International Security and Global Governance
Entry requirements
A second-class honours degree (2:2) or above in a related area or relevant experience combined with an adequate academic background (subject to interview).
Applications are reviewed on their individual merits and your professional qualifications and/or relevant work experience will be taken into consideration positively. We actively support and encourage applications from mature learners.
Months of entry
October
Course content
Our MSc International Security and Global Governance gives you the opportunity to explore urgent contemporary debates about violence, conflict, security and governance from a global perspective.
Why choose this course?
- As the liberal international order unravels before our eyes, this course provides you with a critical and multidisciplinary overview of global security today, including the different actors and forces shaping international security.
- The interdisciplinary nature of this course means that it incorporates political, theoretical, historical, sociological and public policy approaches to offer you a wide-ranging, balanced analysis of contemporary political controversies.
- You will be taught by international experts in the field and will learn alongside a diverse international student body with professional and personal experience of international relations.
What you will learn
On this MSc you will consider geopolitical rivalries among global powers and the threat of violence and war within and between states, as well as multilateral governance efforts at managing these and other crises.
Core modules will allow you to examine the changing nature of war, violence and security, and their relationship with state and society. You will gain an understanding of the evolution of global military, humanitarian, geopolitical and governance institutions and the processes that shape them. You can then tailor the course to your interests choosing from option modules covering a range of topics spanning from international security to nationalism and religion.
How you will learn
This MSc is available to study full- or part-time and follows an evening timetable.
You will be taught through a combination of lectures and small-group seminars. You will be able to apply the concepts and methods you have learnt to write a dissertation on the topic that interests you most.
This course is part of our Birkbeck Flexible Master’s UK, which gives you the choice of how you want to study - on campus, online or via flexible learning, which combines both.
If you require a Student visa to study in the UK, you will only be able to apply for the on-campus study option for this course. Online and flexible options will not be available to you because they may affect the conditions of your visa.
- We organise a lively programme of seminars and conferences and are home to affiliated research centres, such as the Birkbeck Centre for British Political Life, which run seminars, conferences and other events where some of the world's best scholars present their latest research.
- Our academic staff are international authorities in their respective fields, publishing and delivering stimulating teaching in a wide range of political topics including civil society and the state, public policy, development, gender, international security and terrorism, and social and political theory.
- Our location in central London puts us at the heart of the UK’s political life and at the centre of academic London. You can walk down to Parliament and Whitehall, while Bloomsbury contains some of the world’s most famous libraries and centres of research. Our departmental building was once a key location for members of the Bloomsbury Group, so you could be studying in rooms that have hosted distinguished visitors, including T.S. Eliot, George Bernard Shaw and Maynard Keynes.
- You can take advantage of the rich research collections nearby, including Senate House Library, which is right next door to Birkbeck, the British Library, which is five minutes’ walk away, and the British Library of Political and Economic Science at the London School of Economics, which is also walkable from Birkbeck. Birkbeck Library has a large politics collection, including the major specialist journals, and provides you with access to an extensive range of online materials.
On successfully graduating from this MSc International Security and Global Governance you will have gained an array of important transferable skills, including:
- critical analysis of international policy and politics
- advanced writing and research skills
- group work and presentational experience.
Studying this course will prepare you for roles in a range of fields and professions in international organisations, policy research, journalism, economic and political forecasting, campaigning organisations, local and national government, the diplomatic services and private sector management. You may choose to pursue a career path in:
- global risk analysis
- international journalism
- as an international organisation official.
Graduates from this course have gone on to be employed by various national diplomatic services as well as the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, International Maritime Organization and the Human Rights Watch.
We offer a comprehensive careers service - Careers and Enterprise - your career partner during your time at Birkbeck and beyond. At every stage of your career journey, we empower you to take ownership of your future, helping you to make the connection between your experience, education and future ambitions.
Information for international students
If English is not your first language or you have not previously studied in English, our usual requirement is the equivalent of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS Academic Test) score of 6.5, with not less than 6.0 in each of the sub-tests.
If you don't meet the minimum IELTS requirement, we offer pre-sessional English courses and foundation programmes to help you improve your English language skills and get your place at Birkbeck.
Please note, if you require a Student visa to study in the UK, you will only be able to apply for the on-campus study option for this course. Online and flexible options will not be available to you because they may affect the conditions of your visa.
Qualification, course duration and attendance options
- MSc
- full time12 months
- Campus-based learningis available for this qualification
- Online learningis available for this qualification
- part time24 months
- Campus-based learningis available for this qualification
- Online learningis available for this qualification
- MSc
- full time12 months
- Campus-based learningis available for this qualification
- part time24 months
- Campus-based learningis available for this qualification
- MSc
- full time12 months
- Online learningis available for this qualification
- part time24 months
- Online learningis available for this qualification
Course contact details
- Name
- Student Advice Service
- studentadvice@bbk.ac.uk
- Phone
- +44 (0)20 3907 0700