New British Academy report confirms the popularity of Politics and International Relations degrees in the UK

A new British Academy report on Politics and International Relations (PIR) provision in UK higher education shows a 20% increase in first degree enrolments and a 41% rise in postgraduate taught enrolments between 2011/12 and 2022/23, with PIR graduates earning a median salary up to £9,000 more than the average graduate ten years after leaving university.

Juliet Dryden, BISA Director/CEO sat on the report advisory committee and said:

“This report will be instrumental in proving to UK higher education institutions the value of their PIR degrees, and we will use the evidence to advocate for members who are threatened by redundancies and department mergers. It will also help to identify areas of concern so that we at BISA can ensure our strategy and objectives reflect the needs of our members, and of the discipline as a whole.”

‘Politics and International Relations provision in UK higher education’ is the latest addition to the British Academy’s flagship SHAPE Observatory and is the latest in a growing series of reports on the state of the disciplines. The SHAPE Observatory monitors the health and development of the humanities and social sciences across the UK, providing both system-wide and discipline-specific insights.

The key findings are:

• First degree students in PIR across all UK nations increased by 20 per cent, while postgraduate taught numbers have increased significantly, rising 41 per cent since 2011/12.
• The proportion of UK-domiciled first degree students from non-white ethnic backgrounds rose by 8 percentage points. In 2022/23, female students comprised 52 per cent of first degree enrolments, compared to 48 per cent male.
• PIR graduates earn higher median salaries than the average graduate at three, five, and 10 years after graduation.
• Research income increased by £17.4 million between 2016/17 and 2021/22, with 92 per cent of impact case studies rated world-leading or internationally excellent in REF2021.

BISA and colleagues from the Political Studies Association were also pleased to sponsor a launch event for the report, held at the offices of the British Academy on 22 January. The event included a roundtable chaired by Professor Christina Boswell (Edinburgh), who was joined by Professor Rose Gann (Nottingham Trent), Professor Dibyesh Anand (Westminster) and Professor Peter John (KCL).