find your perfect postgrad program
Search our Database of 30,000 Courses

University of Aberdeen: International Relations

Institution University of Aberdeen View institution profile
Department School of Social Science
Web https://www.abdn.ac.uk
Email pgadmissions@abdn.ac.uk
Telephone 01224 272090
Study type Taught

Summary

The MSc in International Relations offers you the opportunity to study international order/disorder in relation to the interaction among states; transnational institutions; non-governmental organisations; multinational corporations; popular culture and everyday life. The disciplinary landscape of International Relations (IR) has expanded considerably in the early twenty-first century, with a number of new challenges confronting a now outmoded global architecture of power. IR's traditional concern with war, security and diplomacy have been called into question by the end of the Cold War and the War On Terror and have been further complicated by far-reaching epistemological and methodological shifts in social theory.

Debates about the nature of globalisation, international institutions, development/post-development, global political economy, culture and identity, citizenship and rights bear prominently on efforts to understand the ebb and flow of contemporary IR. In theory and practice, understanding the modalities of power in constituting the ‘international,’ as well as challenges to hegemonic stabilisations of it, has gained a particular urgency, making the study of IR central to apprehending the complexity of global social life.

The MSc in International Relations provides you with a sustained engagement with key issues in contemporary international relations including development & political economy, critical & human security, globalisation, gender, identity, human rights and governance.

Along with building a foundation on the conceptual/theoretical underpinnings of international relations, you have the opportunity to choose from a range of courses, allowing for specialised study on a particular theme or region. Over the course of the programme you will develop the in-depth analytical and research skills to enable consultancy on behalf of a range of international organisations.

MSc

University of Aberdeen

Overview

The University of Aberdeen is Scotland’s third oldest university and the fifth  oldest in the UK. Founded by Bishop William Elphinstone in 1495, the beautiful campus attracts a diverse international community of over 14,000 students from over 130 countries.

The University of Aberdeen is ranked as a Top 15 UK university by the Guardian University Guide 2025 and Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025. It also ranks second across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for student satisfaction in The National Student Survey 2024.

University of AberdeenUniversity of Aberdeen

Postgraduate Programmes

Aberdeen offers an

View Profile

Postgraduate Bursary Opportunity with Postgrad.com

Are you studying as a PG student at the moment or have you recently been accepted on a postgraduate program? Apply now for one of our £2000 PGS bursaries.

Click here