School of Politics, International Studies and Philosophy

MA in Politics

The MA Politics offers a flexible MA degree, the main distinguishing feature of which is that the student can choose a mix of courses to suit their academic interests and/or future career or study plans.  The programme aims to develop knowledge and understanding of the field of Politics, offering students a broad range of modules by which to achieve this end. The MA Politics is characterised by flexibility and choice for students in that, apart from 2 compulsory modules: Approaches to Social Science and the Dissertation, they are free to take their three modules from the other MA Pathways within the School. In this way, the content of the MA Politics is determined by the student’s own choices.

A sample of the modules students can choose from include: The Politics of Northern Ireland; Theories and Issues in International Politics; Violence, Terrorism and Security;  Political Theories of Equality; International Security; Topics in Contemporary Political Philosophy; The Theory and Politics of Globalization and Issues in European Governance.

The MA Politics thus enables students to choose their own focus – theoretical/normative, international relations; Northern Ireland/Irish politics; comparative politics or a mix of these.  One of the advantages of doing the MA Politics is that it enables students to get a feel for particular sub-disciplines, issues and approaches within the study of Politics without committing themselves to one particular approach or topic.

The MA Politics convenor is Dr. John Barry who works in the broad area of the politics of sustainable development, green politics and ethics and has a particular interest and expertise in interdisciplinary approaches to social scientific research and teaching as well as the linking of theoretical and normative arguments and issues with empirical case studies and evidence.  Dr. Barry also is the module convenor for the Theory and Politics of Globalization. While not compulsory, some of the MA Politics dissertations have adopted an interdisciplinary focus.  Previous MA Politics dissertation topics include: Peak Oil and Energy Politics in the Republic of Ireland, Human Security and Human Rights, Marx as Messiah, and Enhancing International Environmental Protection – The WTO’s Role and Responsibility.