International Double Award in International Relations and Political Science

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The Double Degree Program considers contemporary questions in Political Science, International Relations theory and practice. The accent is on critical consideration of traditional approaches to these disciplines. In the post-Cold War globalising world there is an increasingly apparent need for ever-more sophisticated ways of understanding the dramatic changes taking place. This programme addresses that need. This MA programme provides students with advanced training, by way of coursework and dissertation, in the general methods, scope, theories, and findings in the field of International Relations and Political Science. It builds on an undergraduate specialisation in the field of International Relations or a similar discipline; it gives a systematic preparation for original postgraduate research or for a demanding international career; and it constitutes a programme of training for those who have graduated in other fields and wish to transfer to International Relations. This version of the International Relations programme offers the opportunity to study at two prestigious universities: University of Kent and the Faculty of World Economy an International Affairs of the Higher School of Economics in Moscow and obtain two masters degrees. You spend the first year at Kent and the second year in Moscow. Courses in Moscow are taught in English with the option to take Russian language courses.

Educational Aims of the Programme

The programme aims to:

* provide a programme that will attract, and meet the needs of, those seeking advanced training in the discipline of International Relations;
* provide students with a research-active teaching environment which gives them a good grounding in the study of international relations, including its political, social, and economic aspects;
* examine how state, non-state and supra-national actors behave and interact through a dynamic appreciation of different levels of analysis;
* ensure that students acquire a solid knowledge of theories of international relations, the heritage and development of the discipline, its major debates, its inherent nature as an interdisciplinary study, and a critical appreciation of the essentially contested nature of politics in general and international relations in particular;
* ensure that students acquire an advanced understanding of the relationship between theoretical, methodological, and empirical content of the issue-areas studied;
* develop students general research skills and personal skills (transferable skills), in particular through a substantial dissertation
* provide an opportunity to study abroad in a different academic environment.
* contribute to students learning experience by offering them the opportunity to approach the study of International Relations and politics from the perspective of a different intellectual and cultural tradition

The programme is offered on a full-time basis over two years. Study on the programme is divided into a number of blocks called modules. Each Kent module carries 15 credits. One credit corresponds to approximately 10 hours of "learning time". This includes all taught and supervised classes and all private study and research. The dissertation carries 60 credits while the year at the State University, Higher School of Economics carries 120 credits, divided between taught courses and the written dissertation.

The MA programme comprises of a total of 240 University of Kent credits 120 ECTS credits. This involves approximately 2400 hours of learning time. The curriculum for the second year is determined by the partner institution subject to approval by University of Kents programme convenor. Assessment is also determined by the partner institution in consultation with University of Kent.

At its discretion the University allows for narrow failure in a small proportion of modules to be compensated by good performance in other modules or, in cases of documented illness or other mitigating circumstances, condoned. Failure in certain modules, however, may not be compensated and/or condoned, as indicated by the symbol * below. The structure of the programme and the modules that make it up, their levels, credits and the terms in which they are taught, are shown below.

First year (at University of Kent)

Autumn Term

3 modules of 20 credits each

Required

* International Relations Theory

Optional

* Theories of Conflict and Violence
* Conflict Resolution in World Politics
* Ethics in International Relations
* Federalism and Federal Political Systems
* Decision-making in the European Union
* International Security in a Changing World
* International Political Economy: Conflict, Co-operation and Institutions
* Designing Democracy

Spring Term

3 modules of 20 credits each

Required

* Philosophy and Methodology of Politics and IR

Optional

* Negotiation and Mediation
* Human Rights in a World of States
* Comparative Federal Political Systems
* European Public Policy
* American Foreign Policy: Ordering the International
* Terrorism and National Security
* Regional Conflict & Security

Second Year (at Higher School of Economics)

Autumn term

Required modules

* Global Political Process
* Political Process in Russia
* Economy of Post-Soviet Space
* Foreign and Security Policy in Eurasia
* Domestic Policy of Post-Soviet Nations
* Post-Soviet Eurasia and SCO: Society, Politics and Integration
* Space and Politics of Eurasia

Optional Modules

* Russia and European Union
* Sociological and Methodology in IR
* International Terrorism
* Islamic Fundamentalism
* Russian Language
* International Conflicts

Spring term

* Dissertation written in English