Overview

Objectives

The MSc (International Relations) programme offers an integrative set of courses that aims to equip students with the ability to understand international relations and develop their own concepts to deal with volatile world situations.

The MSc IR programme is designed to help students better comprehend the ever-changing international scene. It aims to help students:

• Develop analytical skills to understand a complex, interdependent world.
• Recognize the significance of theory for practice, and practice in theory.
• Appreciate the complex dynamics between state and non-state actors.
• Encourage creative rethinking of policy analysis.

Relevance

Contemporary international relations are no longer the exclusive preserve of state actors. The high politics of war, peace, and strategic diplomacy have expanded in scope to accommodate an array of concerns, encompassing complex and interrelated issues, such as: international trade and investment; ethnic conflict; terrorism and insurgency; non-traditional security issues related to the environment, energy, water, and health. Against this backdrop, the management of conflict and the search for justice and recognition (state, social, individual) are becoming more emotively charged. The traditional approach to security is being subsumed by newer concepts, such as global governance, politics of communications, and the politics of the global South. At the same time, global and regional multilateral institutions are experimenting with new techniques for dealing with conflict and wars of all sort and scales.

Benefits

For the wide array of our student body—post-graduate students, diplomatic personnel, military personnel, civil servants, NGO activists, philanthropists, and retired professionals—the benefits of our multipronged programme is that it offers skills for navigating our new, complex, and volatile international arena. For students already equipped with a wealth of experience from their careers (public or private), joining the MSc programme will enrich their awareness of creative possibilities for making this world a better place.

Content

The MSc (international relations) programme is specially designed to cover a broad spectrum of issues, including:

• Theories of International Relations
• The Making of Foreign Policy
• Technology Management
• Global Governance
• Politics of Communications
• Politics of the Global South
• Foreign Policies of the Great Powers
• Area studies, specifically the Asia Pacific Region

Students are required to take one core course: The Study of International Relations. In addition, students completing a Masters dissertation must take six more courses, while those in the non-dissertation stream must take eight more courses.

Career Advancement

MSc (International Relations) graduates may pursue careers in public relations or media industries.
Other options are public sector jobs in policymaking or foreign affairs and positions in international organisations and NGOs. Opportunities in research and academia also await students who complete this course.