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  • Agriculture
  • Ancient History
  • Anthropology
  • Archaeology
  • Architectural Engineering
  • Architecture
  • Art
  • Biochemistry
  • Biological Sciences
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Biomedical Sciences
  • Bioveterinary Sciences
  • Building and Surveying
  • Business and Management

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  • Classics and Classical Studies
  • Climate Science
  • Computer Science
  • Construction Management
  • Consumer Behaviour and Marketing
  • Creative Writing
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  • Economics
  • Education
  • Engineering
  • English Language and Applied Linguistics
  • English Literature
  • Environment

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  • Foundation programmes
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  • Healthcare
  • History
  • International Development
  • International Foundation Programme (IFP)
  • International Relations
  • Italian
  • Languages and Cultures
  • Law
  • Linguistics
  • Marketing
  • Mathematics
  • Medical Sciences
  • Meteorology and Climate
  • Microbiology
  • Museum Studies

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  • Pharmacology
  • Pharmacy
  • Philosophy
  • Physician Associate Studies
  • Politics and International Relations
  • Psychology
  • Real Estate and Planning
  • Spanish
  • Speech and Language Therapy
  • Surveying and Construction
  • Teaching
  • Theatre & Performance

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  • Wildlife Conservation
  • Zoology

Subjects A-C

  • Accounting
  • Agriculture
  • Ancient History
  • Animal Sciences
  • Archaeology
  • Architecture
  • Art
  • Biological Sciences
  • Biomedical Sciences
  • Business (Post-Experience)
  • Business and Management (Pre-Experience)
  • Chemistry
  • Classics and Ancient History
  • Climate Science
  • Computer Science
  • Construction Management and Engineering
  • Consumer Behaviour
  • Creative Enterprise
  • Creative Writing

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  • Data Science
  • Economics
  • Education
  • Energy and Environmental Engineering
  • Engineering
  • English Language and Applied Linguistics
  • English Literature
  • Environmental Sciences
  • Film, Theatre and Television
  • Finance
  • Food and Nutritional Sciences
  • Geography and Environmental Science
  • Graphic Design

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  • Healthcare
  • History
  • Information Management and Digital Business
  • Information Technology
  • International Development and Applied Economics
  • Languages and Cultures
  • Law
  • Linguistics
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • Meteorology and Climate
  • Microbiology
  • Nutrition
  • Pharmacy
  • Philosophy
  • Physician Associate
  • Politics and International Relations
  • Project Management
  • Psychology
  • Public Policy

Subjects Q-Z

  • Real Estate and Planning
  • Social Policy
  • Speech and Language Therapy
  • Strategic Studies
  • Teacher training
  • Theatre
  • Typography and Graphic Communication
  • War and Peace Studies
  • Zoology

MA International Relations

  • Year of entry
    2024/25 See 2023/24 entry
  • Course duration
    Full Time:  12 months Part Time: 24 months
  • Year of entry
    2024/25 See 2023/24 entry
  • Course duration
    Full Time:  12 months Part Time: 24 months

Critically analyse contemporary issues, actors and processes in world politics with our MA International Relations programme.

Contemporary international relations are marked by significant transformations and challenges affecting the world around us in critical ways – from the rise of non-western powers and challenges to the western-led international order to climate change, global health pandemics, terrorism, and financial crises.

You will study key aspects of international relations in a theoretically informed, analytically and methodologically rigorous way. It builds on a set of important theories of international relations, including non-western perspectives – and offers   the opportunity for specialisation in various aspects of:

  • international politics
  • strategic studies
  • international law
  • international organisations
  • diplomacy
  • public policy

Explore key concepts and theories of international relations

Critically examine contemporary international politics through the lens of the core theories, as you study and evaluate competing theoretical arguments to reach clear conclusions abouttheir strengths and weaknesses.

Familiarise yourself with various non-western theories and concepts related to international politics. You’ll understand the relevant differences between these theories and concepts and their western counterparts, and critically evaluate non-western theories and apply them to recent events and development on the international political stage.

Develop key employability skills

By the end of the programme, you’ll have the capacity to critically engage with relevant scholarly debates within international relations. 
You will be able to develop coherent arguments and assess and test these arguments through appropriate social science methods, using a variety of academic sources. 
Through small group seminar discussions, presentations and essays, you will become confident and effective in oral and written communication, data collection and analysis, and other practical skills. 

Build in-depth research expertise

The Quantitative Research Methods module will help you identify relevant sources of data, understand the process of collecting data, become familiar with principal types of statistical analysis, assess quantitative results in existing political science and international relations research, and use statistical techniques to test hypotheses from their research.

You will acquire a solid understanding of research design and a wide range of qualitative methods used in social science research. You will be able to assess the strengths and weaknesses of these methods, and use them for your own research.

As part of your master’s degree, you'll complete a research dissertation. It's an opportunity for you to carry out independent research supervised in a specific topic or issue – supervised by an expert – and contribute new insights to the current scholarly debate. 

Learn more about our experts.

Department of Politics and International Relations at University of Reading

  • Recognised for research quality: 97% of our research outputs are rated ‘world leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’, meaning that the University of Reading is 6th highest in the UK for research outputs (Times Higher Education analysis of the latest REF 2021 – Politics and International Studies, when scoring by GPA Output)
  • Wide-ranging expertise: Our areas of strength include Applied Political Theory, Comparative Politics, Public Policy Analysis, Conflict, Security, Strategy and International Relations. 
  • Research-led, relevant teaching: Our academics regularly feature in academic literature and the media, offering their expertise on current issues.  Learn more about how we engage in real-world politics.
  • Exciting optional modules: Across all of our master's degrees, you’ll have the flexibility to study the subjects you're most passionate about.
  • Wide variety of teaching and assessment methods: Teaching primarily occurs through small discussion-based seminars, supplemented by lectures and other activities. Assessments range from traditional essays and oral presentations to various ‘real-world’ assignments such as policy papers.

