Are you considering studying politics at university? Here are 14 reasons why it's a great subject to choose.
Updated: 15 Apr 2025
Wondering what to study at university? Let us help you out with some handy hints on why you should look into doing politics...
NEXT: Start searching for politics courses now.
Politics is a battle of wills – it’s not always who’s right, but who can shout loudest, for longest. Studying for a politics degree will give you plenty of practice in putting your point across, and not giving up until your opponent gives in.
Whether it’s taking part in a class debate or presenting a project, when you take a politics degree you’ll be doing a lot of public speaking. The oratory skills you gain will serve you well in many areas of your life (being a confident public speaker will make interviews a breeze, for example).
We all love watching Newsnight (look at all the funny people shouting!) but how many of us actually have a clue what’s going on? With your top notch knowledge of current affairs as a politics student, you’ll be the envy of all your friends as you patiently explain what everybody’s fighting about this week.
It just sounds cool when you put it like that.
We all know that politicians have a tendency to be, shall we say, economical with the truth. While here at Whatuni we advocate nothing short of absolute honesty in all affairs, a politics degree will give you the chance to observe some master liars up close – meaning no one will ever be able to pull the wool over your eyes.
Studying politics doesn’t mean you have to go on to be a politician, but if you do you’ll have the chance to get personally involved in some of the most pressing crises to hit the country. And hey – even if there’s nothing you can actually do, you can still stand there heroically looking heroic.
Okay, not exactly, but after three years of studying politics you’ll hopefully be able to predict the way the political winds are blowing. Knowing which party is likely to win the next election gives you insight into how it might affect economics, employment etc, and you’ll be able to act accordingly.
It’s not what you know, it’s who you know, so you’ll need to do a lot of networking if you study politics at uni. That can only mean one thing – paaaarty! Hopefully you won’t have a deathly fear of confetti like David Miliband.
Even if you don’t want to be an MP there are plenty of jobs in the political spectrum that a politics degree could lead you into, which could well give you an opportunity to work at The Houses of Parliament, one of the most beautiful historical buildings in the world.
Just in case you were worried, they’ve really ramped up security at the Houses of Parliament since the whole Guy Fawkes thing.
Not everyone who does politics at uni will choose a career in parliament, but if you do, you’ll likely have a team of aides helping you out. That means not only someone to fetch you bacon sandwiches whenever you want, but someone to show you how to eat them when the camera bulbs are popping (look, this is a reference to a politician from the 2010s and if you were paying attention to politics back then, this is probably really funny).
If you’re still not sold, why not let your favourite celebrity make up your mind? Lots of stars studied politics at uni, from rock stars like Richey Edwards from Manic Street Preachers, to actors such as Elizabeth Shue and even comedians, like Harry Enfield.
You won’t just learn about politics, but also aspects of the law, history, psychology and sociology. Basically, you’ll know exactly how the world works.
A politics degree will teach you tons of transferable skills that’ll make you attractive to all sorts of employers, like assertiveness, public speaking, data analysis, essay writing and research. Politics graduates go on to work in sectors like journalism, finance, business, and even charity. The world is your oyster!
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