Study options
- Starting in
- September 2025
- Location
- Mile End
- Fees
- Home: £12,250
Overseas: £25,500
EU/EEA/Swiss students
What you'll study
In today’s world, it is becoming increasingly evident that everything is closely linked, including humans, animals, plants, geological and atmospheric processes. The movement of people is challenging borders, and it's hard to separate the local and global. Digital technologies are rapidly altering various aspects of life, from the use of artificial intelligence in the workplace to warfare and security. Traditional distinctions between human and nature, state and society, international and national, and technology and human agency are no longer adequate to handle this complex and interconnected world.
This MA programme responds to these challenges by adopting a problem-driven approach to world politics that transcends established disciplinary boundaries. It pioneers a training in International Political Sociology, a transdisciplinary approach that spans academic fields like International Relations, Political Science, Sociology, Law and History, and extends its reach to non-academic spaces such as think-tanks, NGOs, social movements, and policy units.
Structure
THE FULL-TIME PROGRAMME IS STRUCTURED AS FOLLOWS
Term 1:
Compulsory module:
Advanced introduction to International Political Sociology (30 credits)
Optional module:
30 credits from the elective modules list
Term 2:
Compulsory module:
Doing transdisciplinary research (30 credits)
Optional module:
30 credits from elective modules list
Term 3:
MA Dissertation/Project in International Political Sociology (60 credits)
THE PART-TIME PROGRAMME IS STRUCTURED AS FOLLOWS:
Year 1 Term 1: New module: Advanced Introduction to International Political Sociology (30 credits)
Year 1 Term 2: New module: Doing transdisciplinary research (30 credits)
Year 2 Term 1: 30 credits from the elective modules list
Year 2 Term 2: 30 credits from the elective modules list
Year 2 Term 3: MA Dissertation/Project in International Political Sociology (60 credits)
NOTE:
The list of elective modules will be confirmed each year in light of the availability of modules. The indicative list below contains a selection of modules from the School of Politics and International Relations, the Department of Law, the Centre for Commercial Law Studies, and the School of History that are relevant for International Political Sociology. To strengthen their transdisciplinary skills, students will have the option to take up to 30 credits from elective modules outside the School of Politics and International Relations. The programme aims to accommodate the first choice of electives as much as possible but we may have to assign second or third choice elective modules in light of timetabling clashes and caps on modules.
Compulsory/Core modules
The Masters' Dissertation is an independent programme of study of an approved topic within the field of Politics completed over the summer months (May-August) of your degree programme. It is a compulsory element of your degree amounting to sixty credits (providing one-third of the credits for your degree). It is designed to enable students to undertake independent research and, through this, allow them to develop a specialised knowledge in an area of the Politics discipline which is of particular interest to them. Thus, it may draw upon, and develop an existing topic or issue associated with a module that they have studied in the earlier part of their programme, or emerge out of a student's specific research interest in an area not covered by other module modules. Although the dissertation is meant to be an exercise in independent research and writing, each student will be offered guidance and support through the assigning of a supervisor within the department who will oversee the progress of the dissertation.
This module equips students with the necessary analytical tools to navigate a complex world that is constantly challenging borders and boundaries. It highlights the interconnectivity between local and global processes, as well as the intricate relationship between human societies, technology and nature. Through this module, students will develop a critical understanding of the value and limitations of International Political Sociology as a transdisciplinary field. They will gain fresh perspectives on current international, global, and planetary conditions, which will enable them to engage with pressing world political issues in creative and meaningful ways.
This module is designed to equip students with the practical skills and research methodologies needed to address contemporary issues in world politics. It encourages a multidisciplinary approach, preparing students to engage with knowledge production in academic and non-academic spaces, such as think-tanks and social movements. Addressing the complexity of issues like climate change, migration, artificial intelligence, global human rights implementation, terrorism, and the continuing presence of colonial legacies increasingly demands skills in collaborative working practices and applying knowledge from multiple disciplines. The module responds to this demand by providing an innovative approach to social science research practices that combines methods training with collaborative problem-solving workshops and other creative activities.
