To offer an honours degree programme in the field of Political Science (Bachelor of Science with Honours (BUE) and the equivalent of a Bachelor of Arts with Honours at the UK validating partner. At the end of the Programme, students should be able to: 

• demonstrate enhanced critical and analytical skills, look for underlying principles, and identify and analyse key concepts; 

• demonstrate the skill of independent thinking, good writing skills, a facility for independent learning, investigation and effective organisational skills; 
• present their own critical understanding of the issues studied to tutors and peers, and to engage in dialogue with them; 
• establish an awareness of key theoretical and methodological issues involved in the study of regional and international politics, and to be able to distinguish between a variety of methods of enquiry; 
• analyse key topics related to the discipline on the basis of directed and independent reading, and to produce good quality essays while meeting deadlines; 
• understand and use the main concepts, approaches and theories of the discipline; to analyse, interpret and evaluate political events, ideas and institutions; and to relate the academic study of politics to questions of public concern which are transferable to a wide range of employment contexts and life experiences; 

• place questions of political and international order and decision-making at the centre of analysis; 
• understand elements of continuity and change in the study of politics and to be able to apply their knowledge to specific case studies; 
• work within a supportive and responsive learning environment that is enriched by research and in which the academic development and career opportunities of students are enhanced; 
• acquire key transferable skills including analysis of opinion, argument and fact; evaluation of evidence and hypothesis; synthesis of debate; appropriate use of communication and information technology; and clear communication – all of which lead to students becoming productive and interactive members of society. 

• University of Exeter – School of Humanities and Social Sciences – Department of Politics – Undergraduate Study Programme.
• University of Oxford – Department of Politics and International Relations – Specifications for Philosophy, Politics, & Economics Programme.
• The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education – The Framework for Higher Education Qualifications in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland – Subject Benchmark Statements – Politics & International Relations, February 2015 (note that material from this source has been included in this programme specification with little or no modification). 

• The National Authority for Quality & Accreditation of Education in Egypt (NAQAAE), NARS Statements 

• SEEC (2016).  Credit Level Descriptors for Higher Education.  Southern England Consortium for Credit Accumulation and Transfer  

Knowledge and Understanding 

1. Selected concepts and methods involved in the academic discipline of Political Science
2. Political Science as a comprehensive discipline that deals with international and regional relations, political economy, international law, foreign policy, political economy and political theory;
3. Political phenomena, which we explore using general theories and on which we reflect both normatively and positively;
4. The workings of political institutions and actors, foreign policy, political processes and the policy outputs of governance and regulatory structures;
5. Different political systems operating at the national, Middle Eastern, and international level;
6. The interaction between national, regional, and international levels and the links between inputs, processes, and outcomes;
7. Middle Eastern and international politics framed in terms of political theory, national political systems, international relations, political economy, law, ideology, state-society relations, and foreign policy analysis;
8. The nature and significance of politics as a human activity

Subject Specific Cognitive Skills

1. Use multiple sources and critically evaluate research strategies and methods, the range employed varying according to purpose;
2. Apply concepts and theories used in the study of politics to the analysis of political ideologies, institutions, and practices.

Subject Specific Practical Skills

1. Compare, contrast, and evaluate different interpretations of political issues and events in a logical, systematic manner;
2. Identify, investigate, analyse, formulate and advocate solutions to problems

Transferable Skills

1. Gather, organise and deploy evidence data and information from a variety of secondary and some primary sources;
2. Think critically and analytically about the subject matter;
3. Construct reasoned arguments based upon theoretical and empirical foundations;
4. Reflect on their own learning and make use of constructive feedback;
5. Manage their own learning self-critically;
6. Recognise the importance of explicit referencing and the ethical requirements of study which requires critical and reflective use of information and communications technology in the learning process;
7. Communicate effectively and fluently in speech and writing;
8. Use communication and information technology, including audio-visual technology, for the retrieval and presentation of information, including, where appropriate, statistical or numerical information;
9. Work independently, demonstrating initiative, self-organisation and time management, progressing through the degree Programme to become a mature, independent learner.

The Political Science Programme is an honours programme studied over four years. It comprises a preparatory year and a three-year degree programme. Students are required to pass 120 credits in each of the four years of the programme.  

