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Politics and International Relations at UEA
Find out more about studying Politics and International Relations at UEA, and browse our other courses.
Find out moreMA International Relations with a Placement Year
Key details
- Attendance
- Full Time
- Award
- Degree of Master of Arts
- Course Length
- 2 years
- Course Start Date
- September 2026
Other Start Dates
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UEA is ranked top 20 in the UK for Research QualityCourse Overview
Why MA International Relations with a Placement Year at UEA?
This MA sharpens your critical thinking and extends your theoretical range to make sense of a world shaped by power, economics, and global interdependence.
At UEA, you'll be part of a research community whose work spans global governance, regional politics, and the forces reshaping international order.
Why Choose UEA
- Global scope: Engage with international relations theory and critical approaches to global politics
- Intentional expertise: Build expertise in global political economy, human rights, or regional politics across Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Global South
- Policy in practice: Access partnerships and placements with think tanks, international organisations, and policy institutions
What is MA International Relations with a Placement Year?
This MA offers a rigorous and wide-ranging education in the theories, institutions, and dynamics shaping contemporary world affairs. From global economic governance and human rights to regional power rivalries and diplomatic practice, the curriculum is genuinely broad.
Core theoretical training is balanced with flexible specialist options, allowing you to pursue a path that reflects your own intellectual priorities. Research methods training equips you with the tools to investigate international relations questions independently and rigorously. You’ll also gain valuable real-world experience through a placement year.
Open to graduates from any discipline and professionals from any sector, the programme provides expertise and connections to open doors across the worlds of policy, diplomacy, and international development.
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Placement Year
This course includes an integrated placement year, giving you the opportunity to gain valuable UK industry experience as part of your Master’s degree.
Alongside your studies, you’ll take part in an employability programme designed to help you develop workplace skills and prepare for professional opportunities in the UK. Through practical workshops, one-to-one coaching and personalised guidance, you’ll build the confidence to search for and secure a placement.
During your placement year, you’ll have the opportunity to undertake an industry placement or complete three employer-led industry projects with different UK organisations. This experience will enable you to apply your learning in a professional environment, expand your network, develop practical skills and enhance your career prospects after graduation.
You’ll take an active role in finding your placement, supported throughout by our employability team and specialist placement partner. If you’re unable to secure a placement, you’ll complete three employer-led industry projects, collaborating with organisations across a range of UK sectors to gain valuable real-world experience.
Find out more about our Postgraduate Placement Year(opens in a new window) and the opportunities it can offer.
Careers
Career Pathways
With an MA International Relations degree, you could launch a career as:
- Policy analyst: Evaluate international developments and produce evidence-based analysis for governments, think tanks, and international organisations
- Diplomatic and foreign service officer: Represent national or multilateral interests across a wide range of bilateral and international contexts
- Advocacy and outreach officer: Develop and communicate policy positions for NGOs, human rights organisations, and international advocacy networks
- Global risk analyst: Assess political, economic, and geopolitical risks for corporations, consultancies, and financial institutions operating internationally
- International development professional: Design and implement programmes addressing poverty, governance, and sustainable development across global contexts
Career Support
UEA's Career Central(opens in a new window) offers tailored support for students pursuing careers across diplomatic, policy, and international affairs sectors. You'll have access to one-to-one guidance, skills workshops, and networking opportunities with alumni working across key international organisations. Our school's employability director provides specialist support for international affairs roles, alongside connections to partner institutions and internship opportunities. Collaborations with organisations such as the European Institute for Asian Studies offer additional opportunities to gain published research and policy experience.
After the Course
Graduates have gone on to roles in diplomatic services, international organisations including the UN, EU, and NATO, and think tanks across the globe. Others have built careers in NGOs, journalism, corporate strategic advisory, and international development organisations worldwide. The analytical, intercultural, and communication skills developed on this programme are highly valued across all these sectors and beyond. Whichever path you choose, you'll leave equipped with the expertise and professional connections to pursue a meaningful international career.
Study and Modules
Structure
The MA in International Relations is designed to take you from rigorous engagement with the theories that shape world affairs to independent expertise, across a single intensive academic year.
Your first semester builds the conceptual foundations that will inform everything that follows. Core modules introduce the major theoretical traditions in international relations, giving you the analytical vocabulary to engage confidently with global political questions from the outset. Alongside this, a dedicated research methods module develops your capacity for independent inquiry, from discourse analysis and survey design to interview techniques and data interpretation.
The first semester also opens the door to optional modules, allowing you to begin shaping your own intellectual focus. You might explore global governance institutions, examine the dynamics of emerging powers, or analyse the evolving nature of diplomacy in the digital age.
Your second semester deepens this specialisation considerably, drawing on the full range of our faculty expertise. Optional modules offer the opportunity to focus on global political economy, European integration, the foreign policies of major powers, regional dynamics, or international development paradigms. This flexibility allows you to build genuine specialist knowledge in the areas most relevant to your interests and ambitions.
Throughout both semesters, small-group seminars, research workshops, and a regular programme of visiting speakers and policy practitioners connect theoretical understanding to the realities of contemporary international affairs.
You'll also take part in an employability programme designed to prepare you for your placement year and future career. Through workshops, practical activities, and personalised support, you'll develop skills in CV writing, interview techniques, professional networking, and workplace readiness.
