MRes in International Relations
One year full-time, two years part-time:
- After the Cold War, where is the world to look for international order?
- Is there any prospect of international justice?
- Can military intervention be humanitarian, and if so, under what conditions?
- Has globalization rendered nation states less relevant?
- How has neo-liberalism affected world order?
- What is/was the war on terror?
- Is US hegemony in decline and (why) does this matter?
- How will the current global economic crisis affect international order?
- Is China a potential new hegemonic challenger?
- What research methods can best be employed to address these and other questions?
If you are interested in at least some of these questions, and want to know more, with a view to becoming a doctoral student, then this is the programme for you. The MRes in International Relations will be of particular interest to students looking for a programme on contemporary global issues, such as international security, development and the North-South divide, and changing patterns on international order and disorder, and will additionally provide students with research methods training and a stepping stone to doctoral research. The department has particular strengths in international security, conflict and war, human rights, the political economy of North-South relations, international political theory, Middle East politics, and the transition from the Cold War to the post-Cold War world, as well as in research methods. The programme will be of particular interest to those who either have, or want to develop careers in fields related to government, the voluntary sector, teaching, journalism, or indeed any career where advanced knowledge of international relations is an advantage, and particularly those who wish to go on to become a research student at MPhil or PhD level. The programme will also be taught in such a way that your communication skills as well as academic ability will be further developed, thus furthering your employment opportunities.
The programme provides students with a set of analytical skills and knowledge that will allow them to think, talk and write critically about contemporary international issues, as well as a firm foundation for further study.
Programme content
Core modules
- Theories of International Relations
This module provides a critical survey of the main theories associated with the study of international relations. The module is primarily concerned with the varying theoretical explanations for why things happen in international relations. As well as addressing analytical questions the module will also address the normative and political dimensions of theory.
It will do this through discussing the general properties of IR theory and its evolution since the foundation of the discipline of International Relations after World War One, along with a focus on the significance of, and relations between states and non-state actors, and the impact of the international structures that constrain and direct the actions of these actors.
- Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods
This module seeks to provide students with advanced research skills, including the ability to select and use relevant resources effectively and to devise research questions appropriate for postgraduate research. The students will be able to develop the capacity to undertake independent guided research at postgraduate level. They will gain advanced quantitative skills appropriate for postgraduate research. They would be able to analyse and interpret published research using quantitative research methods and acquire technical competence in using SPSS to perform a range of quantitative skills.
- Dissertation
The dissertation is an important part of your degree accounting for one third of your final mark. The aim of the dissertation is to allow students to pursue guided independent research and, on successfully completing the dissertation will give you a huge sense of intellectual achievement in having developed your own ideas and sustained an argument over 12-15,000 words. It is an opportunity for you to develop your subject specific and specialist knowledge. This means that your research topic must be on a topic that fits with your degree title.You will be assigned a supervisor.
One module from the following options:
- Globalisation and International Relations
- Globalisation and the International Political Economy of Development
- International Security: War and Peace in a Global Context
- International Relations of the Middle East: Islam, Imperialism and State Formation
- Sovereignty and Intervention in International Politics
- The Americas in Comparative Perspective I: Historical Roots
- The Americas in Comparative Perspective II: Modern Politics and Society
- Themes and Cases in US Foreign Relations
- Nationalism, Democracy and Cosmopolitanism
- Ideas and Power in Spanish America: 1512 to Now
- Issues in Democratisation
- Democracy in Plural Societies
- Visions of Capitalism
- International Public Management
- Policy Analysis for the Developing World
To help spread your workload we will suggest that you take an option module that runs in the second semester. Please note the availability of option modules and scheduling is confirmed at the start of the academic year.
From 2010-11 there will be the J. Ann Tickner Prize for Best Master's Dissertation in International Relations.
J. Ann Tickner graduated in 1959 from Westfield College, now Queen Mary, University of London and has gone on to become one of the world’s leading thinkers and teachers of International Relations. Professor of International Relations at the University of Southern California and Honorary PhD at the University of Uppsala, Tickner is a former President of the International Studies Association and recipient of many other awards and forms of international recognition. Through her numerous books, articles, chapters, and teaching she has been central to establishing the study of gender and feminist perspectives in International Relations.
The J. Ann Tickner Prize for the Best Masters Dissertation in International Relations recognizes Professor Tickner’s singular contribution and past association with the College. The award will be given annually to the outstanding dissertation irrespective of the topic.
Assessment
Assessment is by a mix of written coursework and unseen test, plus a dissertation of around 12,000 words.
Entry requirements
A minimum of an upper-second class honours degree in Politics or a related discipline. International students should check the the suitability of their qualifications at the country specific information available on the College website or contact the International Office.
Further information
You can apply online using the Queen Mary's online application system, full guidance notes are provided. If you require a paper-based application, please contact the Admissions Office who will send the form to you, please specify which programme you are applying for.
Please refer to the Queen Mary website for information about admissions, accommodation, entry requirements, English language requirements (see Arts General) and fees.
When applying it is essential you provide two recent academic references that comment on your suitability for the programme applied for, and degree transcript(s), which should list your marks for each module you have taken.
International students should check the the suitability of their qualifications at the country specific information available on the Queen Mary website or contact the International Office.
For informal queries about the programme, please contact our Postgraduate Administrator; Tel: +44 (0)20 7882 8587.