International Relations BA (International Hons)

Students studying the International Relations BA (International Hons) will take the required modules at both institutions in their first and second years.

1st Year

At St Andrews, the compulsory modules in IR in first year are:

• Introduction to International Relations: provides students with some of the basic theoretical approaches and concepts used in the study of international relations.
• Foreign Policy Analysis and International Security: looks at the way states make foreign policy and the importance of security to this process.

You must also choose one of the following modules:

• Macroeconomics: teaches you to use simple models to analyse such issues as the determinants of economic growth, unemployment, inflation and business cycles.
• Microeconomics: provides an introduction to the market system and consumer and producer behaviour.

At St Andrews, the compulsory modules in IR in second year are:

• Theoretical Approaches to International Relations: examines the main current theories in IR and provides an overview of their main theoretical approaches to the study of IR, from Liberalism and Realism through Constructivism and the English School, to radical Marxist and Neo-Marxist perspectives as well as Feminism, Post-Colonialism and Postmodernism.
• Issues in International Relations: explores how main current theories in IR relate to some of the issues that confront those engaged in the world of international politics.

Students will spend either their third or fourth year in St Andrews. You will be able to choose from a wide variety of advanced options, including modules in conflict and conflict resolution, human rights, international law, international security, globalisation, terrorism, and comparative politics including Africa, Middle East, Latin America, China, Central and East Asia.

Here is a sample of Honours modules which have been offered at St Andrews in previous years:

• International Political Economy
• Case Studies in Conflict Analysis
• International Security
• Peacekeeping and Humanitarian Intervention
• Armed Conflict in Postcolonial Africa
• Global Public Policy
• Identities, Belonging and Others
• Activism and Resistance
• Music, Politics and International Relations
• Ideologies and Social Movements in the Middle East.

If at St Andrews for fourth year, students also undertake a 10,000-word dissertation on a topic of their choice. This independent project enables you to develop key research skills which are desired by both prospective employers and by graduate schools offering postgraduate degrees.