Studying History means developing critical skills, learning to express your ideas and arguments clearly, and becoming self-directed in your studies.

Political Science is the study of governments, public policies and political behaviours. Politics affects us all in our daily lives. It?s easy to think of issues that we all have opinions about. Should government tax the rich for greater equality? Should it introduce ?green taxes? in order to protect the environment? How high a priority should development aid be??

Questions such as these, along with analyses of political systems, political behaviour, international relations and how democracy works, are at the heart of the study of political science.

History and Political Science: The course for you?

The History and Political Science course offers the opportunity to study two subjects with close affinities as part of a coherent structured programme. In the first three years of the programme, you will study both subjects. In the fourth year, you may choose to concentrate exclusively on either subject or to continue with both.?

The combination allows students to engage with problems past and present, national and international, using a range of approaches, but with an emphasis on self-directed study and the development of intellectual skills.

Graduate skills and career opportunities

Recent graduates are pursuing careers in government and the public sector, media, accountancy and business to name a few. Some graduates each year progress to further study in areas as diverse as medicine, film production, graphic design and business, as well as areas more closely related to history and political science. Graduates of the departments work for such organisations as IBEC, the Irish Times, Bank of Ireland, Goldman Sachs, the Law Society of Ireland,

Oxfam, the American Chamber of Commerce, RT?, Google and Accenture. The diversity of careers reflects the wide array of skills amassed by students undertaking a degree in History and Political Science at Trinity.