Courses

Members of the Centre are responsible for the following degree courses:

BA in British Politics and Legislative Studies (BPLS)

This is a four-year degree course, the third year of which is spent on placement with an MP or peer and taking two seminar-based courses within the Palace of Westminster. Before their placement year, students study British politics and take core modules on The Contemporary House of Commons and The UK Parliament: Approaches to Reform.

At Westminster, students assist MPs by undertaking a range of responsibilities, which may include working on research, drafting press releases, writing speeches, liaising with government departments, and accompanying or representing the MP at meetings, occasionally overseas. Students have been placed with leading parliamentarians including Ministers and members of the Shadow Cabinet. Among MPs and peers who have taken students on placement are John Baron MP (Con), Tony Baldry MP (Con), Luciana Berger MP (Lab), the Rt Hon. Ben Bradshaw MP (Lab), Tracey Crouch MP (Con), the Rt Hon David Davis MP (Con), Lord German (Lib Dem), the Hon. Bernard Jenkin MP (Con), the Rt Hon. Lord McFall of Alcluith (Lab), the Rt Hon. Ed Miliband MP (Lab),Austin Mitchell MP (Lab), Andrew Percy MP (Con), Ian Swales MP (Lib Dem), Andrew Turner MP (Con), Stephen Twigg MP (Lab), Robert Walter MP (Con) and Tom Watson MP (Lab). Tracey Crouch and Tom Watson are former students in the Politics Department at Hull.

The first seminar series looks at how Parliament is run, with speakers such as the Clerk of the House of Commons, the Serjeant at Arms, Black Rod, the Librarian of the House of Commons, the Speaker or a Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons, the Lord Speaker, and the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. The second set of seminars address how Parliament is viewed by those who observe and seek to influence it - such as political lobbyists, civil servants, journalists, and parliamentary officers of firms and charities – and all of these speakers in this series are Hull politics graduates.

Students complete various written projects and begin researching for their final-year dissertation while still at Westminster. They complete a research proposal, a research project and a self-evaluation document as well as researching for their final-year dissertation. Research is expected to utilise the opportunities afforded by Westminster to engage in research of primary and original sources that would not normally be possible elsewhere (for example, through interviews) and may entail detailed study of parliamentary behaviour, organisation, process or function. Students may choose to study a particular policy area or the wider context within which Parliament operates. Among topics covered in BPLS dissertations have been Private Members’ Bills, International Parliamentary Organisations, the role of legislatures in non-democratic regimes, the role of Parliamentary Private Secretaries (PPSs), the post of Deputy Prime Minister, debates in Westminster Hall, an analysis of the case for compulsory voting, the role of Deputy Speakers, the role of the Whips, reform of the House of Lords, and analyses of the passage of different Bills. Some have led to publications: the research on the role of Deputy Speakers, for example, formed the basis of a published research paper and an article in a scholarly journal.

On their return to Hull, students complete their dissertations and take a module on Comparative Legislatures to enable them to put their knowledge of Westminster in a wider context.

For more details, see the course website.

Single-semester undergraduate internships

In addition to the year-long BPLS placement, the Department of Politics has also introduced a one-semester placement WHIP – the Westminster-Hull Internship Programme) for students taking a three-year special honours degree in the Department. Students are selected by interview in their second year and, if selected, spend the first semester of their third year on placement at Westminster. They are placed with MPs or peers in the same way as BPLS students and undertake similar tasks. They attend the first of the seminar series in Westminster and complete three assessed projects, each worth 20 credits, as part of the placement. They return to Hull for their final semester.

LLB Law and Legislative Studies

It is also possible for students to take the LlB degree in Law and Legislative Studies, with the third year spent on placement at the House of Commons. The third year is the same as for the BPLS degree.

MPhil/PhD in Legislative Studies

Research degrees (MPhil/PhD) are also offered in the field of Legislative Studies. Topics covered by students in recent years have included budgetary oversight of the Sierra Leone Parliament; the role of unofficial groups in the Parliamentary Conservative Party; the legislative role of Parliament in the democratization process - a case study of the Iranian Parliament; Quality management and assessing performance in legislatures; the impact of the Iranian constitution on the policymaking capacity of parliament; the role of the legislature in China; a comparative study of whips in the UK Parliament and US Congress; and the role of Parliament in Malawi.

All postgraduate students are encouraged to attend the Graduate Workshop in Legislative Studies and seminars organised by the Centre. They also present papers to workshops.

Contact

For more details please use the option on the Contact page above.