Elective modules
This course examines the pivotal role that capitalism has played in political thought from the early twentieth century to the present. It shows how a range of thinkers blurred the boundaries between political and economic analysis in order to reformulate key political concepts and variously to argue, for the maintenance, transformation or overthrow of capitalism. The course starts with a number of figures seeking to grasp the imperial and racial character of the global market system, before exploring how these arguments were transformed by total war, revolution and decolonisation. The course then turns to the ways in which questions of financialisation, inequality, automation and climate crisis came to shape how capitalism is understood. Thinkers studied include: W.E.B. Dubois, Rosa Luxemburg, John Maynard Keynes, W. Arthur Lewis, Eric Williams, Gunnar Myrdal, Joan Robinson, Friedrich Hayek, Silvia Federici and Thomas Piketty.
Black radical thought in the twentieth century drew on a long tradition of circulating ideas. It did so in order to formulate new readings of Enlightenment ideals that would address sovereignty and autonomy within the specific conditions of black life. This module examines how black thinkers stretched the category of "intellectual" through combined thought and practice. Workers and educated elite formulated specific analyses of the combined working of capitalism and empire, grounded in the importance of New World slavery to the modern world's political and social economy. Black women challenged the assumed distinctiveness of race, class, and gender and formulated distinctive visions of what "freedom" might mean. In this module we will think with black radicals' ideas about empire, war and expropriation, work and social life and consider their strategies for realising alternative forms of social and political organisation.
This course provides students with an in-depth understanding of what some of the most important political thinkers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries (before the emergence of what is called 'contemporary political theory' since the 1970s) thought and wrote about the phenomena and concepts referred to as `nationalism', `patriotism¿ and `cosmopolitanism¿. Thinkers focused upon include eighteenth-century predecessors such as Immanuel Kant, Johann Gottfried Herder, J. G. Fichte, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Richard Price, Jeremy Bentham, as well as nineteenth- and twentieth-century thinkers such as John Stuart Mill, Walter Bagehot, John [Lord] Acton, Matthew Arnold, Giuseppe Mazzini, Alexis de Tocqueville, Auguste Comte, Thomas Hill Green, Henry Sidgwick, Frederic Harrison, J. R. Seeley, Karl Marx, Herbert Spencer, Rabindranath Tagore, Ernest Barker, Alfred Zimmern, Otto Bauer, Harold Laski, Bertrand Russell, Elie Kedourie, John Plamenatz, Isaiah Berlin and others. The emphasis of the module is not on `nationalist¿ or `cosmopolitan¿ thinkers as such, but on what political thinkers thought and wrote about the nation, patriotism, nationalism, internationalism, and cosmopolitanism from the time of the French Revolution to the Cold War.
The module explores attitudes to empire and imperial expansion between the 18th and the 19th century. It will cover debates on empire in Europe and will focus first on Enlightenment attitudes (from Diderot, Herder, Raynal to Adam Smith and Edmund Burke), and then on nineteenth century writers, from Benjamin Constant, to Sismondi, Cattaneo, Mill and Tocqueville. By so doing, the module will discuss at the relationship between ideas of freedom civilisation, culture, international trade and Empire, and will provide an analysis of the meanings of concepts of Empire.
The module provides students with a detailed examination - and critique - of theories of globalisation and assessment of contemporary globalising processes, and how these particularly influence the developing world. It examines these influences through detailed analysis of contemporary manifestations of globalisation, including neo-liberalism, US hegemony and contemporary imperialism, capital flows, global commodity chains, state-market relations, patterns of global inequality, international institutions, and questions of cultural homogenisation/imperialism. The module also examines the ways in which globalisation is resisted, focusing on the rise of transnational social movements and NGOs, and the politics of anti-globalisation, and how this relates to an ostensibly post-development era. In addressing these issues, the module concludes by asking the most important question: how do we think of development in an era of globalisation, US hegemony, neo-liberalism and imperialism?
