Video transcript: Undergraduate Study in the School of Politics and International Studies

Transcript for the video embedded on the BA International Development, BA Politics, BA International Relations, and BA Economics and Politics pages.

(Logo on screen, University of Leeds. Cothney, a BA Politics and French student, is on the University campus. She grins at the camera before speaking. Other students walk by in the background.) 

Cothney: I chose to study this course because I want to help people. Politics can lead me to make a difference and support those people that do not have a representation.  

(Luize, a BA Economics and Politics student, speaks while walking through the leafy campus. The camera shows students from a variety of ethnic backgrounds attending a lecture and working on their laptops. Text on screen: Explore real world challenges around the globe.) 

Luize: Studying politics and international studies is very relevant. We get to see the world from different perspectives. We learn about all the things happening around us, about the geopolitical tensions, about different ideologies. I just have learned so much about the world around me. 

(Cothney sits at a picnic table, talking to camera with a notebook and pen by her side.) 

Cothney: Politics gives me the possibility to bring my thoughts into the world to answer some of the big questions. 

(Lee-Yin, brackets Rosie, a BA International Relations student. She speaks to the camera while ambling along a university corridor. Later, she engages in a tutorial, fielding a question from the tutor.) 

Lee-Yin: Leeds is a fantastic university for students to learn. They do have excellent resources and facilities and approachable staff.  

(As Luize speaks, four students sit on wooden benches in the university gardens, interacting with one another. A group of students can also be seen chatting inside a modern university building.) 

Luize: We network with people from different countries. We learn a lot from professors and also from course mates.  

(Text on screen: Inspirational teaching in politics and international studies.) 

Luize: We build our perception of the world and it's so helpful to be surrounded by people who come from different backgrounds because we can learn so much from them. 

(Cothney strolls through the campus grounds. As she speaks, we see a birds eye view of the campus, showing a mix of traditional red brick and modern buildings. Cothney, Luize and Lee-Yin sit smiling around a table, pouring over lecture notes.) 

Cothney: Being at the University of Leeds, you get to understand other people's way of thinking. You have the possibility as well to be inspired. Inspired by different people with different minds. 

(As Luize speaks, a group of students engage in discussion in front of their laptops in a study space.) 

Luize: I'm inspired by highly ambitious people, and here at the University of Leeds, I have met so many of them. They are eager to learn and network. It's so interesting to just sit down with them and discuss everything that's happening around us. 

(As Cothney speaks, two students sit with their laptops open in front of them, engaged in conversation as the sun pours in through a panelled glass window.) 

Cothney: In terms of career development, I’ve been able to experience team working and to apply critical thinking which is very useful for the future. 

(As Luize speaks, she studies a document about European Union trade policy, while taking notes in a University library. Text on screen: Develop skills and knowledge for a successful career.) 

Luize: This course has helped me to prepare for the future because I have developed so many different skills. I have expanded my network and I have gained so many different opportunities here at university and also in different countries. During my studies here, I already took part in many different activities and I also had an opportunity to do a summer internship in London. 

(As Lee-Yin speaks, she studies at a computer whilst in class. She engages in conversation with the lecturer. Later, Lee-Yin is walking down a corridor, speaking to the camera.) 

Lee-Yin: I aspire to be a policy advisor, I’m eager to contribute a positive change to society and help those who need it in the world. 

(Cothney speaks, while a collection of students engage keenly with their tutors and each other.) 

Cothney: My aspiration for the future is to become a diplomat. Politics gives me the possibility to discover other options, to help me understand who I am as well as a person. 

(As Luize speaks, she Cothney and Lee-Yin chat and study together in a bright library study space.) 

Luize: I decided to come and study politics and international studies because I want to make a change in the world. And here at the university it was possible. 

(With beaming smiles, Cothney, Luize and Lee-Yin gather beside a sign which reads ‘Welcome to the Social Science Building’, resting their weight on a floor-to-ceiling glass wall. A birds-eye view of the tree-lined University of Leeds campus.) 

(Text on screen: School of Politics and International Studies. Find out more at essl.leeds.ac.uk/politics-undergraduate. Logo, University of Leeds.)