MA International Relations

This programme provides a foundation in the academic discipline of International Relations and the array of ‘real world’ practices and problems that produce world politics. Having introduced the theoretical and methodological components which facilitate our study of the field, the aim is to use these tools to examine, explain and understand the issues and processes that make up our world: looking, for example, at war; diplomacy; arms control and arms proliferation; global health policy; humanitarian intervention; international development policy; race and legacies of colonialism; human displacement; inequality and injustice. While attending closely and consistently to traditional issues such as armed conflict, it thus offers a significantly broader education in international politics.

Students are thus able to balance engagement with core content in the field of International Relations with active development of their own areas of specialism as they progress through choosing elective courses according to their own interests. Among the central aims of the programme is the provision of the high-quality methodological and research design training needed to conduct independent research projects to an academically accredited standard. This culminates in the final dissertation stage of the programme. Recent students' dissertation topics have included: Jihadi use of social media; Russian foreign and security policy after the Ukraine conflict; Extreme right-wing terrorism and the internet; Russian private military actors; EU defence policy after BREXIT; Baltic security and the future of NATO; Paramilitarism and the Northern Irish border; Indian defence and security in relation to rising China; The limits of ‘truth and reconciliation’ in conflict resolution.

International Relations Highlights

Taught by world-leading experts in areas such as migration and asylum, border security, visual culture and international ethics.

Industry Links

• You will be studying timely, relevant and pressing issues that will be ‘live’ throughout the programme (e.g. BREXIT & EU negotiations; migration and refugees; conflict and war; climate change developments). Many academics on the programme are engaged in QPOL (Queen’s Policy Engagement) – this is the ‘front door’ for public policy engagement at Queen’s University, supporting academics and policymakers in sharing evidence-based research and ideas on the major social, cultural and economic challenges facing society regionally, nationally and beyond.

Career Development

• Queen’s is ranked in the top 140 in the world for graduate prospects (QS Graduate Employability Rankings (2020). Queen's is ranked 26th in the UK for graduate prospects (Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2020).

World-Class Facilities

• We also often host guest lectures and are closely affiliated with the Senator George J Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice at Queen’s. This Institute aims to tackle major global problems by bringing world-leading academics and experts together. The Institute has welcomed a number of high profile speakers from the political arena to the University over the past year, including President Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Hilary Clinton (who was awarded an honorary degree by the University and who is now our Chancellor), and Speaker of the UK House of Commons, John Bercow MP.
• Politics was ranked joint 1st in the UK for Research Intensity (Complete University Guide 2021).

Internationally Renowned Experts

• Taught by world-leading experts in areas such as migration and asylum, border security, visual culture and international ethics. An opportunity to study international relations in a location where communal conflicts have a clear international aspect in both their perpetuation and resolution.
• Belfast is a location where communal conflict has had significant international aspects in both its perpetuation and resolution. Northern Ireland remains a model of conflict resolution and peacebuilding across the world and students benefit from the School and University’s wider expertise in terrorism and political violence, conflict resolution, security studies, border studies and Irish and Northern Irish politics.

Student Experience

• All of the modules on our programme are taught by research-active academics who are world leaders in their specific fields of International Relations. For example, members of staff are currently conducting research on war, trade, security, diplomacy, conflict, migration, intervention, terrorism, violence, climate change, human rights and international institutions.
• International Relations at Queen’s benefits from a vibrant interdisciplinary research culture within the School, including insights from History, Anthropology and Philosophy as well as engagement with academics across the wider University in fields such as law, sociology and social policy, management and computing (for example, in collaboration for the study of cybersecurity threats).
• Queen’s is ranked 14th in the UK for research quality (Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2020). Queen’s is ranked in the top 75 universities in Europe for Teaching Excellent (Times Higher Education, 2019). Queen’s is ranked 22nd in the world for international outlook (Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2020). Queen’s currently has over 3,000 international students from 85 different countries. 11% of the Queen’s student population are international students.

Queen's University Belfast is one of the leading universities in the UK and Ireland with a distinguished heritage and history.

Founded in 1845 as Queen's College Belfast, we became an independent university in 1908. The University is a member of the Russell Group of UK research-intensive universities, combining excellence in research and education with a student-centred ethos.

Queen’s campus is at the heart of Belfast in Northern Ireland which has the lowest cost of living in the UK (Mercer Cost of Living City Ranking 2021) making it a more affordable option for students.

A World-Class Education and Student Experience

Queen’s offers a world-class education that prepares our students for leadership and citizenship in a global society.

Our inspiring alumni comprises outstanding scholars, Nobel Prize winners - such as Seamus Heaney and David Trimble - and influential leaders who are making an impact in Northern Ireland and across the globe.

Programmes are focused on preparing students for future employment. Students not only learn the core academic material from the staff at the forefront of their discipline but also learn how to put it into practice through practical workshops and hands-on sessions, ensuring that upon graduation, students are ready to step up as the next generation of industry leaders.

A Global and Inclusive University Community

Queen’s is attracting global talent to Belfast.

We currently have staff and students from over 80 countries, helping to create a multicultural and vibrant campus. They are joining a university that is committed to attracting, retaining, and developing the best global talent within an environment that enables them to realise their full potential.

An innovative, welcoming, and inclusive place to work and study, Queen’s is a leader in gender equality and diversity and currently holds a prestigious Athena Swan Silver Award. The University also holds 14 School Awards comprising 3 Gold, 6 Silver and 5 Bronze.

Research That Shapes Worlds

Queen’s University Belfast is globally connected and networked with leading universities across the world.

We continue to drive forward research to shape worlds, focusing on five key areas. Ensuring a healthy living for all through developing solutions and treatments for diseases; helping to deliver a transformative and sustainable economy for future generations; leading to securely connected intelligence and AI and the data revolution. We are at the forefront of delivering future-focused human-environment relations; and will continue our strong history of expertise in conflict resolution and building inclusive and cohesive communities.

Ranked 24 in the UK for Research Power

We are forward thinkers and will continue to direct and shape research to help support a workable environment and society.

88% of our research has been assessed as world-leading and internationally excellent, 99% of our research environment was assessed as world-leading or internationally excellent and we are ranked 24th in the UK for Research Power (REF 2021/ Times Higher Education).

Northern Ireland's Legendary Beauty

Queen’s University is situated in Belfast, the capital city of Northern Ireland.

In a city with innovation at its heart, technological advances infiltrate every sector helping to build our competitiveness on the global stage. Belfast is in the world’s top 10 Digital Economies of the Future - the only UK city outside London to be listed (Financial Times’ fDi Intelligence, 2018) and was voted one of the top 15 friendliest cities in Europe (Condé Nast Traveller, Readers' Choice Awards 2021).

It is one of Europe's most hip, vibrant and affordable cities, lauded for its energy, and rich in culture and history. Queen's stunning campus is within Belfast's Queen's Quarter, with cafés, bars, restaurants, superb shopping, and entertainment venues (Complete University Guide 2022).