International Relations

Oldest and largest school of its kind in Ireland.
UCD School of Politics & International Relations is the oldest and largest school of its kind in Ireland with over 150 years of experience in political studies and a world-renowned faculty drawn from many countries.

Examine theoretical approaches in the contemporary study of international politics and their application.

Improve your skills in research design and qualitative and quantitative analysis.

A wide range of specialisations are available to enable you to develop your specific expertise.

The MA International Relations is a 90-credit programme. Full-time students must take a total of 60 credits between core and optional taught modules. Full time students must take three 10-credit modules in the first trimester, and three 10-credit modules in the second trimester. Students must also submit a thesis worth 30-credits or pursue an Internship instead during the summer trimester.

SPIRe part time programmes run for 2 years and students normally do 1 -2 modules per semester. The final 30-credit module is completed during the second year of the programme. PT students should complete the research design module in year 2.

Please note that our part-time programmes run during the day and are not timetabled in the evenings or at weekends.

Core and Option Modules for MA International Relations

These are the current modules for 2023/24 but are subject to change. Each of the following modules carries 10 credits unless otherwise specified.

Core Modules
POL40050 Theories of International Relations (Autumn)
POL42330 Research Design (Autumn)

Core Options Choose minimum of 1
POL42440 Political Economy of Security (Spring)
POL42060 International Security (Spring)

Option Modules

Autumn
POL40140 Theories of Global Justice
​POL40160 Comparative Public Policy
POL40540 Comparative European Politics
POL40950 Introduction to Statistics
POL41020 Politics of Human Rights
POL41510 Politics and Change in the Middle East and North Africa
POL41650 The Global Political Economy of Europe
POL41870 Political Economy of Institutions and Comparative Development
POL41980 Peace & Conflict Studies
POL42040 Gender & the Political System
POL42070 Politics of (mis-)information

Spring
POL40100 Politics of Development
​POL40370 International Political Economy
POL40610 EU Foreign, Security, and Defence Policy
POL40970 Politics of European Governance
POL41030 Theory of Human Rights
POL41640 Qualitative Research Methods for Political Science
POL41720 Gender, Peace, and Security
POL41780 The Politics of Inequality
POL41860 Governance, Politics and Development
POL42050 Quantitative Text Analysis
POL42060 International Security
POL42340 Programming for Social Scientists
POL42440 Political Economy of Security
POL42510 Party Organisation in the 21st Century

Summer Trimester Core Module
POL42300 SPIRe Internship (30 credits) or
POL42310 Thesis (30 credits)

A primary degree with at least Second Class Honours Grade 1 (2H1) in a relevant subject such as political science, international relations, social science, sociology, history, geography, economics, global studies, public policy, development studies, EU studies, law. 2H1 is equivalent to 60 per cent, B minus or 3.08 GPA - in American system: B or 3.00 GPA.

Your application will be considered on its individual merits and relevant professional experience will also be taken into account.

English language requirements: applicants whose first language is not English should have met TOEFL, IELTs, or computer-based TOEFL requirements (600, 6.5, or 250 respectively), or the Cambridge English Test (Certificate in Advanced English at a minimum of Grade B, or Certificate of Proficiency in English at Grade C). Applicants who obtained a previous degree from an English-speaking university may be exempted from this requirement. Click here for further info.

Students meeting the programme’s academic entry requirements but not the English language requirements, may enter the programme upon successful completion of UCD’s Pre-Sessional or International Pre-Master’s Pathway programmes. Please see the following link for further information http://www.ucd.ie/alc/programmes/pathways/

These are the minimum entry requirements – additional criteria may be requested for some programmes

How to apply?
The following entry routes are available:
MA International Relations FT (W235)
Deadline Rolling *

MA International Relations PT (W236)
Deadline Rolling *

* Courses will remain open until such time as all places have been filled, therefore early application is advised.

90

W235: 1 year full-time
W236: 2 years part-time
Mode of delivery: Face-to-Face

MA International Relations (W235) Full Time
EU fee per year - € 8525
nonEU fee per year - € 19900

MA International Relations (W236) Part Time
EU fee per year - € 5600
nonEU fee per year - € 9950

***Fees are subject to change

Tuition fee information is available on the UCD Fees website. Please note that UCD offers a number of graduate scholarships for full-time, self-funding international students, holding an offer of a place on a UCD graduate degree programme. For further information please see International Scholarships.

SPIRe operates a Graduate Scholarship programme. To access details, see SPIRe Graduate Scholarship Scheme.

Next Intake: 22024/2025 September

Careers & Employability
Graduates work with international private-sector employers, government agencies and non-governmental organisations including the United Nations and IMF in roles such as government social researcher, diplomatic advisor, and public affairs consultant.