based on statistical indicators, that are a feature of contemporary analysis of corruption.
Tackling Corruption: Methods, Means and Practices
30 credits
Spring teaching, year 1
This module analyses the wide and diverse set of anti-corruption approaches, procedures, mechanisms and policies that have been developed by governments, international organisations and interest groups. It analyses the nexus between quality of governance and (un)successful anti-corruption strategies. It co-ordinates theoretical insight from a range of disciplines with a range of practical examples. You will learn to critically evaluate anti-corruption regimes – and the polices they promote – and the motives that lie behind their creation. You will also learn to critically assess which type of anti-corruption regime is likely to be successful in which particular context.
Entry requirements
UK entrance requirements
A first- or upper-second class undergraduate honours degree in a social science or humanities discipline.
Overseas entrance requirements
Please refer to column A on the Overseas qualifications.
If you have any questions about your qualifications after consulting our overseas
qualifications table, contact the University.
E pg.enquiries@sussex.ac.uk
Visas and immigration
Find out more about Visas and immigration.
English language requirements
IELTS 6.5, with not less than 6.5 in Writing and 6.0 in the other sections. Internet TOEFL with 88 overall, with at least 20 in Listening, 20 in Reading, 22 in Speaking and 24 in Writing.
For more information, refer to English language requirements.
For more information about the admissions process at Sussex
For pre-application enquiries:
Student Recruitment Services
T +44 (0)1273 876787
E pg.enquiries@sussex.ac.uk
For post-application enquiries:
Postgraduate Admissions,
University of Sussex,
Sussex House, Falmer,
Brighton BN1 9RH, UK
T +44 (0)1273 877773
F +44 (0)1273 678545
E pg.applicants@sussex.ac.uk
Related programmes
Fees and funding
Fees
Home UK/EU students: £5,5001
Overseas students: £13,0002
1
The fee shown is for the academic year 2013.
2
The fee shown is for the academic year 2013.
To find out about your fee status, living expenses and other costs, visit further financial information.
Funding
The funding sources listed below are for the subject area you are viewing and may not apply to all degrees listed within it. Please check the description of the individual funding source to make sure it is relevant to your chosen degree.
To find out more about funding and part-time work, visit further financial information.
Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust for Postgraduate Study (2013)
Region: UK
Level: PG (taught), PG (research)
Application deadline: 1 October 2013
The Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust are offering bursaries to Postgraduate students following any postgraduate degree courses in any subject.
Sussex Graduate Scholarship (2013)
Region: UK, Europe (Non UK), International (Non UK/EU)
Level: PG (taught)
Application deadline: 16 August 2013
Open to final year Sussex students who graduate with a 1st or 2:1 degree and who are offered a F/T place on an eligible Masters course in 2013.
Faculty interests
The Department has one of the largest concentrations of scholars working on party politics in the UK. This and other research interests are briefly described below.
Dr Sabina Avdagic Comparative political economy, the politics of market reforms, national variation in politico-economic institutions.
Dr Sue Collard French politics, the politics of culture, European citizenship.
Dr James Hampshire Immigration politics and policy, citizenship, race and racism.
Dr Dan Hough German politics, party politics, post-communism in Europe, political corruption.
Francis McGowan Policy making in the European Union, European government/ industry relations.
Professor Jörg Monar Justice and home affairs in the EU.
Professor Shamit Saggar The politics of race, ethnicity and citizenship; public policy; electoral politics; regulation policy.
Professor Aleks Szczerbiak Comparative politics of central eastern Europe, lustration and de-communisation, Poland. Co-Director of SEI.
Professor Paul Taggart Euroscepticism, populism, party politics.
Dr Adrian Treacher International relations of the EU, European security, French foreign policy.
Professor Paul Webb Parties and elections – UK and comparative, empirical democratic theory.
Careers and profiles
This MA equips you with the skills for a career in a wide variety of fields. You will be particularly well placed to work at the interface between the private and public sectors, as well as in the areas of public policy making, the civil service and business. You will be well suited to working in areas of corporate social responsibility – an area of growing importance for many national and international companies. Pathways into development and a wide variety of nongovernmental organisations and charities will also be options. This MA will also help you to develop skills that are highly valued in print and broadcast journalism, including a fine eye for what is and isn’t acceptable government and business practice. The optional internship will help you to develop and apply a range of practical skills prospective employers will find attractive.
Dan's faculty perspective
‘Corruption is, it would appear, one of the great evils of our time. Citizens are appalled by it, international organisations have created reform agendas to tackle it and politicians earnestly claim to want to reduce it. Latterly, the world of business has also embraced the notion that it could be in its interests to work with regulators and policy-makers with a view to cleaning up the commercial environment. Fighting corruption and the structures that spawn it has therefore risen very quickly up many organisations’ list of priorities.
‘The aim of Sussex’s exciting new interdisciplinary MA in Corruption and Governance is to develop your understanding of what corruption is and what can be done to counteract it. The programme addresses the problem from a number of perspectives – it embraces the political challenge, the legal dimensions, and business concerns and interests plus anthropological standpoints, and mixes theoretical insight with the opportunities to put these ideas in to practice.
‘This MA is unique in the UK not only in terms of its subject matter – it’s also breaking new ground in offering three-month internships. In addition, depending on which options you choose, you’ll gain not only a broad understanding of why and under what circumstances corruption flourishes, but you will also be able to drill down and gain specialist theoretical and practical knowledge in one area. As a result, graduates can expect to move into a range of fascinating careers, from NGO activity and development organisations to print or broadcast journalism, and from public policy-making to a wide range of (local, national and global) businesses.’
Dr Dan Hough
Reader in Politics
University of Sussex
For more information, visit Careers and alumni.
School and contacts
School of Law, Politics and Sociology
Engaging with key issues of contemporary concern, the School of Law, Politics and Sociology brings together academic units that are committed to excellence in teaching, and recognised nationally for research.
Dr Dan Hough, Politics,
University of Sussex, Falmer,
Brighton BN1 9SP, UK
T +44 (0)1273 877648
E d.t.hough@sussex.ac.uk
Department of Politics
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