The Programme is divided into units called modules. Each module studied successfully contributes 10, 20, or 30 credits toward the degree. The credit rating of a module is proportional to the total workload and one credit is nominally equivalent to 10 hours of student effort. The ‘level’ of a module indicates its position in the progressive development of academic abilities and/or practical skills. In addition to presenting students with introductory modules in their discipline, the preparatory year programme provides students with English, Research Methods, History, Economics, Information Technology and Statistics modules. The remaining three years in the degree programme contain compulsory and optional modules all focused on Political Sciences. 

Preparatory Year – Level S; 120 credits at level P 

Year 1 – 120 credits at Level 4 (Certificate); 

Year 2 – 120 credits at Level 5 (Intermediate);

Year 3 – 120 credits at Level 6 (Honours);

In accordance with the University’s regulations as defined in Section 1 of the Undergraduate Regulations. 

In accordance with the University’s regulations on assessment and progression, as defined in the Undergraduate Academic Regulations and the Generic Assessment criteria.  

The BUE delivers programmes based on a British philosophy of education. This results in programmes that are very much focused on the students rather than those who deliver the material. Graduates from UK programmes typically exhibit: 

• the ability to think creatively and with strong problem solving skills; 
• high level key and transferable skill sets; 
• the ability to maintain independently a high level of professional and subject specific competence (often through CPD); 
• the ability to conceptualise problems at a high level (i.e. to see the big picture); 
• diligent and ethical working practices; 
• the ability to work both independently and as part of a team; 
• flexibility and the ability to apply their subject specific knowledge to fields outside their own. 

Furthermore, this programme is delivered both with a local and UK flavour, giving students the opportunity to gain an appreciation of national and international perspectives on many aspects of professional life. This includes awareness of regional politics, cultural sensitivity, exposure to international politics, and familiarity with legal and economic frameworks. 

In addition to these attributes, the Political Science Programme receives validation (in line with QAA and professional body subject benchmark statements) from the UK validating partner. The outcome of this is the dual award of both an Egyptian degree and a BA from the UK validating partner in Political Science. 

At the time of writing, and to the best of our knowledge, this combination of learning based on a culture fostering key and transferable skills sets, in addition to technical ones, together with the UK academic validation makes our programme in Political Science quite unique in Egypt and the Middle East at large.

The Political Science Programme’s strength can be attributed to three main factors: 

1. BUE is one of the few universities in the region that offers a Final Year Project module which seeks to develop students’ research skills and their abilities to manage a major writing project independently and in self-directed learning. This is done by requiring students to submit a substantial research paper which they will work on over a period of two semesters under the supervision of a faculty member.   
2. Offers a module in the final year of undergraduate study that helps to train students for the Foreign Service, as well as, other modules that specifically address foreign policy issues.  
3. Offers students a comprehensive programme of study that incorporates modules from a variety of sub-disciplines like international law, political economy, and development.   

The Department requires all Module Leaders to develop e-learning pages for each module they teach.  This page provides students with the necessary basic documents that pertain to the module (i.e. the Module Specification, Syllabus, sample exams). In addition, Module Leaders often post helpful reading material, videos, and links to relevant cites on this page. The eLearning can be accessed either directly through http://learn.bue.edu.eg/  or through   http://www.bue.edu.eg/ and choose e-Learning.

Indicators of quality:  TQA/ESR score professional/learned bodies etc.  

The Programme adheres to the Annual Quality Assurance and Enhancement Cycle  

(AQAEC) by performing the following activities, which assist the Department in managing and maintaining the appropriate quality standards: 

1. Analysing module evaluations and programme evaluations to monitor the quality of teaching and learning. 
2.  Conducting Staff Student Liaison Committee (SSLC) meetings every semester, to ensure support for the students’ learning experience.  This is composed of the programme management team and elected student representatives and chaired by the Programme Director.  Student representatives are encouraged to bring the opinions, suggestions and criticisms of the student body to these meetings for discussion. All SSLC meetings are minuted and action points followed up in a timely manner under the guidance of the Programme Director. The minutes of the meetings are posted on the e-learning platform and subsequently the action taken to address any issues is also posted. 
3. Preparing an Annual Programme Report which is sent to the UTLC. 
4. Following up on Exam Board meetings to ensure the appropriate marking.
5. Responding to Link Tutor and External Examiner reports. 
6. Reviewing the programme and modules annually. 
7. Holding regular staff and management team meetings to follow up on the quality cycle implementation.

