This course combines social policy and its focus on wellbeing with politics and its consideration of power: who exercises it and for whom.The first year introduces key concepts within social policy so that you can familiarise yourself with theoretical and comparative approaches, as well as historical analyses. Politics at Bristol is organised around three themes:political theorycomparative and national politicsinternational relations.You will study the politics of individual countries and governments and the relationships between countries, communities and individuals. There are obvious links between these two subject areas: politics drives us to think about how society should be organised and how communities and states interact. In turn, this prompts considerations of how wellbeing is unevenly distributed in contemporary societies and the forms of social organisation necessary to enhance our lives.Both the School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies and the School for Policy Studies encourage strong synergy between research and teaching resulting in a vibrant learning environment as staff respond in their teaching to new research. You will also have the opportunity to spend half a year studying abroad at a partner university, http://www.bristol.ac.uk/spais/prospective/prospectiveugs/study-abroad/