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Meet our outstanding graduates

Evan Hall: from Reading to a career in journalism

Evan took opportunities to work on a politics radio show and interviewed visiting speakers as a student ambassador as he studied his BA Politics and International Relations degree.
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Undergraduate

Felix Johnston-Brunn: from Reading to Civil Service

Felix praises his BA Politics and International Relations programme's range and quality, crediting it with helping create an impressive career path in the Civil Service.

Olivia Highwood: pursuing her interests and developing vital skills

Olivia pursued her passions during her BA Politics and International Relations degree, opting for modules that aligned with her interests.

Fiona Paterson: seizing exciting opportunities while studying

Fiona threw herself into new challenges during her BA Politics and International Relations degree, having come from a background in science. Her degree led to a job in the Civil Service.

Peter Stockdale: placement experience in government

Peter undertook an exciting placement year in the UK government's Department of Health and Social Care as part of his BA Politics and Economics degree.

Veronique Hawksworth: writing her path to success

Veronique swiftly converted her skills gained at Reading to take on a vibrant, public-facing job.

Master's

Mustafa Aryan: from Reading to a government official

Mustafa studied MA in International Security Studies at Reading leading to a career as the Director General of Regional and International Affairs Commission at the High Council for National Reconciliation of Afghanistan.

Chloe Butcher: working towards a dream career

Flourishing as a Policy and Partnership Manager for the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, Chloe looks back at her MA Public Policy experience as both rewarding and intellectually stimulating.

Chris Stylianou: opening doors with a degree in public policy

The approaches and strategies Chris developed at Reading have helped shape his future professional plans.

Meet our staff who work on innovative teaching and research

Dr Mark Shanahan: putting politics into practice through undergraduate modules

Dr Mark Shanahan, Head of Department, discusses the innovative modules that undergraduates can undertake as part of their degree.

Mark Shanahan

Dr Daphne Halikiopoulou

Dr Daphne Halikiopoulou's research looks at the rise of populism and the far-right across Europe. She is on a mission to expose parties who hide their extremism behind a liberal narrative.

Professor Dominik Zaum

Professor Dominik Zaum's research on the political economy of state-building and the impact of state-building on economic and political structures has been applied to real-world policy work.

Dr Sarah von Billerbeck

Dr Sarah von Billerbeck’s experience of working for the UN, and her research, directly feed into her postgraduate teaching.

Dr Robert Jubb

Dr Robert Jubb's areas of interest include methods in analytical political theory and philosophy and responsibility for and appropriate responses to structural injustice. His research feeds into undergraduate research-based modules.

Dr Joseph O'Mahoney

Dr Joseph O'Mahoney specialises in international norm dynamics, including norms surrounding war and the proliferation of nuclear weapons, in his research and teaching.

Dr Alice Baderin

Dr Alice Baderin is bringing problems of risk and insecurity to the forefront of thinking about social justice, in the third-year undergraduate module that she has designed on risk.
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Meet our experts

Our staff have exceptional knowledge in an impressive range of political topics and issues. Many of our academics are directly involved in international politics, sharing their expertise with governments and policymakers.

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Our partnerships

Our partnerships, both in the UK and internationally, help to enhance the scope of educational and career paths available to our students, and provide opportunities to share ideas and collaborate on research.
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Our research

97% of our research outputs are rated ‘world leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’, meaning that the University of Reading is 6th highest in the UK for research outputs (Times Higher Education analysis of the latest Research Excellence Framework 2021 – Politics and International Studies, when scoring by GPA Output). Many of our academics have attracted prestigious funded fellowships and grants for their work.