Which degree for politics? (1 Viewer)

[Meldrum]

What degree should I do to get into politics? I'm not talking staffing or advising but for membership of the lower house and eventually Prime Minister.

I was thinking Law, but there's probably something better out there; pray tell.

 

[24]

Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. I think Macquarie has it. Or you could go to ANU.

 

[xeuyrawp]

What degree should I do to get into politics? I'm not talking staffing or advising but for membership of the lower house and eventually Prime Minister.

I was thinking Law, but there's probably something better out there; pray tell.

Look, it's very simple. You're going to do USyd or UNSW law. There's nothing more that can be said. We figured this out already.

 

[sikeveo]

If he makes it. There is always grad law i guess.

 

[ujuphleg]

Any degree which allows you to major in Government or Political Science obviously, and if you are looking at being Prime Minister - well most of the most prominent (and not so prominent) world leaders of the 20th/21st century possess law degrees.

My degree (Bachelor of Economic and Social Sciences) combined with Law at the University of Sydney is a good degree to do, because it allows for that Government major with minors in Political Economy (analysing Economics from the view of its political implications) or Economics, as well as letting you take other subjects like History (always important for a politician to know) or languages or whatever.

Be warned, the cut-off for Combined Law at Sydney is 99.6 so entry is HIGHLY competitive.

Bachelor of Social Sciences or International Studies/Law at UNSW is a good bet too, as well as Bachelor of International Communication at MQ.

An interesting degree (which I would have done, had I been allowed to leave home) is Bachelor of Security Analysis at the ANU - I think this is going to be the new up and coming "trend" for this decade in the same way e-commerce or IT was in the 1990's. It is a relatively new and unknown degree, but I think there is scope for it in this day and age, and if you are interested in International Relations, this may be a really good thing to do.

Whatever catches your eye though, be sure to check out the major studies avaliable (they are all outlined in the UAC Guide) and remember, you can change them after you get your UAI so they aren't set in concrete.

Good Luck!

 

[braindrainedAsh]

Yeah I also think that an international studies/international relations type degree combined with law would be really good for a career in politics.

 

[Generator]

Anything, really. There is no relevant degree as such, but some would argue that a law degree is now a necessity in order for one to exhibit clarity of expression when in Parliament. However, that's a load of crap, as far as I'm concerned. It's the person, not the degree, that matters in this regard, and it isn't as though a law degree is the only one that allows a person to develop what many would consider to be the requisite skills for a life in Canberra (or a state capital, too). What's important is making your presence known and being of sound mind (and personal and profressional 'integrity', whatever that may be).

Edit: A degree isn't really a necessity to enter parliament, rather it's your position within the local branch of the party and your standing within the local area come an election. Beyond that, it's your performance in parliamentary committees and your ability to carry an argument and your clarity of expression that should determine whether you scale the heights and reach the Cabinet or not (at the moment, though, it's more a case of who you know and whether you are willing to sacrifice your personal position for a promotion (Ruddock, anyone?)). A degree would be of great assistance in developing the skills required to make an impression in the field of policy, but it isn't a necessity.

 

[Iron]

Only the dregs of the middle-class get degrees. Dip-eds are being purged from the partys - You need to get with the grass roots, the real people. Become a train driver in Bathurst.

 

[MiuMiu]

Bachelor of Bullshit with a double major in deception/immorality

 

[sarevok]

According to my Australian Politics lecturer degrees in journalism are becoming the most prominent type of degree for members of parliament.

 

[24]

Bachelor of Bullshit with a double major in deception/immorality

lol......

10chars

 

[Iron]

According to my Australian Politics lecturer degrees in journalism are becoming the most prominent type of degree for members of parliament

Ha! just as i suspected. The information super-highway makes law irrelevant - manipulating mass audiences with non-lawyer methods, such as bright colours, magic graphics and sex scandals is the way of the future.

 

[ManlyChief]

Become a train driver in Bathurst.

... or open up a fish and chip shop in regional Queensland

But seriously, the pollies have a range of educational backgrounds. Some (eg Turnbull, Abbot) studied at Oxford as Rhodes scholars, most have a legal background, but some do not (Bob Brown - medicine, for example) and look how successful Bob Carr was with his journalist background.

As another person has said, the most important thing is to build a strong support base in you party of choice.

 

[Raiks]

My local State MP lives across the road and he has a B Economics, and my Fed MP is a minor-celebrity ultra-marathon runner... your best bet would be go join your political ideological party of your choice. It's less to do with education that it does with playing politics.

 

[Iron]

Id advise hanging around vastly inferior people (shorter, younger, stupider, uglier) so your Caesar complex can truely blossom.

 

[santaslayer]

Become famous and then get yourself into politics. Look at Arnold S.

 

[volition]

Well, just to add to your options, I suppose theres the Bachelor of Arts (Politics and Journalism) at that Notre Dame place. There's only 10 places though if you're planning on going in next year, but the advantage of it is that they don't just look at UAI.

 

[omg_a]

i would definitely recommend a canberra uni, especially anu-obviously being in canberra, parlilaments etc all right there, there are internship programs you can do as part of your degree, 6 months of a year in a government department etc and they have an extremely strong school of social sciences-politics, IR very good reputation.