Political structures and processes have profound effects on the distribution of resources necessary for human life, on the degree of autonomy that human beings enjoy as they pursue their lives, and on people’s capacities to live free from the threat of violence. Politics is at the heart of human life. This is what we study and this is what we teach.
Politics and International Relations at Oxford have a long and successful history. Our Department is consistently first in national ranking exercises. We are British, with substantial connections to policy networks and institutions in the UK. We are European, participating actively in EU research networks and welcoming academics and students from all parts of the EU. We are also global, with a substantial number of distinguished international staff, and very large numbers of inspiring students and researchers from around the world.
We are not complacent. We seek to build on success, exploring new questions and issues, and developing innovative approaches to research, teaching, and learning.
We have a superbly accomplished and diverse faculty. Our approach is pluralistic and rigorous in research and in teaching. We do our best to help students follow their own interests while giving them an excellent grounding in the discipline and an advanced understanding of the tools available to them as they pursue their own aspirations. We also listen to our students, because they help us be better academics.
We prepare students for academic careers in the field, but we also celebrate the substantial number of our graduates working in government, in diplomatic services, and in senior positions in the private sector. We want to maintain contact with all our graduates so we can continue to learn together. We want to make a difference.
