Francesca Way, BA Politics, International Studies and Quantitative Methods

When applying for university, the BA Politics, International Studies and Quantitative Methods course was particularly appealing to me due to its interdisciplinary nature of combining a social science with an empirical approach.

Since both History and Maths were A-level choices of mine, I felt particularly suited to a broader course such as this one. Having now completed my first year, I am extremely pleased with my choice of degree. Initially I was unsure as to how the two disciplines would interlink but as the year progressed and I became more knowledgeable in both fields, the importance of both disciplines in real world situations and how they complement each other became apparent. This year I have developed skills both in qualitative methods and quantitative methods. Such skills range from learning interview techniques to learning how to produce and interpret statistics using Stata. These skills can be used to understand outcomes of certain political situations. Despite the Stata computing aspect of Quantitative Methods being challenging at times, when the correct data was eventually achieved and understood, it felt particularly rewarding!

I would advise prospective students to keep up to date with the set readings and weekly quizzes as a way of consolidating the lecture notes. Furthermore, I would suggest not hesitating to seek help and to ask questions, particularly as the lectures progress to become more difficult each week.