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Academic Study, part 2

Master's Degrees in International Relations and Related Fields
The Universities are divided along Local and National bounds. Local means possible daily travelling from Nottingham, National means that this would not be feasible in terms of quality of life. All the Universities covered have grasped that it is in their interests to have information on their courses as freely available as possible; none of the sites that were accessed for this exercise were awful. However, there were noticeable differences in the quality and quantity of information and the comments reflect this. Added to this, there are also discussions of the ramifications of the amount or type of information provided by the institutions; either about the University itself and/or the range or number of courses they provide. This is intended to act as an informal guide or signpost to possible issues you may not have thought about, it is not intended as guidance (either positive or negative); rather, it’s meant as an indication of another potential issue to be thought about. The information provided tries to follow an ordered format as far as is possible, structured around what courses are actually offered and the level and depth of further information provided. Try not to be either encouraged or discouraged by a particular detail, especially when something is described as 'good' below, this means it is easy to follow or comprehensive in relation to the same aspect on other sites. You may find the aspect itself less useful for your individual needs, so the 'good' itself doesn’t actually tell you very much.

By and large, all the sites are equally easy (or difficult) to use. The main difference is which faculty/department/school, contains 'International Relations' in the various institutions, and this information is provided below. In the event of particular user un-friendliness (or friendliness), this has also been commented upon.

Local Master's degrees

Nottingham Trent University
School of Arts and Humanities
http://www.ntu.ac.uk/postgrad/coursefinder/35981gp.html
Courses Offered are:

1. MA in International Relations: Theories, Practices and Policies
2. Globalisation, Identity, Technology, MA/Postgraduate Diploma/Postgraduate Certificate
3. Media and Globalisation, MA/Postgraduate Diploma

MA courses are available full time (one year) and part time (two or three years).

The International Relations programme includes core modules on international relations, globalization and theory and methods with a strong academic basis, and core modules which include more vocational or practical elements. We specialise in Asia-Pacific studies, global political economy, international environment issues, international institutions, the European Union and aspects of conflict, terrorism and security, and these research strengths are reflected in the programme. All students write a 15,000 word dissertation on a topic of their choice to their own researched design.

In addition, research via MPhil and PhD is possible.

University of Birmingham
Department of Political Science and International Studies http://www.polsis.bham.ac.uk/
Courses Offered are MAs in the following areas:

1. Asia
2. Diplomacy
3. Europe
4. International Political Economy
5. Political Theory.
6. Politics & Religion
7. Security Studies
8. Theory and Training

With such a wide range of degrees on offer, information on the site is very limited in relation to course modules. You should expect that with such a large number of degrees there would be quite a lot of overlap of content.

An application form is available on-line, and enquiry details (phone, email etc.) are there; however, the details for contacting the academic staff to discuss particular concerns/details are quite tricky to find.

This section spreads over several pages.

Outline of this section

1 Introduction

2 Master's degrees locally

3 Master's degrees nationally

4 Other related courses

5 Studying abroad

Coventry University
The School of International Studies and Law has now been incorporated into the Faculty of Business, Environment and Society. Note that courses are infact available both full-time and part-time.
http://www.coventry.ac.uk/postgraduate-study/full-time-courses-by-subject/international-relations

Postgraduate courses offered as MA's include:

1. Diplomacy, Law and Global Change
2. Terrorism, International Crime and Global Security
3. Peace and Reconciliation Studies
4. International Relations by research
   

Online application forms and contact details are easy to find.

University of Leicester
Department of Politics www.le.ac.uk/politics
Courses offered are M.A.’s:

1. International Relations and World Order
2. Diplomatic Studies
3. International Security Studies
4. MSc in Political Research

There is a good level of detail provided about the degrees. The modules for the International Relations course do appear very Euro-centric. There is information about scholarship funding. There is no on-line application form, although there is a Prospectus Request form, and the usual contact details.

Loughborough University
Department of Politics, International Relations & European Studies
http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/eu/studying/masters/programmes.html
Courses offered are MSc's.:

1. European and International Studies
2. International Relations
3. Research Methods (European and International)

There is a good level of course detail and plenty of contact details are provided, but the online application form seems to have disappeared...

... however, the Department of Geography offers IR related post-graduate courses (http://www.lboro.ac.uk/prospectus/pg/gy/index.htm) including:

1. Global Transformations
2. Financial Globalization
3. Citizenship, Identity and Globalization
4. International Financial and Political Relations

Application information, including an online application form, are available here.

University of Nottingham
School of Politics www.nottingham.ac.uk/politics
Taught courses offered are MAs (both full and part-time), and include:

1. International Relations
2. Diplomacy
3. European and Global Politics
4. International Security and Terrorism
5. Social and Global Justice

In addition, research-based MA's in International Relations and Politics are available.

The details of the actual courses are somewhat brief. There is an on-line application form. Information about scholarships and Staff email addresses for further enquiries are also available.

University of Sheffield
Department of Politics http://www.shef.ac.uk/politics/prospectivepg/masters
Courses offered are MAs, and include:

1. International Political Economy
2. International Studies

There is a good level of information provided about the degrees. There is an on-line application form, and staff email addresses for further individual enquiries are provided.

University of Warwick
Department of Politics and International Studies http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/pais/
Courses offered are MAs:

1. International Relations
2. International Political Economy
3. International Politics and East Asia
4. MA Globalisation and Development
5. International Politics and Europe
6. International Secuirty
7. Humanitarianism and Security

The information provided on the courses is lacking in detail. There is an on-line application, though no staff email addresses are provided for individual enquiries. There are general enquiry details. At time of accessing (July 2001) there is a notice to say that the site is still under construction. More detail may be available when you access it.

Next...Master's degrees nationally