Master of International Studies

The Masters in International Studies is a broad based multidisciplinary degree that allows students a high degree of flexibility in terms of unit choice and subjects. While the Masters of International Relations is firmly embedded within the Discipline of International Relations, International Studies is more closely aligned with Comparative Politics and Area Studies. The Master of International Studies is designed to equip students with analytical and critical skills for understanding contemporary international affairs, and will prepare you for entry into a wide range of professions. Unlike the Masters of International Relations, which is firmly embedded in the Political Science sub-discipline of International Relations, the International Studies degree has no theoretical or conceptual core that students are required to complete. Students undertaking a Masters in International Studies can effectively design their own degree through unique combinations of units based on the specific interests of the students. Many students taking the Masters of International Studies have an interest in Comparative Politics or Area studies rather than a desire to understand the operation of the international political system itself. In this respect, International Studies can be considered to be much broader in focus than International Relations.



After choosing from a menu of International Studies core units to receive a grounding in the discipline that is tailored to their interests, students also have the opportunity to focus on area studies and comparative politics, with units on Australian politics and policy, development, democracies and authoritarianism, and the politics of Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Asia Pacific Region as a whole.



Why Study International Studies at Sydney?

The Department of Government and International Relations is one of the largest and most prestigious in the Southern hemisphere, with an outstanding record of teaching, research...