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Staff, students and alumni are invited to celebrate 30 years of the UCL Department of Political Science and School of Public Policy in June 2026.
We are celebrating our 30th anniversary!
The UCL Department of Political Science and School of Public Policy is proud to celebrate 30 years of academic excellence, research contributions, policy influence and community building. To commemorate this special occasion, we are organizing a day-long celebration featuring a distinguished lecture, alumni networking opportunities, a campus tour, and drinks reception. This event aims to bring together alumni, current students, faculty, and staff to honour our past achievements and look forward to the future.
12 June 2026
1pm-9pm
UCL, Bloomsbury Campus
Join us for...
Alumni Networking, UCL History Walking Tour, Research Lighting Talks, Careers Speed Dating, PolSci 'Pub' Quiz, our Distinguished Lecture and evening Drinks Reception with Orchestra Performance.
Sign up for more information and to recieve an email when tickets are available
A short history of UCL Political Science and School of Public Policy
The School of Public Policy (SPP) was founded in 1997 as the bridge between UCL’s world-class research and the policy-making community in Britain and internationally. In 2005, a Department of Political Science was created in recognition of its emergence as the core discipline within the School.
Located in the magnificent Rubin Building overlooking Tavistock Square, it was Britain’s only politics department dedicated to postgraduate teaching and research. The Department of Political Science celebrated its official opening - and 10 years of SPP - on 31st May 2007. It was formally opened by Sir Bernard Crick, a graduate of UCL in Economics (1947). He was welcomed by Professor Richard Bellamy, UCL’s first Chair of Political Science and first Head of the Political Science Department.
We began with six Masters degrees and doctoral training programmes covering the main subfields of political theory, comparative politics and international relations, with an emphasis on public policy making within the EU, Britain and the USA, democracy, constitutionalism and citizenship, human rights, international theory, political economy and security studies. In 2007, we had 15 permanent academic staff, 6 researchers, 2 postdoctoral fellows, 200 Masters and 25 doctoral students.
Today, our ten Masters degrees and our doctoral training programme offer a range of opportunities for postgraduate study. With over 1000 students, we offer one of the largest politics graduate programmes in the UK. In recent years, we have extended our teaching to undergraduates with a policy and methods focused BSc Philosophy, Politics, and Economics degree, keeping up with UCL’s founding tradition in political economy. Our BSc in Politics and International Relations degree programme offers an innovative curriculum which will equip students with the skills to think critically, conduct high-quality research, and analyse data in addressing today’s global policy challenges. We have over ninety academic staff, research and teaching fellows, and we continue to be focused on delivering world-leading research, innovative education programmes, and influencing public policy making across the world.
