Politics and International Relations with Year Abroad BA
AAB at A level; graduates earn a median £28,000 three years on.
100% of entrants came with A levels · 100% stay on after year 1 · Birmingham course page, Discover Uni
What do you need to get in?
Typical offer — the grades most applicants are asked for. A contextual offer can be lower for applicants from under-represented backgrounds; none is published for this course.
Birmingham course page, read 19 September 2026 · Discover Uni entry profile
Other qualifications2
| Qualification | Typical offer | Required subjects |
|---|---|---|
| IB | 32 points6,6,5 at Higher Level with a minimum of 32 points overall | — |
| BTEC | —BTEC options considered | — |
What do you study?
Module — one course unit, usually a term or a year long; “core” means everyone takes it. One UK credit is about ten hours of study; a full year is 120 credits.
Birmingham course page · optional modules vary by year
Year 2 · 24 core · 44 credits ≈ 440 hours
Year 3 · 1 core
Year 4 · 29 core · 43 credits ≈ 430 hours
Where does it lead?
Median — the middle earner: half earned more, half less. Pay is for graduates of this subject at this university who finished in 2016-18, not adjusted for inflation; based on 260 graduates.
Discover Uni dataset (HESA and Office for Students, CC BY 4.0, contains HESA data); earnings from the Longitudinal Education Outcomes data (Department for Education) · aggregation level 24, 14, 13, 23
Half of graduates earned between £23,500 and £34,500. Five years on, the median is £36,000. 95% were in work or further study 15 months after finishing; 55% of those in work were in professional or managerial jobs.
All outcome figures7
| Measure | Value | Based on |
|---|---|---|
| Continue after year 10% left | 100% | 25 |
| In work or study, 15 months on20% studying | 95% | 15 |
| Professional or managerial job | 55% | 10 |
| Pay 15 months on, median | £31,000 | 55 |
| Pay 3 years on, median | £28,000 | 260 |
| Pay 5 years on, median | £36,000 | 295 |
What does it cost?
Tuition fee loan — paid straight to the university; repayments start the April after you leave, at 9% of income above the threshold. UK fees are capped by government and rise with inflation; placement and study-abroad years are usually charged at a lower rate.
Birmingham fees page · source
About £39,160 in fees over 4 years, covered by a tuition fee loan you repay only when earning above the threshold. International students: £24,000 a year (2026/27).
What do students say?
NSS — a yearly survey of final-year students at every UK university; 87% of this course’s final year answered. Small groups can swing a lot year to year.
National Student Survey, via Discover Uni · 20 students answered
Highest: 100% agreed on question 1; lowest: 60% on question 24.
All questions26
| Question | Agree |
|---|---|
| Question 1 | 100% |
| Question 2 | 90% |
| Question 3 | 100% |
| Question 4 | 65% |
| Question 5 | 100% |
| Question 6 | 85% |
| Question 7 | 90% |
| Question 8 | 80% |
| Question 9 | 90% |
| Question 10 | 80% |
| Question 11 | 80% |
| Question 12 | 75% |
| Question 13 | 85% |
| Question 14 | 75% |
| Question 15 | 95% |
| Question 16 | 90% |
| Question 17 | 90% |
| Question 18 | 90% |
| Question 19 | 72% |
| Question 20 | 85% |
| Question 21 | 76% |
| Question 22 | 85% |
| Question 23 | 90% |
| Question 24 | 60% |
| Question 25 | 89% |
| Question 26 | 95% |
Question texts are published by the Office for Students; the dataset carries only the question numbers.
Modules, entry requirements and fees are facts read from University of Birmingham’s course page on 2026-09-19 and may change; the university’s page is authoritative. Descriptions are not reproduced. Outcome figures are from the Discover Uni dataset. University of Birmingham is a trade mark of the university; sch.today is independent of it.