Overview

Critically analyse contemporary issues, actors and processes in world politics with our MA International Relations programme.

Contemporary international relations are marked by significant transformations and challenges affecting the world around us in critical ways – from the rise of non-western powers and challenges to the western-led international order to climate change, global health pandemics, terrorism, and financial crises.

You will study key aspects of international relations in a theoretically informed, analytically and methodologically rigorous way. It builds on a set of important theories of international relations, including non-western perspectives – and offers   the opportunity for specialisation in various aspects of:

  • international politics
  • strategic studies
  • international law
  • international organisations
  • diplomacy
  • public policy

Explore key concepts and theories of international relations

Critically examine contemporary international politics through the lens of the core theories, as you study and evaluate competing theoretical arguments to reach clear conclusions abouttheir strengths and weaknesses.

Familiarise yourself with various non-western theories and concepts related to international politics. You’ll understand the relevant differences between these theories and concepts and their western counterparts, and critically evaluate non-western theories and apply them to recent events and development on the international political stage.

Develop key employability skills

By the end of the programme, you’ll have the capacity to critically engage with relevant scholarly debates within international relations. 
You will be able to develop coherent arguments and assess and test these arguments through appropriate social science methods, using a variety of academic sources. 
Through small group seminar discussions, presentations and essays, you will become confident and effective in oral and written communication, data collection and analysis, and other practical skills. 

Build in-depth research expertise

The Quantitative Research Methods module will help you identify relevant sources of data, understand the process of collecting data, become familiar with principal types of statistical analysis, assess quantitative results in existing political science and international relations research, and use statistical techniques to test hypotheses from their research.

You will acquire a solid understanding of research design and a wide range of qualitative methods used in social science research. You will be able to assess the strengths and weaknesses of these methods, and use them for your own research.

As part of your master’s degree, you'll complete a research dissertation. It's an opportunity for you to carry out independent research supervised in a specific topic or issue – supervised by an expert – and contribute new insights to the current scholarly debate. 

Learn more about our experts.

Department of Politics and International Relations at University of Reading

  • Recognised for research quality: 97% of our research outputs are rated ‘world leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’, meaning that the University of Reading is 6th highest in the UK for research outputs (Times Higher Education analysis of the latest REF 2021 – Politics and International Studies, when scoring by GPA Output)
  • Wide-ranging expertise: Our areas of strength include Applied Political Theory, Comparative Politics, Public Policy Analysis, Conflict, Security, Strategy and International Relations. 
  • Research-led, relevant teaching: Our academics regularly feature in academic literature and the media, offering their expertise on current issues.  Learn more about how we engage in real-world politics.
  • Exciting optional modules: Across all of our master's degrees, you’ll have the flexibility to study the subjects you're most passionate about.
  • Wide variety of teaching and assessment methods: Teaching primarily occurs through small discussion-based seminars, supplemented by lectures and other activities. Assessments range from traditional essays and oral presentations to various ‘real-world’ assignments such as policy papers.

Entry requirements

Please note that entry requirements for 2024/25 have not yet been confirmed. The entry requirements for 2023/24 were:

IELTS: 6.5 overall with no element less than 5.5 (or equivalent)

Entry requirements: Normally a good undergraduate honours degree (high 2.2 level or above), or equivalent from a university outside the UK. All of our programmes are appropriate for students from any disciplinary background, although an arts, business, humanities or social science subject is preferred. Relevant work experience may also be taken into account.

Pre-sessional English language programme

If you need to improve your English language score, you can take a pre-sessional English course prior to entry onto your degree.

  • Find out the English language requirements for our courses and our pre-sessional English programme

Structure

  • Modules

We will be updating this page with module information over the coming weeks. You can also register your details with us to receive information about your course of interest and study and life at the University of Reading.

Fees

New UK/Republic of Ireland students: £10,800

New international students: £22,350

Tuition fee information

The fees listed are for full-time study, unless otherwise stated. Fee information will be confirmed in offer letters sent out to successful applicants. You can find further information, including information for part-time study, through our dedicated fees and funding page.

EU student fees

With effect from 1 August 2021, new EU students will pay international tuition fees. For exceptions, please read the UK government’s guidance for EU students.

Additional costs

Some courses will require additional payments for field trips and extra resources. You will also need to budget for your accommodation and living costs. See our information on living costs for more details.

Financial support for your studies

You may be eligible for a scholarship or bursary to help pay for your study. Students from the UK may also be eligible for a student loan to help cover these costs. See our fees and funding information for more information on what's available.

International students applying to study this degree may also be eligible to apply for a Chevening Scholarship.

Careers

Our graduates move on to a wide range of roles, including:

  • UK ambassadors
  • military officers
  • members of the SAS or intelligence analysts
  • bankers
  • political analysts
  • university lecturers
  • staff college lecturers
  • journalists
  • officials in international organisations
  • police officers.

Others have gone into industry, teaching, local government administration, charitable foundations or parliament.

 

This fantastic course really opened my mind to global politics. I would definitely recommend this course to anyone wanting to broaden their international perspective and study at a university where they can explore their individual interests, and receive lots of support from engaging lecturers!

Thomas Mueller
MA International Relations

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Related Subjects


  • Politics and International Relations
  • Strategic Studies
  • War and Peace Studies

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