Course details

The MA in International Relations is a one-year comprehensive course. It draws on international relations, conflict/peace studies and international history. The course explores issues such as war and peace, the international order, international crises, counterinsurgency, terrorism and foreign policy. It combines an exploration of the contemporary world with a study of the past.

Course Details

This one-year master’s course has both taught and research phases.

Modules:

  • Understanding International Conflict
  • Issues in World Politics
  • US Foreign Policy and Contemporary History
  • War and Peace: the European State System from 1648 to 1990
  • Foreign Policy and Diplomacy: Case Studies in Crises and Decision-Making

Your thesis will be on a relevant topic within the broad areas of international relations, including international history and conflict/peace studies.

Detailed Entry Requirements

To be considered for registration an applicant will normally have; (a) a primary degree of at least Second Class Honours Grade I level in a suitable subject or the equivalent (b) Applications from students with a Second Class Honours Grade II degree in a suitable subject may also be considered. These applicants may be requested to submit a proposal and/or attend an interview. 

All candidates must satisfy a Selection Committee who may request applicants to provide letters of reference.

N.B. Before completing the online application and online Supplementary Question Form, intending candidates must consult with the relevant course co-ordinators or prospective supervisors to discuss/confirm their proposed research area (Course Co-Ordinator names and contact details are available in the Course Content section further down). Following this consultation the proposed supervisor should be named on the online supplementary questions form.

Assessment

The taught half of the course is centred on continuous assessment such as long and short essays, the compilation of portfolios, policy papers, in-class exercises, analysis of international texts, class participation, and oral presentations. There is one formal written examination.

The 50% weighting for the thesis reflects the importance of independent research.

Updated on 08 November, 2015

About University College Cork

UCC was established in 1845 as one of three Queen’s Colleges - at Cork, Galway and Belfast. These new colleges theyre established in the reign of Queen Victoria, and named after her.

Queen's College, Cork (QCC) was established to provide access to higher education in the Irish province of Munster. Cork was chosen for the new college due to its place at the centre of transatlantic trade at the time and the presence of existing educational initiatives such as the Royal Cork Institution and a number of private medical schools.

The site chosen for the new college was dramatic and picturesque, on the edge of a limestone bluff overlooking the River Lee. It is associated with the educational activities of a local early Christian saint, Finbarr. It is believed that his monastery and school stood nearby, and his legend inspired UCC’s motto: ‘Where Finbarr Taught, let Munster Learn.’

On 7 November 1849, QCC opened its doors to a small group of students (only 115 students in that first session, 1849-1850) after a glittering inaugural ceremony in the Aula Maxima (Great Hall), which is still the symbolic and ceremonial heart of the University.

The limestone buildings of the Main Quadrangle (as it is now known) are built in a style inspired by the great universities of the Middle Ages, and theyre designed by the gifted architectural partnership of Thomas Deane and Benjamin Woodward. The iconic image of UCC, it is set in landscaped gardens and surrounds the green lawn known to all as the Quad.

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