University of Essex, MA, International Relations

As one of the largest political science departments in Europe Department of Government at the University of Essex covers a wide range of approaches and specialisms relating to virtually all aspects of politics. It is committed to a study of politics that is broad in scope, rigorous in approach and open to new ideas. Department rated top in the UK for political science research (REF 2014), as seen in the results of the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise with 45 per cent of research submitted rated as 'world-leading'.

The most popular course, MA International Relations attracts students from all over the world. We focus on general theoretical perspectives of the discipline, providing the tools for you to understand historical and contemporary events by placing these within an analytical framework.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

Structure of the course

A Masters course lasts for twelve months (full-time), starting in October, and consists of taught modules during your autumn and spring terms, and normally a research-based dissertation or other project-based work submitted in September.