Successful completion of this programme is required before progressing to the placement year.
Year one closes with a dissertation on an international relations question of your choosing, supervised by an academic whose expertise aligns with your research interests. This substantial independent project is your opportunity to make an original contribution to knowledge, and to demonstrate the analytical depth and research capability you’ve developed across the year.
Compulsory Modules
Optional A Modules
(Credits: 20)Optional B Modules
(Credits: 60)Important Information
Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.
Structure
In your second year, you'll complete a 60-credit placement module, giving you the opportunity to gain relevant professional experience. During the first semester, you'll focus on securing a placement with support from dedicated employability specialists and a series of in-person workshops designed to help you develop your career planning and reflect on your progress. If you're unable to secure a placement, you'll complete three employer-led industry projects with different organisations.
The module is assessed on a pass/fail basis through a portfolio documenting your placement search and a reflective report on your placement or industry project experience. By the end of the year, you'll have developed valuable professional skills, increased your understanding of your chosen sector, strengthened your CV and professional network, and enhanced your confidence for the next stage of your career.
Compulsory Modules
Important Information
Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.
Teaching and Learning, and Assessment
Teaching and Learning
Teaching on the MA International Relations is research-led, connecting you directly to cutting-edge debates in international relations theory, global political economy, and governance. An interdisciplinary approach draws on expertise across political philosophy, media studies, security studies, and regional specialisations to develop a genuinely comprehensive understanding of world affairs. Small-group seminars, research workshops, and visiting speaker events create a dynamic environment that develops both analytical rigour and practical professional skills. Our internationally diverse student community enriches discussion with a wide range of perspectives, backgrounds, and professional experiences.
In your first semester, structured teaching in core modules is balanced with research methods training and your first optional specialist modules. As the year progresses, the emphasis shifts toward independent inquiry, with supervision increasingly shaped by your dissertation questions and developing specialist interests.
Assessment
Assessment on this MA is varied and designed to develop the skills most valued in international affairs careers. You'll complete policy briefs, research essays, presentations, and collaborative projects, each building specific analytical and communication capabilities. Formative feedback opportunities throughout the year allow you to refine your approach and develop your arguments before final submission.
In your first semester, assessments combine individual and collaborative formats, building both independent analytical skills and the ability to work effectively with others. The dissertation, on an international relations question of your choosing, is where your independent research capabilities come fully into their own. Your final degree classification will reflect your performance across all modules and your dissertation, providing a comprehensive picture of your academic and professional development.
Entry Requirements
- This course is open to
This course is open to UK and International applicants. The annual intake for this course is in September each year.
- Typical UK Entry Requirements
Degree classification
Bachelors degree - 2.2
Degree Subject
Any subject area
- Admissions Policy
Our Admissions Policy applies to the admissions of all postgraduate applicants.
- This course is open to
This course is open to UK and International applicants. The annual intake for this course is in September each year.
- Typical International Entry Requirements
Degree classification
UK Bachelors degree - 2.2 or equivalent
Degree Subject
Any subject area
- English Foreign Language
Applications from students whose first language is not English are welcome. We require evidence of proficiency in English (including writing, speaking, listening and reading):
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IELTS: 6.0 overall with minimum 5.5 in each component.
Test dates should be within 2 years of the course start date.
We also accept a number of other English language tests. Review our English Language Equivalencies(opens in a new window) for a list of qualifications that we may accept to meet this requirement.
If you do not meet the English language requirements for this course, our UEA International Study Centre offers a variety of English language programmes which are designed to help you develop the required English skills.
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- UEA International Study Centre
If you do not meet the academic requirements for this course, you may be able to study the International Pre-Masters programme offered by our partner UEA International Study Centre. This programme guarantees progression to selected Master's degrees if students achieve the appropriate grade. For more details, please click here:
International Pre-Masters in Business, Economics and Social Sciences(opens in a new window)
- Admissions Policy
Our Admissions Policy applies to the admissions of all postgraduate applicants.
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Fees and Funding
Tuition fees for the Academic Year 2027/28 are:
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UK Students: £11,200
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International Students: £23,580
If you choose to study part-time, the fee per annum will be half the annual fee for that year, or a pro-rata fee for the module credit you are taking (only available for Home students).
If you choose to take this course with a placement year, your tuition fees for the first year will be as shown above. An additional fee of £3,500 will apply for the placement year (see our FAQs page for further details).
We estimate living expenses at £1,171 per month.
Further Information on tuition fees can be found here(opens in a new window).
Scholarships and Bursaries
The University of East Anglia offers a range of Scholarships(opens in a new window); please click the link for eligibility, details of how to apply and closing dates.
Course Related Costs
Please see Additional Course Fees(opens in a new window) for details of course-related costs.
How to Apply
How to apply
Applications for Postgraduate Taught programmes at the University of East Anglia should be made directly to the University.
To apply please use our online application form(opens in a new window).
Further information
If you would like to discuss your individual circumstances prior to applying, please do contact us:
Postgraduate Admissions Office
Tel: +44 (0)1603 591515
Email: admissions@uea.ac.uk(opens in a new window)
International candidates are also encouraged to access the International Students(opens in a new window) section of our website.