If you are not familiar with a meeting environment there are a few things you should consider and take into account before you attend. Read any papers you have been sent and discuss the issues that are to be raised with students on your programme. During the meeting try to remember that you are there to represent the student body, not just to air personal opinions or grievances. Make sure you are assertive, but not to the point of ignoring other peoples contributions and feedback. It is important to share such outcomes and comments with your colleagues and fellow students so that they are aware of the work you are doing for them.

As well as taking student feedback to the SSLC meetings, you need to make sure that you take feedback from the meetings back to students. Try keeping as many students on your course as well-informed as possible about the improvements that are being made. The more students see that the system works, the more likely they are to use it themselves and let you know their views.

Before:

• SSLC in the Faculty tend to have an open agenda, if there are some specific items that you want discussed and want both staff and students to be prepared for, please let the secretary (Faculty SAR) know.
• Make sure you talk to the students on your course, and get their views in advance about any of the issues that are due to be discussed.
• If possible, meet or start an email discussion with the other Student Reps in your Department. Get a sense of the issues they are facing and any you have in common, so you can take those forward together.

During:

• Remember that the meeting is a forum to discuss issues and experiences common to more than one student in your area; they are not a forum for you to air your own personal grievances.
• State problems in as constructive a way as possible, try not to lay blame on any individual.
• Be suitably assertive – don’t be deterred from putting your point froward or sending your message across. At the same time, listen to what others are saying, and be prepared to accept that sometimes you may need to reach a compromise.
• Make sure that action points and specific deadlines are agreed on at the meetings, and take note of those which are relevant to you.

After:

• Let students in the Department know the outcomes of the meeting and report back to any individual students who asked you to raise an issue.
• Identify any issues where you need to take action, and make sure that anything that needs to be done is done before the next meeting.
• Make sure you receive and read the minutes from the meeting and that they are made available to other students who want them.

Students Representatives for Political Science at SSLC Committee 2020-2021

Students Representatives for Political Science at SSLC Committee 2019-2020

Students Representatives for Political Science at SSLC Committee 2018-2019

The BUE Political Science Department is proud to have hosted Amb. Aly el-Hefny as part of the degree year two module “Politics of Sub-Saharan Africa”. Amb. Aly is currently the director of the BUE Egypt Africa Centre  and was previously Deputy Foreign Minister for African affairs. He is also a member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs.

Amb. el-Hefny spoke about how and why Africa matters for Egypt. He stressed that particularly since the 2013 revolution and since Abdel Fattah el-Sisi became President in 2014 great diplomatic attention is paid to the continent. Egypt has played a leading role on the continent by chairing the African Union from February 2019 to February 2020. Additionally, Egypt is an active member in two of the Regional Economic Communities of the AU; Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and Community of Sahel–Saharan States (CEN-SAD). Amb. el-Hefny highlighted both the important role of Africa for national security in Egypt, as well as opportunities, particular in the economic realm, through creation of an African free zone and the expansion of cross border infrastructure.

The session, which was conducted on campus, took place maintaining all Covid-19 safety measures, including masks, ventilation and of course social distancing.

The BUE Political Science department organised a research seminar where Dr Gunter Walzenbach of the University of the West of England (Bristol, UK), spoke about the principle of subsidiarity with regard to the European Union. The principle states that decision-making should occur as at decentralised a level as possible, unless there are strong reasons for the decision to be made at a centralised level.

Member states of the EU, for example, should make their own decisions, unless there are compelling reasons for those decisions to be made by the EU authorities in Brussels. Walzenbach discussed this principle and its application to the EU, with connection to his recently co-edited book (with Ralf Alleweldt) Varieties of European Subsidiarity: A Multidisciplinary Approach (E-International Relations, 2021). During the Q&A time, issues such as Brexit and the Covid pandemic were discussed with regard to subsidiarity. The session was attended by our link tutor from London South Bank University, Dr. Adrian Budd.