Violent conflict and the use of force remain salient issues in contemporary international relations. While some have theorised that the advent of globalisation and spread of liberal democracy would make the use of force and violent conflict less relevant to the world, war and conflict have remained an integral part of the international system, as well as forming an obstacle to providing stability and security for many states. The module offers an examination of the ways in which violent conflict and the use of force impact on international relations, how force is used by states and other actors, and how force is managed in world politics. The module surveys a variety of perspectives on the causes of war and peace in order to better examine the roots of violent conflicts and security problems in the present day. A major theme is looking at war in a global context, not only in terms of integrating contemporary concerns with globalisation, but also by looking at interconnections between north and south, and war and society. Additionally, the responses of the international community to violent conflict will also be explored, looking broadly at the contested notion of the "Just War", international law, and the role of the United Nations. Overall, the module gives a broad perspective on the place of armed force in contemporary international relations.
Students will get a comprehensive understanding of how migration policy works at European and International levels and of the cutting-edge debates surrounding the so-called 'migration crisis'. Students will explore and critically analyse the causes and consequences of the migration crises from a public policy perspective. The module is divided in four parts. First, migration as a phenomenon of globalisation is introduced as well as the way states and the supranational level (EU and UN) have developed policies to `manage' and `control¿ migration. Second, the module offer a theoretical and empirical explanation of security and border policies and practices developed to control migration as well as of policies of integration. Third, the course spends some time discuss the so-called 2015 migration and refugee `crisis¿, the policies adopted by the EU, the divergent policies adopted by European member states and the role of European cities and regions. Fourth, the course studies the migration policies that are in place in North Africa, with a specific focus on the Moroccan immigration reform, and in West Africa, with a focus on ECOWAS.
This module will provide an advanced examination of International Organisations (IOs) as a transnational political workspace for both cooperation and contestation between global actors. The module will be grounded in a historical and critical examination of the development of IOs in the 19th century as a tool to manage European international order, and it will emphasize the ways in which IOs developed in conjunction with the modern state. Building upon this critical grounding, the module will examine today's IOs, with a particular focus on the UN system, and their effectiveness in confronting global challenges in the 21st century. The module will conclude with a capstone day-long Model UN simulation.
The module will seek to provide an understanding of the various dispute resolution processes available to parties in dispute, and to understand the necessity of considering the process which best suits the dispute. The module will cover such topics as the nature of conflict, the emergence of disputes, the history of the ADR movement with its attendant debate between informalism and formalism, the adjudication process, the nature of negotiation and their strategies, the mediation process and approaches, the continuum of dispute resolution processes, the relationship between ADR and institutes such as courts, the English Courts and within the EU. ADR is a vibrant area of scholarship; it is impossible to give 'yes' or 'no' answers to most of the issues arising in scholarship. Therefore the module will employ a critical thinking and open discussion approach. It is expected that students will be willing to share the results of their analysis, research and supported opinions,and be involved in active discussion of all issues.
"This course explores the institutional and legal foundations of the post-WW2 framework for international human rights law protection, as well as a number of key rights and topics in contemporary international human rights law and practice. The first part examines the core institutions and legal regimes that together constitute the core of international human rights law. The second part of the course 'samples' a number of substantive rights, such as the right to life, the prohibition on torture and inhuman and degrading treatment, and the right to housing. It also explores the international human rights regimes from the perspective of different subjects or groups, such as women and labour, paying particular regard to the possibilities and limitations of human rights as a truly universal and emancipatory project. "
"This module introduces the main philosophical and ethical debates concerning border control, citizenship, migration and refugee/asylum-seeker status. It sets out the arguments for and against ¿open borders¿, the political theory of citizenship and the nation state, and the relationships between citizens¿ rights and universal human rights. As well as matters of general philosophical principle, we will look at the ethics of border control practices, from identity cards and entry controls to surveillance and access to public services, detention and repatriation. We will also consider the cultural dimensions of migration control, in particular the relationship between discourses of security, citizenship, and race/ethnicity/cultural difference."
