Our International Relations MA is an opportunity to explore in depth a range of cutting-edge topics including, globalisation, ethics and human rights, the international political economy, war, political violence and security through the perspectives of politics and international relations, philosophy and social theory. You will be taught by some of the world's leading International Relations experts, who will help you to develop the skills to undertake an extended research project on a topic of your choice.

Key benefits

• Unique opportunity to study in a multidisciplinary department devoted to the study of all aspects of war and conflict and the broad remit of international relations.
• Develop skills of in-depth and critical analysis of international politics, and become familiar with the latest, cutting-edge research in the discipline alongside up to date knowledge of world events as they unfold, including the new dimensions of international relations arising as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change, or the rise of China.
• You will be taught by some of the very best academics in the field. Our academic staff publish world-leading research and are committed to offering outstanding research-led teaching and training.
• Be part of a vibrant research community, world-renowned staff and an international student body who are drawn from a wide variety of academic and professional backgrounds.
• A chance to network and connect with visiting academics, government ministers, diplomats and other experts who are part of our War Studies community and give regular public lectures and seminars.
• An opportunity to take advantage of our extensive and continually growing network of links with other departments, think-tanks, organisations, policymaking bodies and institutions both in the UK and abroad.
• A focus on conceptual, methodological, and analytical issues at the heart of international relations will equip you with the analytical skills and in-depth knowledge required by a variety of professions.
• Graduates from this programme have gone on to careers in a variety of fields, including the UK government and security services, non-governmental organisations, the EU, NATO, the UN (and its many agencies), academia, global charities, such as Oxfam, Greenpeace, and Amnesty International and multi-national corporations.
• Our unrivalled location in the heart of London beside the River Thames brings outstanding advantages, including proximity to the Royal Courts of Justice, leading NGOs and research institutions, Westminster and London's legal quarter.

Our International Relations MA will provide you with an advanced and comprehensive understanding of the forces shaping the world and the challenge they pose both to individual states and to the international community. The movement of capital, goods, services, and people, the emergence of network organisations that transcend state boundaries, the impact of global media and information technology (including AI), the rise of identity politics, regional integration, as well as warfare on a global scale have all had a transformative impact on the state, inter-state relations and global politics.

As part of your degree programme, you will focus on developing in-depth insight into traditional and emerging trends at the heart of international relations. These include challenges posed to states by other international actors, analysis of the global political economy, climate change, the impact of digital media, new identity politics and its international ramifications and the international political implications of the global Covid 19 pandemic.

Through a variety of teaching and assessment methods, including seminars, masterclasses, simulations, poster sessions and class presentations, you will develop key analytical and research skills to confidently develop your own exploration of issues at the heart of global affairs. You will also get the freedom to explore the topics that interest you most as part of your dissertation topic.

This MA is based in the Department of War Studies, one of the few academic departments in the world to focus solely on the complexities of conflict and security. War Studies is a multidisciplinary department and all War Studies students benefit from research-led teaching in such subjects as the history and evolution of war and grand strategy, arms control and non-proliferation, migration, strategic thought, cyber war, conflict and the environment, the influence of science and technology on international security, along with regional specialisms covering Africa, Asia, Russia and elsewhere.