The BAEPS Staff Development Team organised a session on February 17th, titled “Construction of e-learning communities”.  It was delivered by Dr. Lawrie Phillips, BUE Political Science Department, who both encouraged and empowered BUE teaching teams to transform their e-learning platforms from mere repositories of dead material, hour-long lectures, and bibliographies into living, interactive, multimodal, differentiated, online teaching and learning communities.

In this session Dr. Lawrie provided graphic insight into crucial e-learning strategies and techniques that all module teams of the BUE community can develop and implement.

Ms. Fatimah Ayad, assistant lecturer at the Political Science department and PhD candidate at Cairo University, appeared on the news show “عالم الظهيرة” on BBC Arabia, on Monday, the 1^st of February, 2021. She provided commentary, in her capacity on a political researcher, specialised in Asia, on the current events in Myanmar that occurred earlier that morning. She was asked to comment on the reasons why the military, led by General Min Aung Hlaing, initiated the coup, and jailed the government, particularly Aung San Suu Kyi. She was also asked to speculate regarding the possibility of violent clashes erupting in Myanmar.

On the 24^th of January 2021, Political Science Staff Development Team has organised an online training session at the faculty level, titled “Student Online Feedback”. The session was delivered by Dr. Moritz Mihatsch, lecturer at the Political Science department, and moderated by Dr. Maha Ghalwash.

The session discussed different methods of giving online and face to face feedback, as well as, possible challenges. Specifically, the session looked at synchronous individual feedback, synchronous group feedback, asynchronous feedback, and peer-feedback. The core message of the session is to not get too wrapped up in the technical questions, and to make sure not to lose sight of its human dimension. For a productive feedback session, a certain empathic link between lecturer and students is necessary, and establishing this human connection is particularly difficult in online environments.  The session was attended by more than 60 academic staff members from BAEPS three departments, and a fruitful discussion followed the session.

The Faculty of Business Administration, Economics and Political Science (BAEPS) held the first staff development session of the semester on the 19th of January 2021.  The speaker, Professor Maria Isabel Pozzo, is an international expert on education who holds dual professorships at prominent institutions in Argentina; the National Scientific and Technical Research Council of Argentina, and at the National University of Rosario.

The session, titled “Research-based Activities and Resources for Student’s Involvement in Virtual Education” aimed to introduce colleagues to different ideas for the enhancement of their teaching styles, so as to enrich students’ learning experience. The session was organised by the Political Science Staff Development team in coordination with the BAEPS Staff Development Coordinator, and was moderated by  Professor Hadia Fakhr al-Din, the Vice-Dean of Teaching & Learning. The session was attended by faculty members and lasted for one hour.  Professor Pozzo ended the session by expressing her wish for continued contact with BAEPS.

On December 15th, 2020, the BUE Political Science department’s Student Inclusion Team has organised a session titled “Study-Life Balance”. The topic of the session was chosen based on students’ reported needs to the team.

The session’s facilitator was Dr. Nikolaos Nikolakakis, who provided students with very useful tips on balancing personal, social, and academic commitments. The session covered a variety of sub-topics, like: looking after oneself, taking control of one’s time, mixing up techniques and resources and studying in short bursts and taking breaks.

The Political Science Department Staff Development Team initiated a series of online weekly staff development sessions, starting Sunday 6^th of Dec, designed to produce and promote the strategies and skills that module teams require to turn their e-learning platforms from mere repositories of lectures and readings, to centres of teaching and learning communities.

Teaching staff are thereby empowered and encouraged to design and upload multimodal lectures, interactive activities, and live online sessions, to engage students in theoretical and practical debates. The First Session was conducted by Dr. Lawrie Philips, while the second session, on Sunday 13^th of December, was conducted by Dr. Moritz Mihatsch.

The Political Science Department Senior Year Team and Dr.Moritz Mihatsch were honoured to host Professor Amany Khodair, head of the Political Science Department, who delivered a valuable session on ‘Time Management’ to senior year students on Tuesday, the 8^th of December 2020 on campus.

