University of Sussex
MA in Geopolitics and International Affairs

Brighton, United Kingdom

DEGREE TYPE

DURATION

1 up to

2 years

LANGUAGES

English

PACE

Full time, Part time

APPLICATION DEADLINE

EARLIEST START DATE

STUDY FORMAT

On-Campus

* UK

Key Summary

About : The MA in Geopolitics and International Affairs focuses on the interplay of geography, politics, and international relations. This program provides students with a comprehensive understanding of global politics, strategies, and the complexities surrounding international affairs. Students will explore key geopolitical issues and develop analytical skills essential for the field. The course is designed for full-time study, allowing students to engage deeply with the subject matter.

Career Outcomes : Graduates of this program can pursue various careers, including roles in government, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, and academia. Potential positions include policy analyst, diplomat, and international relations consultant, enabling students to influence global policies and contribute to international dialogue.

In today’s world intense and increasing Great Power tensions, there’s a renewed interest in geopolitical narratives. How do the new geopolitics of an emerging multipolar world order shape up? What does the return to Great Power politics look like?

On this MA, you’ll learn about:

the rise of the new Great Powers, particularly China
the re-emergence of Russia as an actor challenging a Western-dominated liberal order in the context of the current Ukrainian crisis
the debate over American grand strategy and decline, and the shift to economic power away from the West
the challenges to British foreign policy in a post-Brexit world.

Set in different geographical contexts, you’ll also explore a range of security issues. You’ll gain an advanced understanding of security topics and the new security challenges that have emerged.

You’ll be based in the School of Global Studies. We bring together Anthropology, Development Studies, Geography and International Relations. Your teaching is underpinned by the distinctive programme of events and interdisciplinary research strength in our School. We host the:

Sussex Centre for Conflict and Security Research
Centre for Advanced International Theory
Centre for Global Political Economy.

You’ll learn with students from across the globe, from various academic disciplines and with a wide variety of professional expertise. You’ll benefit from our strong working relationships with alumni, collaborators and partner organisations around the world. Studying in such an interdisciplinary and intercultural environment is great preparation for your future work environment. When you graduate, you’ll have the expertise and cultural background required in many jobs today.

Full-time and part-time study

Choose to study this course full time or part time, to fit around your work and personal life. For details about the part-time course, contact us.

Core modules

Core modules are taken by all students on the course. They give you a solid grounding in your chosen subject and prepare you to explore the topics that interest you most.

Autumn teaching

Geopolitics and International Affairs
New Security Challenges

Spring teaching

Research Methods and Professional Skills (IR)

Summer teaching

Dissertation (Geopolitics and International Affairs)

Options

Alongside your core modules, you can choose options to broaden your horizons and tailor your course to your interests. This list gives you a flavour of our options, which are kept under review and may change, for example in response to student feedback or the latest research.

While it’s our aim for students to take their preferred combinations of options, this can’t be guaranteed and will be subject to timetabling. Options may be grouped and if so, students will be able to choose a set number of options from the selection available in any particular group.

Spring teaching

Environment, Resources, Security
Foreign Policy Analysis
Humanitarianism in Global Politics
Managing Economic Instability
Nationalism and Global Order
Rethinking Imperialism
Russia, Eurasia and the Crisis of the Liberal West
The Political Economy of Development
War and Security in North/South Perspective

Summer teaching

Dissertation with Placement (Global Studies)

Field trip

This course offers optional field trips to London or Brussels, Belgium to visit international organisations, think tanks and NGOs.

Placements

To help you gain experience and increase your employability, you can apply for an optional placement as part of your course. Research placements run for up to 12 weeks in the summer term and vacation. You can also write your dissertation based on your experience. You’ll be responsible for applying for and securing your placement. Our dedicated careers team can help you:

find an employer
draft an application
prepare for interviews.

Find out more about Global Studies postgraduate placements

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2023/24. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum. We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.

We’ll do our best to provide as much optional choice as we can, but timetabling constraints mean it may not be possible to take some module combinations. The structure of a small number of courses means that the order of modules or the streams you choose may determine whether modules are core or optional. This means that your core modules or options may differ from what’s shown here.

Check back in January 2024 for the modules running in the academic year 2024/25.