MSc International Relations

A first or 2.1 undergraduate degree in a relevant social science or humanities discipline (or an equivalent qualification). 

English language requirements

IELTS minimum overall: 6.5

IELTS minimum by component: 6.0

All fees are subject to increase or review for subsequent academic years. Please note that not all visa routes permit part-time study and overseas students entering the UK on a Tier 4 visa will not be permitted to study on a part-time basis.

Compulsory Modules

Introduction to Research

This module provides an introduction to the design and conduct of social science research. Emphasis is placed on the applicability of these methods to other subject areas across the social sciences.

Research in Practice

This module has a strong practical focus. You will gain experience of using both qualitative and quantitative methods, and applying your knowledge of research methods.

Theories of International Relations

The module explores a range of theoretical approaches to study of International Relations thus introducing students to different ways current trends in the international system. The module will follow a historiographical approach thus starting with the “classical debates in IR theories, then moving on to mainstream debates and concluding with critical approaches

Optional modules include:

Global Governance

This module provides a general introduction to the contemporary system of global governance. It seeks to provide students with a general overview of key concepts, structures and theoretical debates in this field. It looks at the links between national and international politics and encourages students to think critically about social, political and economic trends.

Politics of International Intervention 1

This module will examine, from both a theoretical and a practical perspective, the different kinds of international intervention in response to poverty, humanitarian crisis, abuses of human rights, state failure and armed conflict.

Politics of International Intervention 2

This module builds on Politics of International Intervention 1 by requiring students to deliver a critical analysis of the failures and successes of intervention in two respects: first, to critique the theoretical literature on intervention in respect of its explanatory power – students are thus required to explore the relative utility of varying analytical frameworks against the background of that which they seek to explain; second, to critique the practice of intervention– students will develop the skills to compare and contrast intervention in different crises. They will also learn to evaluate the relative successes and account for them.

Terrorism Studies

This module provides the opportunity for students to explore a range of contemporary and historical case studies of the use of political violence by non-state and state actors. The module will analyse the utility of a range of theoretical perspectives in explaining the sources of terrorism and the potential solutions to political violence.

Security Studies

Security Studies offers a critical introduction to the major philosophical and contemporary debates that structure the sub-discipline. The module is organised around core questions in the field of security studies, such as: What is security? Security for whom or for what? Security from whom or from what? How should security be achieved? And is security possible? First, students are introduced to the major competing conceptual positions within the sub-discipline. Second, students will explore some of the most pertinent case studies and issues in international security today, including military interventions in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya, as well as human security issues such as environmental change, health and poverty.

International Security and Defence

This module will enable the student to examine different types of state, non-state and international, regional and sub-regional security and defence providers in the context of new security threats, including the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, failed states and the new interventionism. Actors include the UN, the EU, NATO, ECOWAS, the US, France, Germany, the UK, Poland, NGOs and private military companies. Students will have the opportunity to engage with a variety of relevant theoretical approaches which in turn will provide them with the tools to analyse how these different security actors have evolved, how they cooperate or conflict with each other and the role each plays in the new international security environment.

Key Issues in International Relations

This module provides an opportunity for students to investigate and discuss contemporary developments in international politics. The specific content varies to meet contemporary issues. Typically, the module will cover a range of issues, at regional and international levels, such as the environment, globalisation, nationalism, international conflicts and economic developments.

International Political Economy

This module provides an opportunity for students to apply their understanding of key theories and debates in international political economy (IPE) to current developments and case studies. Students will be able to discuss and debate the role of the main IPE institutions with a focus on the Asia-Pacific region. Current and future challenges to the status quo of IPE are also discussed.

American Foreign Policy

The first half of this module introduces students to the different schools of thought on American foreign policy. This provides students with the vocabulary to then interpret and assess US foreign policy since the end of the Cold War. The second half of the module introduces students to key contemporary issues in American foreign policy.

The EU and Its Neighbourhood

This module considers the EU’s perception of threats and opportunities and the methods it employs in order to reduce threat and maximise potential. Identity is a particular focus: what it means to be European and how much of that identity is shaped by the EU versus other actors. Specific policy areas are examined, including the European Neighbourhood Policy, Eastern Partnership, Union for the Mediterranean and Black Sea Synergy. Russia is treated as a particular case that reveals the successes of the EU’s multilateral activities and the complexities engendered by its member states’ bilateral relationships.