Master

In Aberdeen

Price on request

Description

  • Type

    Master

  • Location

    Aberdeen

  • Duration

    12 Months

Provide an in-depth analysis of key issues in contemporary International Relations including development & political economy, security, globalisation, gender, identity, human rights, and governance. The degree will combine a core course on the conceptual and theoretical debates that underpin the discipline, with a range of electives in both semesters. The elective elements of the MSc/Postgraduate Diploma cater for individual pathways toward thematic and regional specialisation.

Facilities

Location

Start date

Aberdeen (Avon)
See map
Edward Wright Building, AB24 3QY

Start date

On request

About this course

The MLitt/Postgraduate Diploma will normally be open to students with a minimum of a 2:1 honours degree classification or equivalent in International Relations, Politics, History, Human Geography, Sociology, Philosophy, Anthropology, Development Studies, Languages, Law or other cognate disciplines.
For candidates who do not meet these admission criteria, relevant professional experience and/or supportive references will be taken
into account.
Students for whom English is not a first language should be able to demonstrate a minimum level of competence matching IELTS 6.0 or TOEFL 550.

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Course programme

The disciplinary landscape of International Relations (IR) has expanded considerably in the early twenty-first century, with a number of new challenges confronting a now outmoded global architecture of power. IR’s traditional concern with war, security, and diplomacy, called into question by the end of the Cold War and the current ‘Global War Against Terror’ has been further complicated by far-reaching epistemological and methodological shifts in social theory. Debates about the nature of globalisation, international institutions, development/post-development, global political economy, culture and identity, citizenship and rights bear prominently on efforts to understand the ebb and flow of contemporary IR. In theory and practice, understanding the modalities of power in constituting the ‘international,’ as well as challenges to hegemonic stabilizations of it, has gained a particular urgency, making the study of IR central to apprehending the complexity of global social life.

The MScIR/Postgraduate Diploma in International Relations provides a sustained engagement with key issues in contemporary International Relations including development & political economy, critical & human security, globalisation, gender, identity, human rights, and governance. Building on a foundational course on the conceptual/ theoretical underpinnings of IR, the programme offers a range of courses that enable individualized programmes of specialized study on a particular theme or region.

During the course of the programme, students develop:

  • A nuanced understanding of key concepts and paradigms that structure the disciplinary study of International Relations and the theoretical and analytical tools to engage debates about them.
  • Several areas of thematic and regional specialisation that reflect their research and professional interests. For each area, students develop the relevant empirical and theoretical knowledge and understanding to produce in-depth analysis of complex problems. Taken together, these area choices provide students with an understanding of the multifaceted nature of contemporary International Relations.
  • Postgraduate-level skills of intellectual and professional relevance including: research skills, organisation and structure, critical evaluation of sources and arguments, logic of argumentation, independent study and judgement, and written and oral communication.
  • MScIR students also complete an in-depth extended research project.

Careers
Careers that relate to International Relations often involve public sector research and policy-making in foreign affairs, defence, development and human rights. However, many graduates from this type of programme now choose to do public advocacy, research, and project management work for nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), and regional and global institutions such as the European Union or the United Nations. Graduates also forge careers in the international media, the armed forces, international risk management, and international corporations involved in trade and finance.
An MLitt qualification in International Relations will be an important asset to those who already hold an undergraduate degree in IR, given the increasing demands for postgraduate qualifications in the job market. In addition, graduates from cognate disciplines can use this route to change their career path, or improve their qualifications within the framework of an existing career.

Programme Structure

  • The programme is offered full-time over one calendar year (September to September) and part time over two calendar years. The schedule of work for part-time students is agreed in consultation with the programme director.
  • The MSc requires successful completion of 180 credits, including the 30 credit core module, three 30 credit modules from the electives list, and a 12-15,000 words dissertation (worth 60 credits).
  • The Postgraduate Diploma requires 120 credits, including the 30 credit core module and three 30 credit modules from the electives list.

MSc 12 months full-time, 24 months part-time.

International Relations

Price on request