International Relations and International Law

Entry requirements

Applicants for admission will normally be expected to hold a relevant Honours degree with a 2:1 standard from a recognised university or body.

Applicants without this qualification may be admitted subject to having an alternative qualification, or an approved level of work experience appropriate to the field of study. Also taken into careful consideration is the trajectory of results, an applicant without an overall 2.1 but with 2.1 results in their final two years of study may be admitted.

Months of entry

September

Course content

MSc International Relations and International Law offers you an interdisciplinary perspective on global governance.

Greek historian Thucydides (460-395BC) became the first academic to understand international relations. It is a highly interdisciplinary area to include areas such as technology, economics, history, geography, sociology, criminology, diplomacy, international security, finance, human rights and more. The oldest known peace treaty within international law dates from 3100BC between two Sumerian city states and a number of treaties in the Middle East.

There is an increasing need for governments to respond to complex international legal frameworks to manage inter-state relationships between countries. The International Relations and International Relations postgraduate programme conducted jointly by the School of Social Science and the School of Law provides you with an advanced understanding of International Relations and International Law and how their interaction impacts upon international politics.

Drawing on the expertise of staff from the two Schools, this innovative programme combines courses in the theory and practice of International Law and International Relations, offering you a unique interdisciplinary perspective on a range of contemporary issues related to the transformed nature of global governance.

You will develop key skills regarding critical legal and political analysis of current international issues through coursework and the completion of a Master’s thesis in International Law.

Information for international students

English Language Requirements

To study for a Postgraduate Taught degree at the University of Aberdeen it is essential that you can speak, understand, read, and write English fluently. The minimum requirements for this degree are as follows:

IELTS Academic:

OVERALL - 6.5 with: Listening - 5.5; Reading - 6.0; Speaking - 5.5; Writing - 6.0

TOEFL iBT:

OVERALL - 90 with: Listening - 17; Reading - 21; Speaking - 20; Writing - 21

PTE Academic:

OVERALL - 62 with: Listening - 59; Reading - 59; Speaking - 59; Writing - 59

Cambridge English B2 First, C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency:

OVERALL - 176 with: Listening - 162; Reading - 169; Speaking - 162; Writing - 169