The MA in International Relations will provide students with a thorough grounding in core issues and dilemmas in world politics the key theoretical debates that have shaped this field of study.

The course explores issues and problems crucial to international politics, which are of international, regional and national importance. It promotes the study of those problems through theoretical, ethical and practical inquiry, drawing on the expertise of a large and diverse team of research-active international relations specialists. It is designed for students who are either familiar with the study of international politics at undergraduate level or who are enthusiastic to focus on this area of study at the postgraduate level.

Postgraduate students will also have the opportunity to take part in a wide range of events. They will be welcomed as a member of the international relations and security research group. This group includes members of academic staff and postgraduate research students who meet regularly to discuss their own research, recent publications and to organise research events including inviting visiting speakers.  

The course covers both long establish fields of study such as war, security, foreign policy and diplomacy and new research agendas such as rising powers, global justice, and gender issues.  The core aims are to provide an introduction to International Relations Theory for those students new the subject and to ground theoretical studies in a range of concrete puzzles, problems and dilemmas. Gradually, week by week, students will build to the level of deep knowledge and understanding of this diverse field. A further aim is to prepare students to conduct independent research and analyses of international politics.