MA International Relations: Global Politics and Social Theory MA International Relations

The research-oriented programme provides students with up-to-date knowledge of the theory and practice of international relations with a special emphasis on the contribution of modern social theory to the analysis of global politics. In the first semester, students deepen their familiarity with the history and the present of International Relations, delve into core topics, arguments, and paradigms of contemporary social theory, and revisit the ever-growing toolbox of the quantitative and qualitative methods of social science. Building on these foundations, in the second semester, students specialise by choosing modules and seminars that further explore issues of political and social theories relevant to international relations, address the variety of global and regional social dynamics that underlie (changes in) present-day world politics, or focus on the attempts by state and non-state actors to institute a measure of global governance in diverse policy areas. In the third semester, students further broaden their horizon either by leaving Bremen for a semester abroad or a research internship or by taking additional courses in other Master’s programmes at the University of Bremen (e.g. MA Political Science, MA European Politics, or MA Social Policy). Students who wish to pursue a professional career in Germany also have the opportunity to take German courses. In the fourth semester, finally, students write their Master’s theses while attending a supporting thesis seminar that offers them an opportunity to share and discuss interim results of their ongoing thesis work with their peers as well as faculty.