杜倫大學(xué)

Course Summary

This course combines a sound basis of advanced knowledge and understanding in the broader and more disparate field of International Studies with the opportunity to choose optional specialist areas of study from among those offered in the School, and other schools such as Modern Languages and Cultures. The particular interests reflected in the choice of options may then be developed through the researching and writing of a dissertation.

Throughout the course, you will gain advanced knowledge and understanding of:

• The extent to which an international community has developed and the driving forces shaping its development
• Factors determining humanitarian interventions
• The processes of globalisation in the political, economic, cultural and scientific fields
• The governance role of international organisations
• How the degree of integration of countries into the international political and economic system varies and the determinants of those variations
• Historical and/or contemporary issues and debates in the politics and political economy of specific states and/or areas and/or international institutions and organisations
• Regime analysis and the concept of soft power governance
• An appropriate topic in international politics of their choice

Course Learning and Teaching

At the beginning of the academic year, you will go through five-day induction events in which they are informed about University, the School, the MA/MSc courses and the facilities available for their learning.

The 180 credits one-year MA degree is divided into three core and three optional modules of 15 credits each. Furthermore, you will have to submit a dissertation of 75 credits of not more than 15,000 words. Most of the modules are delivered during the first two terms and you will spend the remaining time to write the dissertation.

Usually a module has 18 contact hours spread over 9 weeks and 132 hours of self-directed learning. The modules are mainly delivered through weekly 2 hours sessions which can either take the form of seminars or one hour of lecture and one hour of tutorial. The form in which seminars are conducted can differ from one module to another. Typically modules would have elements of lectures, discussions, and presentations from students—the extent of each of these components would differ from one module to another.All modules have written exercise for formative assessments. Upon getting feedback on these assignments, you can meet your lecturers to discuss marks before then eventually completing a summative assessment. Typically summative assessments are 3000 word essays but some modules may be assessed by examination. You can also meet your module coordinators during weekly contact hours or by making an appointment. When you are working on your dissertation during the later half of the year, you will meet your assigned supervisors for a minimum of 6 hours. You will also have access to the academic advisors whenever there is a need.

Career Opportunities

Our students go on to a wide range of successful careers including civil service and other government agencies, UN/INGOs/CSOs, journalism, media, teaching, law, banking and finance, diplomatic services and risk analysis.