MA International Relations at University of Essex

We live in an increasingly interconnected and globalised world where events that unfold on other continents can affect our lives very quickly. Sometimes politicians are able to work together in a search for solutions but disagreement, and even the possibility of conflict, never seems far away.

Our most popular course, MA International Relations, attracts students from all over the world. You focus on general theoretical perspectives of the discipline, providing the tools for you to understand historical and contemporary events. The emphasis is on explaining and understanding international events, rather than simply the intellectual history of international relations as a field.

You also take optional modules from a large selection offered by our department, including:

• Global environmental issues
• Democracies in Europe
• Forecasting global trends
• International security
• Conflict resolution

Our Department of Government is one of the most prestigious in Europe, with an outstanding record of teaching, research and publication. We are rated top in the UK for research (REF 2014), and have consistently been the highest-rated politics department in the country since national assessments began.

With this course you also have the opportunity to study abroad at one of our partner institutions and achieve a dual award, which means you’ll receive two Masters degrees in two years. Find out more on our dual award webpage.

Why we're great.

• We have been ranked first in the UK for political science research since national league tables began.
• You have unrivalled one-to-one access to the best minds in politics and international relations.
• We are the only political science department to receive the prestigious Regius Professorship.

Specialist facilities

• Laboratories of networked computers featuring extensive software for political analysis
• The ESSEXLab provides opportunities for experimental lab research
• Student societies for politics, debating, and Model UN
• We organise the Essex Summer School in Social Science Data Analysis
• A programme of seminars and events run by the department

Your future

All Essex politics graduates have the distinction of a qualification from one of the world’s leading politics departments.

Our MA International Relations will help you develop key employability skills which will make you attractive to both the public and private sector, including analytical reasoning, research design, communication and report writing.

Recent graduates have gone on to work for the following high-profile organisations:

• The Civil Service
• Local government
• The World Bank
• The United Nations
• NATO
• YouGov and YouGov America

We also offer supervision for PhD and MPhil in the following fields: government; ideology and discourse analysis; international relations; political behaviour; and politics.

Our academic reputation is illustrated by the fact that many of our graduates now teach or research at universities, colleges of higher education and schools. For example, recent graduates are now research fellows and academic staff at: Mannheim, Germany; ETH Zurich, Switzerland; Duke University, USA; NATO/SHAPE, Belgium; and University of Amsterdam, Netherlands.