The session covered a variety of tips for students on the importance of time management as a fundamental skill for a good student. The session also thoroughly offered strategies that could be adopted by students to develop this skill and enhance the management of their assessments throughout the academic year.

The Political Science Final Year Project teaching team organised a session on Tuesday, December 8th from 11:00 to 12:00, titledFYP Facilitating/Coordinating Supervision Meeting.

The session was delivered by Professor Moataz Abdelfatah and outlined the main components and guidelines of dissertation writing as expected from final year students. The session involved a fruitful discussion and engagement between dissertation supervisors.

In coordination with the BUE Political Science Alumni, class of 2016, Ms. Hadeer Mohamed, the department organised a training session for the newly elected student representatives.

The session took place on the 24^th of November 2020, and it thoroughly discussed the duties of such an important role, as well as, the functions of the Staff- Students Liaison Committee. Ms. Hadeer  also provided the students with knowledge on negotiation skills, and how to handle crises by sharing her experience as a student representative herself.

On Sunday 22^nd of November 2020, the Political Science Department held the first Academic Research Seminar of the year. During the seminar, Ms. Sarah Hisham, the winner of the BUE Political Science Student Research Award, had the chance to present her paper on women’s resistance in Palestine and Iraqi Kurdistan. Ms. Sarah was awarded her certificate by Prof. Wadouda Badran, dean of the Faculty of Business Administration, Economics, and Political Science. Following the award, Dr. Ahmed Mahdi, presented his work in progress on mercantilism, oil, and US foreign policy.

Both presentations were highly engaging and interesting, and both were followed by stimulating discussions and Q&As. The event was organised by the BUE Political Science Department Research Team.

The BUE Political Science Research Team was pleased to host Dr. Mohamed Kamal, Professor of Political Science at Cairo University, as the speaker for the department’s first research seminar in the academic year 20/21. Dr. Kamal presented a fruitful presentation on the 2020 US presidential election and its implications for Egypt and the Middle East. The presentation started by tackling common misconceptions about the US decision-making mechanisms, pointing out to the significance role of the US president as an individual. This was followed by an analysis of Biden and his previous political experience and its reflection on the future US foreign policies, particularly with Egypt and the Middle East. However, Dr Kamal pointed out that the preference in Biden’s administration would be given to internal policies, especially in the field of health, economy and uniting the American nation, respectively. Dr Kamal lastly concluded with a comparison between Trump’s administration and Biden’s, emphasizing Trump’s persistent impact.

The session sparked a very interesting discussion, with questions revolving about US policy towards Turkey, Syria, and the two-state solution for the Palestinian case. Further questions revolved about the impact of Trump’s administration during COVID-19 on widening the identity strife in the American society.

Due to the nature of the topic, the session was delivered in Arabic. The live seminar was held on Thursday, November 19^th from 12:30 pm to 14:00 pm via Microsoft Teams platform.

The Political Science Senior Year team organised a workshop for Degree Year Three students on using Zotero on November 10^th 2020.

The workshop was conducted by the Senior Year Officer Dr. Moritz Mihatsch and aimed at introducing to the students a literature management software which facilitates the dissertation writing process.

It took place on campus in G-LH8 in order to present to the students Zotero features and demonstrate the step-by-step process of using the software. The workshop covered the process adding sources to the software (journal articles, books, reports, documentaries, thesis, etc) how to manage notes on sources, how to reference texts in word and how to create a bibliography automatically though Zotero.

The Political Science Department Outreach Team was honored to host Ms. Nevine Sherif, the Chevening Programme Manager at the British Embassy in Cairo. The Chevening Scholarships Orientation session took place on Sunday 11^th of October 2020 at 2:00 PM via Microsoft Teams.

The session covered a wide-range of the most important aspects of the Chevening Scholarships, including the introduction of the scholarships, eligible countries, requirements and criteria for selection, and benefits. Mr. Omar Aboubakrr, Assistant Lecturer at the BUE Political Science Department and a Chevening Scholarships alumnus, shared his hands-on experience with the audience.

A diverse audience attended the session. They included Academic staff, undergraduate students, researchers from the British University in Egypt, Assiut University, and Cairo University, among others. A number of questions were received during the Q&A period.