Course description

The highlights

• New for September 2022, this Masters is for people who want to understand world affairs from all angles, and develop the skills and vision required to find solutions to complex problems
• We’re looking for students with a diverse range of skills and experience who are ready to engage in lively debates and are open to new perspectives. Scientists, artists, accountants, historians, marketers — graduates of any discipline (or non-graduates with valuable experience) are welcome
• You will develop strong skills in research, data analysis and communication, and become an adept critical thinker and problem-solver. These skills are essential if you want to progress on to a research degree and they’re also valuable for a range of roles in politics, campaigning, think-tanks, NGOs, civil or diplomatic services
• We’ll make sure you have an exceptional student experience, with more contact hours than most universities and staff that go the extra mile to support you

Change is everywhere. Can you help shape it?

The climate crisis, biodiversity and habitat loss, the Covid-19 pandemic, the rise of populism, threats to free speech and democracy around the world, ageing populations: these are just some of the challenges we face in the 2020s.

At the same time there are many areas of opportunity. New and sustainable technologies promise a future with clean energy and zero-emissions vehicles, while social media enables people to work together to challenge prevailing orthodoxies, prejudices and governments. There is youth activism and widespread movements for racial and societal justice.

If you want to really understand what drives global challenges such as these, and play a role in designing solutions to them, this Masters degree is for you. It’s unique because it covers such a wide range of subjects — particularly history and international relations, politics, journalism and communication studies.

Using a range of theories and approaches from all these subjects, we will analyse issues from different perspectives, so you will come to appreciate that there is never just one way to look at a problem. We’ll touch on topics such as:

• political activism to contested cultures and norms
• modes of governance relating to addressing global grand challenges
• diversity, equity and cultural intelligence
• power structures and notions of democratic consent
• inequities and inequalities of gender, race and resources
• decolonisation and ‘global ethnic majorities’
• climate crisis and environmental stress
• physical and cultural conflict
• freedom of speech, of journalism, and of political activism
• globalisation, and civil liberty.

We will discuss and debate current affairs — from the latest political developments and technological or scientific breakthroughs, to economic matters and social movements. We will also consider how the news is created and shaped, considering issues such as freedom of the press and 'fake news'.

Develop a powerful set of skills

Throughout the course, you will be expected to read widely, research thoroughly and synthesise and analyse information to form considered opinions and persuasive arguments. As part of this process, you will learn quantitative data analysis techniques and ways to present data, since this has become an important part of today’s communications.

Your assessments — which include writing policy proposals, reports, essays and conference papers, as well as delivering presentations — will enable you to practise and perfect these skills; none more so than the independent study. This research-based dissertation will enable you to explore in-depth, an area you are particularly passionate about, and consider the issue from all standpoints.

By the time you graduate, you will be a skilled thinker, researcher, communicator and influencer — abilities that could lead you into research, politics, journalism, the civil service, charities and many other fields.

How you will learn

We use a range of approaches to enable your learning. These include lectures, seminars, tutorials and debate, but because this is a masters, there is an emphasis on self-directed study. We have a blended learning strategy, which means that, in addition to face-to-face teaching, you can also find materials for all modules on the virtual learning environment and take part in online discussions here.

How you are assessed

There are a variety of ‘summative assessments’ towards the end of each module, such as writing policy proposals, reports, research symposiums, conference papers and essays, as well as conducting data analysis and and delivering presentations. The final Independent study, a traditional research dissertation, carries the most weight so we help you prepare for this task early on in the programme by providing specific research training.

As well as the summative assessments, we will be assessing you regularly during teaching sessions and one-to-one tutorials, checking that you understand theories and concepts and providing feedback. This will also help you evaluate your own strengths, weaknesses, abilities and talents: a critical part of masters-level study.