MA International Relations Double Degree with Ritsumeikan University Japan

Key details

MA INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS DOUBLE DEGREE WITH RITSUMEIKAN UNIVERSITY JAPAN

Start Year

2021

Attendance

Full Time

Award

Degree of Master of Arts

International Relations looks at the big questions within global politics. These include issues surrounding war, peace, conflict and security, as well as a range of other important transnational dynamics, such as global economics, the environment, human rights, religion and migration.

Whatever your background, this flexible and cross-disciplinary MA will have much to offer. Perhaps you have a degree in international relations, politics, economics, law or business studies, but you’re now looking to specialise. Perhaps you studied geography, environmental studies or economics, and are interested in the wider applications of your knowledge. Or maybe you simply have a keen interest in global politics, but no formal experience in any of these subjects.

We organise an annual trip to Brussels for our MA students and we hope this will take place. However, this will be subject to government health advice at the time this activity takes place

During the trip we visit the European Union and NATO, subject to availability, where there will be opportunities to speak to officials and military personnel about their work. We also meet graduates from UEA who are now living and working in or near Brussels. Other visits within our programme have included trips to Paris, Kortrijk in Flanders, and Geneva.

The course also includes study and discussion with academics, politicians and officials, as well as visits to international organisations and non-governmental bodies and think tanks, such as the European Institute for Asian Studies, International Committee of the Red Cross, World Health Organization and UNESCO. All of these opportunities will be subject to government health advice.

As a member of our postgraduate community you will also have the opportunity to attend numerous events and talks during your time here. We regularly attract distinguished lecturers, with previous guests including Jeremy Corbyn, former Leader of the Labour Party; Caroline Lucas, MP for the Green Party; Gary Gibbon, Political Editor for Channel 4 News; Owen Jones, author and columnist for The Guardian; Caroline Flint, Labour MP; John Bercow, former Speaker of the House of Commons; Shami Chakrabarti, former director of Liberty; Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Shirley Williams; Professor Anthony Giddens of the London School of Economics; Douglas Carswell, former UK Independence Party MP; Sir Stephen Wall, retired diplomat; and Lord Richard Dannatt, formerly Chief of the General Staff.

See our webpages to find out more about our postgraduate community and experience some of these lectures.

About

This degree offers students a unique opportunity to gain a double MA degree from UEA and Ritsumeikan University in Japan. Students will spend their first year at UEA then spend their second year at Ritsumeikan University, subject to government health advice at the time.

You will study the big questions of global politics: Terrorism, poverty, war, climate change, famine, disease pandemics, gender inequality, financial crises, transnational crime and underdevelopment.

You will also have the opportunity to live and study in Japan and to experience a different perspective on global politics.

Our double MA will equip you with the knowledge and skills to grapple with these challenges, helping you understand their causes and consequences within the international system.

Highlights of our course include a trip to Brussels, which we hope to run this year but this will be subject to government health advice at the time. The trip is expected to include visits to the European Union and NATO, opportunities to study with academics, politicians and officials, and visits to international organisations and non-governmental bodies and think tanks.

You will be taught by leading authorities in the field. The 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF 2014) rated 70% of UEA’s research in Politics and International Studies as world-leading or internationally excellent.

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Important Information

Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the courses listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the regular review of course programmes. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes, there will normally be prior consultation of students and others. Changes may for example consist of variations to the content and method of delivery of programmes, courses and other services, to discontinue programmes, courses and other services and to merge or combine programmes or courses. The University will endeavour to keep such changes to a minimum, and will inform students.

Assessment for Year 1

You will be assessed through a range of methods on this degree, including essays, project work, presentations and the dissertation.

All of our modules include opportunities for formative assessments, which will provide you with the expert feedback you need before you submit your final work.

Structure

Students at UEA who are enrolled on this double degree course will spend two semesters at UEA (Autumn and Spring) and two the following year at Ritsumeikan University (RU) in Kyoto, Japan (Autumn and Spring). For the latter the students will be enrolled in the Global Cooperation Programme (GCP) and Global and Japanese Perspectives Programme (JPP).

Two Master's theses will be required, one in English for UEA and one in either Japanese or English for RU. These two theses should be distinct from one another and not a translation of a single thesis, however they can be written about related topics.

Students will obtain two postgraduate taught degrees and gain substantial experience of study and life abroad, strengthening academic achievement and employability.

Teaching and Learning

Our Political, Social and International Studies department within the School of Politics, Philosophy, Language and Communication Studies possesses world-leading expertise in the research and teaching of international politics, public policy, media and society, and social and political theory.

Planning is now underway in light of the Covid-19 crisis to ensure that teaching will continue to be of the highest standard. We are prepared for teaching completely online, and for a mix of online teaching and face-to-face teaching on campus so you can be reassured that, whatever happens, you will be able to start your degree.

You will be taught by experts in international relations, security studies, political philosophy, political communications, and media studies. Our teaching is research-led, in that we ask the same questions of our students as we do in our research. Which means you can be sure your learning is at the cutting-edge of the discipline.

The department comprises more than 30 members of staff, all of whom actively engage with research in the field. We take an interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary approach to our work, linking theory to practice, to create a distinctive programme of research. This has given us a strong international reputation for research in a wide variety of areas, including international relations, international security, terrorism, human rights, religion, Britain, the European Union, Japan, Africa, the mass media (including digital media), political communications, popular culture, identity politics, public administration and public policy, political theory, and political rhetoric.

Independent study

Learning how to study and research independently, and how to present your subsequent work, are important skills that you will gain during this postgraduate degree. You will develop and hone these abilities from your first week with us, and you will build on them as you progress through the degree to your final dissertation.

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Entry Requirements

Degree classification

Bachelors (Hons) degree - 2.1 or equivalent

Degree subject

Humanities or Social Sciences

Additional entry requirements

If you have alternative qualifications that have not been mentioned above then please contact university directly for further information.

If you do not meet the academic requirements for this course, you may be able to study one of the International Graduate Diploma programmes offered by our partner INTO UEA. These programmes guarantee progression to selected masters degrees if students achieve the appropriate grade. For more details please click here:

International Graduate Diploma in Political, Social and International Studies

Students for whom english is a foreign language

We welcome applications from students whose first language is not English. To ensure such students benefit from postgraduate study, we require evidence of proficiency in English. Our usual entry requirements are as follows:

IELTS: 6.0 (minimum 5.5 in two components only, with 6.0 in the other two)
PTE (Pearson): 52 (minimum 42 in two components only with 48 in the other two)

Test dates should be within two years of the course start date.

Other tests, including Cambridge English exams and the Trinity Integrated Skills in English are also accepted by the university. The full list of accepted tests can be found here: Accepted English Language Tests

INTO UEA also run pre-sessional courses which can be taken prior to the start of your course. For further information and to see if you qualify please contact intopre-sessional@uea.ac.uk.