Course summary

The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (November 2023). For complete and up-to-date information about this course, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas. The MPhil in International Relations is a two-year (21-month) course which combines intellectually rigorous training in theoretical and conceptual approaches to international relations with the study of the recent history of world politics, as well as providing methodological training and personalised guidance for the production of high-quality original research. The MPhil International Relations course equips you with the knowledge and skills you require to pursue further research and study at an advanced level and also to undertake many forms of professional work in the field. This MPhil is a very popular course, attracting students from the world’s leading institutions. Entry is very competitive and students come from a wide range of backgrounds and nationalities. The Department of Politics and International Relations (DPIR) is internationally recognised as a leader in research in the field of international relations. DPIR is ranked first for research overall in the most recent THES global university rankings for Politics and International Studies, consolidating its position as one of the top four in the world which it has held in the QS rankings since 2017. The objective of the course is to give you, in your first-year, a thorough mastery of the major facts, methodologies and perspectives in the field, as well as to develop research skills. This is supplemented in the second year by specialised course work on two optional subjects and a thesis. In the first year as an MPhil in International Relations student, you must complete core classes in the development of the international system and contemporary debates in international relations theory, and a course on research design and methods in international relations, which includes the writing of a research design proposal in preparation for the MPhil thesis. Methods training spans a variety of approaches, both quantitative and qualitative, and is intended to provide the skills necessary to both critically evaluate existing work and produce rigorous original research. In your second year you will write a thesis and complete two specialist option papers. Options offered in recent years have included:

• The Making of Modern International Society

• Strategic Studies

• The International Relations of the Developing and Post-Colonial World

• The International Relations of East Asia

• U.S. Foreign Policy

• Main Themes in Israeli Society and Politics.