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Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Cambridge

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Department of Politics and International Studies
The Alison Richard Building, in which the department is located
Parent institution
Faculty of Human, Social, and Political Science
AffiliationUniversity of Cambridge
HeadJude Browne (2021-)
Undergraduates560
Postgraduates190
201
Location
Cambridge
,
England
Websitewww.polis.cam.ac.uk Edit this at Wikidata

The Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge (abbreviated POLIS) is the department at the University of Cambridge responsible for research and instruction in political science, international relations and public policy. It is part of the Faculty of Human, Social, and Political Science.

History[edit]

POLIS, formed in 2009 by the merger of the former Department of Politics and the Centre for International Studies, is administratively housed at the university's Alison Richard Building on the Sidgwick Site and is part of the Faculty of Human, Social, and Political Science.[1] Its primary predecessor, the Department of Politics, was formed in 2004, prior to which political science had been fragmented across other departments.[2]

Notable current research staff include[3] professors Brendan Simms, Marc Weller, Duncan Bell, Baroness Smith of Newnham, Dame Diane Coyle, and Helen Thompson. David Runciman (resigned), Lucia A. Reisch, Andrew Gamble (retired), Peter Nolan (retired), John Dunn (emeritus), Christopher Hill (emeritus) and Geoffrey Hawthorn (retired) were some of the previous notable members of the department.[4]

Centres and programmes[edit]

Twelve specialised programmes and research centres are housed within the department: the Centre of Governance and Human Rights, the YouGov-Cambridge Centre for Public Opinion Research, the Cambridge Centre for Political Thought, the Centre of Development Studies, the European Centre at POLIS, the Centre for Geopolitics, the Centre for Gender Studies, the Centre of South Asian Studies, the Centre of Latin American Studies, the Centre of African Studies, the Centre for the Future of Democracy and the Bennett Institute for Public Policy. The department also publishes the Cambridge Review of International Affairs.[1]

Degrees and reputation[edit]

POLIS grants a Bachelor of Arts degree (as part of either History and Politics[5] or Human, Social and Political Sciences[6]). At the postgraduate level, the department offers a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) degree in public policy[7], an MPhil degree in politics and international studies, a Master of Studies degree in international relations, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in politics and international studies.[citation needed]

The 2022 edition of the Complete University Guide[8] ranked the department second in its league table and the Guardian ranked Cambridge University third best in the UK for Politics. QS World University Rankings named the department the seventh best in the world in its subject area.[9] The 2014 "Ivory Tower Survey", published by Foreign Policy, rated the department's master's programme 18th in the world for quality, and its doctoral programme 16th in the world.[10] In 2011 POLIS' master's degree programmes were ranked 16th in the world for study in international relations by The Christian Science Monitor.[11]

The department is particularly known for its preference towards historical and theoretical approaches to the study of politics. Since 2021 there has been a wave of departures from other subfields including development economists Ha-Joon Chang and Lucia A. Reisch, Chong Hua Professor of Chinese Development William Hurst, and Professor of Politics David Runciman, who previously led the department from 2014 to 2018. In the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF) exercise the department fell from 6th to 21st place in the UK,[12] ranking lower than nearby institutions such as the University of Essex or the University of East Anglia.[13]

Incidents and controversies[edit]

In 2016, POLIS PhD student Giulio Regeni was killed while carrying out research in Cairo, Egypt,[14] and the following year a second student died, in a terror attack in Burkina Faso.[15] This resulted in widespread accusations of failure to uphold duty of care towards early career scholars, which became reinforced following the department's failure to cooperate with investigators.[16] Subsequently in 2018 the department was accused of paying junior academics less than national minimum wage for examination work and supervision, following a report conducted by the Cambridge branch of the University and College Union.[17]


References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Welcome to POLIS". Department of Politics and International Studies. University of Cambridge. 7 March 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  2. ^ Gamble, Andrew (2009). The Limits of Politics. Cambridge University Press. p. 5. ISBN 9780521145985.
  3. ^ "Academic Staff". Department of Politics and International Studies (POLIS). University of Cambridge. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  4. ^ "Emeritus Staff". Department of Politics and International Studies (POLIS). University of Cambridge. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  5. ^ "History and Politics BA (Tripos) | Faculty of History University of Cambridge". www.hist.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  6. ^ "Human, Social, and Political Sciences - HSPS Tripos". www.hsps.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  7. ^ "Mastering Public Policy". University of Cambridge. University of Cambridge. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
  8. ^ "Politics Rankings 2023". Politics Subject League Table 2023. The Complete University Guide. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  9. ^ "QS World University Rankings by Subject 2016 - Politics & International Studies". QS World University Rankings. Quacquarelli Symonds. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  10. ^ Peterson, Susan. "The Best International Relations Schools in the World". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  11. ^ "Top 25 International Relations master's degree programs". The Christian Science Monitor. 20 October 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  12. ^ "Results: the overall quality profiles for each unit of assessment" (PDF).
  13. ^ "REF 2021: Politics and international studies".
  14. ^ "Giulio Regeni: Cambridge University tribute five years after murder". Retrieved 6 June 2024.
  15. ^ "'Exceptional' Caius PhD student killed in Burkina Faso restaurant attack". Retrieved 6 June 2024.
  16. ^ "Italian newspaper stands by criticism of Giulio Regeni's supervisor". Retrieved 6 June 2024.
  17. ^ "Cambridge UCU calls for end to Cambridge's 'gig economy' contracts and unfair pay". Retrieved 3 June 2024.

External links[edit]

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