Course summary

MSc International Relations (Research) is an advanced, academic study of the subject from a theoretical perspective. This programme includes a compulsory methodology course and is particularly suitable for those intending to proceed to a research degree and an academic career. The programme offers a deeper exploration of the ways in which people think about international relations, how international relations are theorised and conceptualised, and why they act the way they do when conducting international relations as a field of practice. The compulsory course covers the main explanatory and normative approaches in international relations theory - realism, liberalism, the "English School", constructivism, normative theory, gender and feminist writings and postcolonial perspectives. It explores international relations as knowledge, as a social science and as a practical discipline. The research track includes a compulsory course in social research methods. You will also submit a 10,000-word dissertation and can choose optional courses within the Department or elsewhere in the School. Alternatively, we offer the MSc International Relations programme which has a different core course, International Politics, and does not entail a compulsory methodology course.