Program Overview
This MA program examines the changing geopolitical landscape, focusing on the rise of new powers and the impact of globalization on international security. Students delve into core modules on geopolitics, security challenges, and research methods. Optional modules allow specialization in areas such as conflict resolution, global health, and Russian affairs.
Program Outline
Degree Overview:
This MA program focuses on the evolving geopolitical landscape, particularly the rise of new Great Powers, the re-emergence of Russia, the debate over American grand strategy, and the challenges to British foreign policy in a post-Brexit world. It delves into the new geopolitics of an emerging multipolar world order and the implications of the return to Great Power politics. The program aims to provide students with an advanced understanding of security topics and the new security challenges that have emerged in a globalized world. It explores these issues within different geographical contexts, offering a comprehensive perspective on contemporary geopolitical dynamics.
Outline:
Duration:
1 year full-time, 2 years part-time
Start Date:
September 2024
Application Deadline:
1 August 2024 (international), 1 September 2024 (UK)
Core Modules:
- Autumn Teaching:
- Geopolitics and International Affairs
- New Security Challenges
- Spring Teaching:
- Research Methods and Professional Skills (IR)
- Summer Teaching:
- Dissertation (Geopolitics and International Affairs)
Optional Modules:
- Spring Teaching:
- Conflict, Peace, and the Places in Between
- Global Health: Development, Security and Inequality
- Managing Economic Instability
- Religions, Cultures and Civilisations in International Relations
- Russia, Eurasia and the Crisis of the Liberal West
- War and Security in North/South Perspective
- Summer Teaching:
- Dissertation with Placement (Global Studies)
Field Trip:
- The program offers optional self-funded field trips to London, UK and Brussels, Belgium. These trips aim to facilitate student interaction with policymakers and practitioners from international organizations.
Placements:
- Students can apply for optional placements to gain experience and enhance their employability. Research placements are available for up to 12 weeks during the summer term and vacation. Students can also base their dissertation on their placement experience.
Teaching:
- The program is taught within the School of Global Studies, which brings together Anthropology, Development Studies, Geography, and International Relations.
- Teaching is informed by the School's distinctive program of events and interdisciplinary research strengths, including the Sussex Centre for Global Insecurities Research, the Centre for Advanced International Theory, and the Centre for Global Political Economy.
- Students benefit from an interdisciplinary and intercultural learning environment, interacting with peers from diverse academic disciplines and professional backgrounds.
Careers:
- Graduates are equipped with a thorough understanding of International Relations, making them well-suited for various career paths.
- Potential career roles include:
- Foreign service, trade, or other government departments
- International civil service (e.g., United Nations)
- Non-governmental organizations (e.g., development, environment, health, humanitarian assistance)
- Media organizations
- Private sector (where international political expertise is increasingly valued)
- The program also prepares students for PhD studies and academic careers.
Other:
- The program is ranked 9th in the UK for Political Sciences (ShanghaiRanking Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2023) and 9th in the UK for Social Sciences (The Times Higher Education World University Rankings by Subject 2024).
- The program emphasizes the importance of developing transferable skills such as interdisciplinary and teamwork skills, problem-solving skills, critical thinking and research skills, and communication skills.
- The program benefits from strong working relationships with alumni, collaborators, and partner organizations around the world.
- The program is designed to provide students with the expertise and cultural background required for many jobs in today's globalized world.
