Politics and International Relations

Entry requirements

Our research degree applicants will usually possess a good Master’s degree (or overseas equivalent), with a significant component in politics.

Months of entry

Anytime

Course content

The UK funding councils assessed two thirds of our research outputs as world-leading or internationally excellent, in the Research Assessment Framework (REF) 2014.

Politics & International Relations at Glasgow produces innovative and influential research across four main subfields of the discipline:

• Comparative Politics
• International Relations
• Political Theory
• Area Studies

We have an active and engaged international community of doctoral students and pride ourselves on our active co-supervision by staff with complementary expertise. We work to foster this community through our research seminars, research clusters, professional development sessions and regular staff-student social events.

We are part of the Economic and Social Research Council-funded Scottish Doctoral Training Centre (S-DTC).

TOPICS FOR SUPERVISION

Prospective students are encouraged to discuss their research ideas with members of staff who are specialists in their fields of interest before applying.

Comparative Politics

• Authoritarianism
• Business & politics
• Democracy and democratisation
• Elections and voting, including referenda
• Energy policy
• Environmental policy
• Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) politics
• Political communication
• Political economy
• Political parties
• Political psychology
• Politics of education
• Politics of migration
• Public opinion [especially elections, political trust, participation and democratic support]
• Social movements and political activism
• Welfare policy

Broad expertise in comparative politics of China; Western, East and Central Europe; the European Union; United States; Russia and the post-Soviet region; Latin America; and the Middle East. For some topics we have research expertise also on Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

International Relations

• Conflict and political violence
• Critical security studies and approaches to peace
• Development and foreign aid
• Emotions and aesthetics in global politics
• Foreign policy analysis
• Gender and development
• Humanitarianism
• IR theory
• International cooperation and international organisations
• International development
• International organisations
• International political economy
• International security
• Migration and refugee politics
• Post-colonial and decolonial international relations
• Securitisation theory
• Transnational politics (non-state actors)
• War: causes and origins
• War: strategic studies

Broad expertise in international relations in Europe (East, West and Central); Russia & the post-Soviet region; the European Union; North America; and the Middle East. For some topics we have research expertise also on Africa, the Caribbean, China, the Pacific and South Asia.

International Political Economy and Development

• Climate Politics
• Corporations in politics
• Energy Politics
• Finance, industrial strategy, regional inequality
• Feminist International Political Economy
• Foreign aid
• Global governance
• Globalisation
• Health, healthcare and global health
• History of political economy and economic ideas
• Industrial strategy
• International development
• International political economy
• International organisation
• International trade and investment
• Market-making in social sectors
• Natural Resource Governance
• Political Economy of Conflict and Violence
• Political Economy of Illicit Commodities
• Political Economy of Social Movements
• Politics of tax, debt, and international finance
• Post-colonial State Development
• Regulatory capitalism
• Socio-environmental conflict

Political Theory

• Climate change ethics
• Distributive justice
• Egalitarianism
• History of political economy
• History of political thought
• Liberal and conservative political thought
• Methods in political theory
• Political philosophy
• The Scottish Enlightenment

Area Studies

• Chinese politics
• Central & East European politics
• Latin American politics
• Russian & post-Soviet politics
• Southern European politics

Information for international students

International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic and Academic Online (not General Training)

• 7.0 overall with no subtest less than 6.5
• IELTS One Skill Retake Accepted
• Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test.

Fees and funding

Fees are based on the annual fee for full-time study. Tuition fees for part-time study will be charged at half the full-time annual fee.

Irish nationals who are living in the Common Travel Area of the UK, EU nationals with settled or pre-settled status, and Internationals with Indefinite Leave to remain status can also qualify for home fee status.

Fee status and policies

Alumni discount

We offer a 20% discount to our alumni on all Postgraduate Research and full Postgraduate Taught Masters programmes. This includes University of Glasgow graduates and those who have completed a Study Abroad programme, Exchange programme, International Summer School or Erasmus programme with us. This discount can be awarded alongside most University scholarships. No additional application is required.

Possible additional fees

• Re-submission by a research student £540
• Submission for a higher degree by published work £1,355
• Submission of thesis after deadline lapsed £350
• Submission by staff in receipt of staff scholarship £790

Depending on the nature of the research project, some students will be expected to pay a bench fee (also known as research support costs) to cover additional costs. The exact amount will be provided in the offer letter.

Fully funded scholarships

• CoSS PhD Scholarship: Power, Purse, and Policy: Understanding Donor Influence in Global Development
• ESRC Doctoral Studentships
• CoSS PhD Scholarships