Public Affairs and Lobbying MSc

About the Course

Public affairs, lobbying and political consultancy are attractive areas for many graduates. Careers in this field are either in dedicated departments within large companies or, more commonly, within specialist consultancy firms.

This programme will provide both academic and practical training to assist you in pursuing a career in these exciting professions.

Aims

Designed in conjunction with leading Public Affairs companies, the programme includes an integrated internship with a Public Affairs consultancy in either London or Brussels, which will provide graduates with significant advantages to pursue such a career. The course offers a unique combination of advanced academic knowledge and practical experience that will provide graduates with the opportunity to develop a career in public affairs.

Enquiries

Course Enquiries
Email sss-pgenquiries@brunel.ac.uk
Tel +44 (0)1895 265286

For applications already submitted
Contact Admissions online
Tel +44 (0)1895 265265

View the School of Social Sciences website

Related Courses

Special Features

All full-time students are required to undertake an internship of at least three months with a Public Affairs employer. This is usually arranged with help from the Department of Politics and History and takes place in London or Brussels.

During the course of the placement, you and your employer will liaise with a dedicated internship tutor to ensure that appropriate progress is being made. At the end of the internship, both you and your employer will submit reports.

Internship and Internship Report
All students are required to undertake an internship of at least three months with a Public Affairs employer. This is usually arranged with help from the Department of Politics and History and takes place in London or Brussels. During the course of the placement, you and your employer will liaise with a dedicated internship tutor to ensure that appropriate progress is being made. At the end of the internship, both you and your employer will submit reports.

Outstanding students on this programme have regularly been offered further employment with their placement organisations.

The internship is for full-time students only, as part-time students must be employed in the sector prior to commencing the course.

Course Content

The course is offered on a full-time basis and is taught over two twelve-week terms. Each term comprises a range of modules taught through a programme of formal lectures, directed reading, seminars and, where appropriate, workshops. Students will also attend periodic presentations made by Public Affairs professionals. A dissertation is also written in order to complete the programme.

Typical Modules for MSC Public Affairs and Lobbying

Option module codes, titles and credits

(all modules are 30 credits unless otherwise specified)

PP5517 Parties and Voters in the UK

PP5549 Politics of Climate Change

Either:

PP5515 Internship and Dissertation (60 Credits) (FT)

Or

PP5538 Dissertation and Portfolio (60 Credits) (PT)

Compulsory module codes, titles and credits

(all modules are 30 credits unless otherwise specified)

PP5551 Influencing Public Policy

PP5558 Public Policy and the Challenges of Diversity

MG5559 International Business Ethics, Governance and Sustainability (15 Credits)

MG5547 Marketing Communications (15 Credits)

Dissertation
Topics will reflect the personal interest and subject relevance of the programme and require approval by the student’s supervisor.

Assessment

Two modes of assessment operate on this programme. Some modules are assessed by coursework and an advance notice examination, each counting for 50% of the marks. Other modules are assessed 100% by coursework.

Awards
A Master's degree is awarded if you reach the necessary standard on the taught part of the course and submit a dissertation of the required standard. The pass grade for all modules and the dissertation is 50%. Students are normally required to pass all the required taught modules before being permitted to proceed to the dissertation. If you do not achieve the standard required, you may be awarded a Postgraduate Diploma or Postgraduate Certificate if eligible.

Internship Report
All students are required to undertake an internship of at least three months with a Public Affairs employer. During the course of the placement, the student and employer will liaise with a dedicated internship tutor to ensure that appropriate progress is being made. At the end of the internship, both the student and employer will submit reports.

Careers

Employability is at the heart of this programme, and students gain a real advantage through the internship component. Since the programme began, around 70-80% of graduates have gone on to pursue full-time careers in public affairs and a number have secured full-time positions with the organisations with which they undertook their internship.

Fees for 2013/14 entry

UK/EU students: £8,000 full-time; £4,000 part-time

International students: £13,500 full-time; £6,750 part-time

Fee figures for 15 months.

Read about funding opportunities available to postgraduate students.

Fees quoted are per annum and are subject to an annual increase.

Entry Requirements

You should have a good honours degree (2.1 or above) or an equivalent overseas qualification. All shortlisted candidates will be interviewed.

English Language Requirements

IELTS: 6.5 (min 6 in all areas)
TOEFL Paper test: 580 (TWE 4.5)
TOEFL Internet test: 92 (R20, L20, S20, W20)
Pearson: 59 (51 in all subscores)
BrunELT 65% (min 60% in all areas)

Brunel also offers our own BrunELT English Test and accept a range of other language courses. We also have a range of Pre-sessional English language courses, for students who do not meet these requirements, or who wish to improve their English.