MPhil in International Relations

• Applicants are normally expected to be predicted or have achieved a first-class or strong upper second-class undergraduate degree with honours (or equivalent international qualifications), as a minimum, in political science or international relations, or in a closely related discipline (eg economics, history, philosophy, sociology, law, etc).
• Nonetheless, each application will be assessed upon its own merits, and so candidates with a degree in an unrelated discipline should demonstrate the relevance of their academic background to their proposed subject or topic of study. 
• Applicants whose first language is not English are usually required to provide evidence of proficiency in English at the higher level required by the University.

In the first year as an MPhil in International Relations student, you must complete core classes in the development of the international system and contemporary debates in international relations theory, and a course on research design and methods in international relations.

At the end of your first year, you have to sit a single three-hour written examination, with questions drawn from the compulsory subject, and submit research methods training coursework and a research design proposal as preparation for the MPhil thesis. Progression to the second year is conditional on satisfactory performance in the first.

In your second year you will write a thesis and complete two specialist optional papers. Options offered in recent years have covered European international history since 1945, strategic studies, the international relations of the Middle East, and Classical theories of international relations.

At the end of the course, you are required to sit two three-hour written examinations in the optional papers of your choice and submit a thesis of not more than 30,000 words.