Background and aims

The MSc in International Relations has been running for almost a decade. Although it is based in politics, students have the opportunity to approach the subject from a variety of disciplinary approaches through courses across the School of Social and Political Sciences, the School of Law, history, and other subjects. The programme gives students key knowledge and analytical tools relevant to a career in a variety of settings related to international relations, such as international and domestic non-governmental organisations, international governmental organisations such as the United Nations or European Union, and government agencies, or for further academic research in a PhD programme.

Students can also get involved with a number of research and teaching initiatives at the University of Glasgow to experience international relations first hand, including:

• Global Security Roundtable
• Glasgow Centre for International Development
• Glasgow Refugee, Asylum and Migration Network
• Glasgow Human Rights Network

We actively promote student-centred teaching and guarantee individual dissertation supervision. Our students benefit from intensive teaching by political scientists with strong publishing profiles and international reputations in their areas of expertise. The School of Law has a number of staff interested in international law including international and European human rights law, refugee law, and international humanitarian law among other topics, which may be of interest to students working at the intersection of international relation and international law or international organisations.

Students on the programme come from diverse backgrounds, and we are proud to attract highly talented students from around the world. Over the last couple of years, the programme has welcomed students from many different countries, including Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, France, Greece, Iceland, India,  Indonesia, Japan, Malawi, Nigeria, Pakistan, Spain, Thailand, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and United States, making it a truly international study programme. Students on the programme also share classes with students on other programmes within politics and the school, which contributes to a lively, interdisciplinary, and cosmopolitan learning environment.