MA International Relations

Course Learning Outcomes

The Practice of Diplomacy

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the scope and central concerns of diplomatic studies as a subfield of International Relations, and its connections to related fields such as peace and conflict studies.
• Critically evaluate competing perspectives on contemporary diplomacy.
• Analyse the role of diplomacy in resolving international crises and conflicts and addressing global problems.
• Apply their knowledge of diplomatic practice and techniques of communication and negotiation.

International Conflict Resolution

On successful completion of this module, you will be able to demonstrate:

• A conceptual understanding that enables you to evaluate critically current research and advanced scholarship in the field of international conflict resolution
• An ability to evaluate particular attempts to transform conflicts, to derive possible lessons from them for other conflict situations and to grapple with the problems of designing strategies for resolving conflicts
• A critical understanding of the inter-disciplinary nature of international conflict resolution and its relationship with other fields of study and practice
• A systematic understanding of the roles of the different domestic, international and transnational actors involved in the creation of armed conflicts and of the ways in which such actors have interacted to transform such conflicts into peace processes
• An ability to apply insights from the field in their analysis of a particular case study and to demonstrate self-direction and originality in this work.

Religion and International Relations

At the end of this module students will:

• Understand how religion is or is not dealt with by international relations theory.
• Understand and analyse the main roles of religion in contemporary international relations.
• Gain an understanding of the debates about the role of religion in international relations and the rationale of the arguments put forward. 
• Gain a detailed knowledge and understanding of the role of religion in relation to specific problems and policy issues.
• Develop critical abilities to analyse primary and secondary resources focused on religion and international relations, and be able to work independently, demonstrating initiative, self-organisation and time-management, as well as co-operating with other students to achieve common goals.

International Relations: Theories and Challenges

On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

• Appreciate the rich diversity in approaches to International Relations
• Contrast and compare different ‘paradigms’ in contemporary IR research.
• Critically evaluate the knowledge claims made by the various paradigms.
• Understand and critically assess debates among IR theorists on differing approaches to explanation and understanding in IR.
• Appreciate the ways in which the theoretical approaches relate to the practice of actors in international relations

Security Studies

On successful completion of this module you will be able to:

• Appreciate the rich diversity in current approaches to Security Studies
• Gain an understanding of the historical development of the discourses in Security.
• Assess the theoretical, historical, and scientific explanations for the causes of war.
• Evaluate the capabilities and limitations of military power as an instrument of policy.
• Understand the sources of conflict and co-operation in the international system.
• Gain an understanding of the place of Security Studies as a sub-discipline of International Relations

Humanity in Peril: Navigating Security Concerns

At the end of this module you will:

• Gain an understanding of debates about the meaning of security within international relations and the rationale for the development of a concept of ‘human security’ 
• Be able to demonstrate  a detailed knowledge and understanding of the human security debate in relation to specific problems and policy issues ranging from the environmental change through food insecurity to migration and international crime
• Be able to demonstrate an understanding of the extent and limits of the impact of human security perspectives on the policies of the UN, EU and key states
• Develop critical abilities to analyse primary and secondary resources focused on human security.
• Enhance the capacity to work independently, demonstrating initiative, self-organisation and time-management, as well as co-operating with other students as partners to achieve common goals.

International Relations Dissertation and Research Methods

• Understand research methods and digital transformation frameworks
• Analyse and evaluate research for informed decision-making
• Design digital transformation strategies for organisations
• Apply project management skills in real-world business contexts

Work Based Project

On successful completion of this module students will be able to demonstrate the ability to:

• Understand and apply relevant social scientific research methods
• Formulate a significant research question and write a research proposal
• Conduct systematic research to answer their research question
• Evaluate critically relevant sources and evidence sources
• Reference their work thoroughly, using a consistent referencing system
• Produce a dissertation that is written, argued and structured rigorously, to expected postgraduate standards