Assessment
Assessment is varied and takes a number of forms within the programme. The nature of the assessment is closely connected to the desired learning outcomes and the mode of teaching within each module. Forms of assessment include: written coursework; examinations; presentations; and the final-year dissertation.
Teaching
The programme is taught in accordance with the School of Politics and International Relations Education Strategy and statement of educational principles, which support excellent, inclusive and innovative teaching practice aimed at fostering independent learning and critical thinking in our students. Our strategy is informed by Queen Mary's 2030 strategy.
Teaching takes a number of forms:
- Lectures
- Seminars
- Workshops
- Individual supervision of projects and dissertations
- Individual feedback on written work.
Learning is supported by:
- Coherently designed and effectively delivered modules
- Detailed module information shared on QMPlus
- The provision of key materials in libraries or through electronic resources
- Appropriate assessment exercises within each module
- Use of electronic teaching materials including Powerpoint, QMPlus and online reading lists
- Encouraging active learning by supporting students in seminar discussions and independent research
- Research methods training
Where you'll learn
Facilities
About the School
School of Politics and International Relations
The School of Politics and International Relations at Queen Mary has an interdisciplinary structure that enables us to deliver a modern approach to educational research.
With a focus on high-quality teaching and innovation, the school ensures engaging educational pathways, alongside supportive staff and excellent research facilities. Our staff are active researchers with diverse interests across politics, international relations, and sociology, from security and war to migration and environmental politics, which is reflected in our high-level teaching and the breadth of our programmes.
We are also a member of the Russell Group of leading research universities in the UK.
Career paths
The programme is primarily aimed at providing advanced skills training and knowledge preparing students for jobs aimed at individual and collaborative knowledge creation in academic institutions, think tanks, NGOs, and civil service among others. However, both the subject specific knowledge and transferable skills prepare students for a wide range of employment opportunities, including careers in the civil service, journalism, social work, local , national and international governance and third-sector organisations.
Fees and funding
Full-time study
September 2025 | 1 year
- Home: £12,250
- Overseas: £25,500
EU/EEA/Swiss students
Conditional deposit
Home: Not applicable
Overseas: £2000
Information about deposits
Part-time study
September 2025 | 2 years
- Home: £6,150
- Overseas: £12,750
EU/EEA/Swiss students
Conditional deposit
Home: Not applicable
Overseas: £2000
Information about deposits
Queen Mary alumni can get a £1000, 10% or 20% discount on their fees depending on the programme of study. Find out more about the Alumni Loyalty Award
Funding
There are a number of ways you can fund your postgraduate degree.
- Scholarships and bursaries
- Postgraduate loans (UK students)
- Country-specific scholarships for international students
Our Advice and Counselling service offers specialist support on financial issues, which you can access as soon as you apply for a place at Queen Mary. Before you apply, you can access our funding guides and advice on managing your money:
Entry requirements
UK
Degree requirements
A 2:1 or above at undergraduate level in a relevant Social Science or Humanities discipline (for example Politics, Sociology, International Relations, Human Geography, History, Anthropology, Philosophy, Law, Literature).
Find out more about how to apply for our postgraduate taught courses.
International
English language requirements
The English language requirements for our programmes are indicated by English bands, and therefore the specific test and score acceptable is based on the band assigned to the academic department within which your chosen course of study is administered. Note that for some academic departments there are programmes with non-standard English language requirements.
The English Language requirements for entry to postgraduate taught and research programmes in the School of Politics and International Relations falls within the following English band:
Band 5: IELTS (Academic) minimum score 7.0 overall with 6.0 in each of Writing, Listening, Reading and Speaking
We accept a range of English tests and qualifications categorised in our English bands for you to demonstrate your level of English Language proficiency. See all accepted English tests that we deem equivalent to these IELTS scores.
Visas and immigration
Find out how to apply for a student visa.