The MA in Criminology and Global Security offers you the opportunity to gain a postgraduate qualification in a field which is both academically rigorous but will also provide you with skills to help you pursue a career in the growing fields of justice and global security. It encompasses both the transferable skills of a postgraduate degree with the specialist knowledge in the field of global security.
The MA Criminology and Global Security caters for those who wish to graduate with a specialist MA in a growing sector.
The course includes the following modules to give you an excellent grounding in criminological issues at Masters level:
You can read more about these modules (see 'course details' for more information).
As well as providing students with subject specific knowledge and understanding, we aim to produce graduates with strong transferable skills in:
This ensures you are well-placed to seek employment with in relevant sectors.
Semester 1:
Semester 2:
This course will particularly suit students who are interested in careers in the following areas:
Click the following link for information on how to apply to this course: http://www.uwl.ac.uk/students/postgraduate/how-apply
Information about scholarships and bursaries can be found here: http://www.uwl.ac.uk/students/postgraduate/scholarships-and-bursaries
Borders have become a key site and central concern of global security practices and theory, from the Mexican-United States border to the Mediterranean ports of the European Union. The many facets of borders, as containers of identity, sites of power, laboratories of technology and thresholds of violence will be introduced and analysed, showing how they have never been more important. This programme will help students navigate this complex terrain by providing a firm grounding in critical security studies and critical border studies. Students will have the change to apply their academic insights within a work-based environment with borders/security processional through the Borders Internship module.
Course Details
The programme has three different components: Core modules, an Elective module, and an MA dissertation.
Core Modules: offer foundational knowledge and understanding in Global Security and Borders, practical experience and active learning within a work-based situation on the Borders Internship module, as well as teaching the key skills regarding how to design a research project.
These compulsory modules include:
Elective Modules: offer the chance to specialise in a particular area of interest, build on foundational knowledge, and develop focused expertise.
One module is to be chosen from:
* This list of elective modules may vary from year to year.
Dissertation: to enable students to develop their particular area of specialism, facilitate independent learning and instil a variety of skills such as project management, detailed analysis and self-motivation, students on the MA pathway must also write a dissertation of no more than 15,000 words.
Assessment and Feedback
A combination of seminar presentations, learning journals, literature reviews, portfolios, written essays, and a 60-credit, 15,000 word dissertation.
Learning and Teaching
Afternoon and Evening.
Average of six hours contact teaching hours per week for the first semester. In the second semester, as well as two hours contact on an Elective module, the Borders Internship module will involve three days of a work-based placement, as well as supervision with a member of academic staff.
Students should expect to spend 10-12 hours of independent study for every two hours in seminars and lectures, spread across the course of the semester. However, the second semester Borders Internship involves a more complex mix of work-based learning and supervision.
Career Prospects
All of the MA programmes offered in the School provide our graduates with the skills to pursue a wide range of careers in the private, public and voluntary sectors. In addition they provide an appropriate basis for those who wish to proceed to Doctoral-level study.
Queen's postgraduates reap exceptional benefits. Unique initiatives, such as Degree Plus and Researcher Plus bolster our commitment to employability, while innovative leadership and executive programmes alongside sterling integration with business experts helps our students gain key leadership positions both nationally and internationally.
Our South Asia & Global Security MA will give you a deep understanding of the interplay between the history, theory and contemporary practice of security-led issues in South Asia. You will study history, thematic analysis and case studies taught by world-leading academics from War Studies and the King’s India Institute. We will draw on the expertise of policy leaders, military professionals and experts in the private sector involved in security management to deliver high-quality and up-to-the-minute teaching.
Our course incorporates history, thematic analysis and case studies and is taught by a cross-section of academics from War Studies and the King’s India Institute to give you a broad range of perspectives and experience. It also draws on policy leaders, military professionals and experts in the private sector involved in ‘security management’ to examine practical challenges. We aim to provide you with an understanding of the interrelationships between the history, theory and contemporary practice of security-led issues in South Asia (including Afghanistan) since 1947.
Provides a focused understanding of the interrelationships between the history, theory, and contemporary practice of security-led issues in South Asia (including Afghanistan) post 1947.
Teaching
For lectures, seminars and feedback, you will typically have 2 hours per week over two 10-week terms per 40-credit module. This can be split into 1 lecture + 1 seminar or other combinations thereof. You will also have 360 hours of self-study.
For the dissertation module, you will have 12 hours of training workshops and supervision to complement the 588 hours of self-study. Typically, one credit equates to 10 hours of work.
As part of a two-year schedule, part-time students typically take the required 40-credit taught module
and 40 credits of optional module in year 1. They will then take a 60 credit dissertation module and
40 credit optional modules in year 2.
Assessment
Most modules will be assessed through a combination of essays, presentations, oral vivas and/or exams.
The dissertation module will be based on a 100% dissertation assignment (up to 15,000 words).
Graduating students are prepared for further research in academia, or for careers in policy, government and international agencies. Typical career destinations have included the following:
The Master of Applied Social Science (M.A.S.S.) Program is an interdiciplinary masters program with concentrations in:
The 36-credit M.S. in National Security Affairs and International Relations in the Department of History and Political Science is designed to provide students with theoretical, research, and applied skills in the emerging academic field of national security affairs. Students in this program will build a core understanding of critical issues informing the field of national security today, including the assessment and analysis of the threat of terrorism in the US and beyond and the analysis of intelligence collection. The M.S. in National Security Affairs and International Relations is offered online worldwide.
National security affairs is one of the fastest growing professions with positions open in the public sector in the federal, state and local governments and in the private sector. This program is designed for professionals in the field seeking career advancement, those who aspire to enter the field, individuals in related professions, and those retired from the military and government seeking consulting and other positions. Examples of potential students include personnel in the military, federal, state and local governments, law enforcement, corporations, and academia, as well as recent college graduates.
The program consists of a core of 7 courses (21 credits). Pedagogically, the program core focuses on building the critical analytical skills graduates need to succeed professionally and academically in the field of national security affairs. The ability to critically analyze intelligence information and global security issues, interpret historical and contemporary issues informing the field, and perform textual analyses, defines the program core's most important learning outcomes.
M.S. in National Security Affairs and International Relations in the Department of History and Political Science is designed to provide students with theoretical, research, and applied skills in the emerging academic field of national security affairs. Students in this program will build a core understanding of critical issues informing the field of national security today, including the assessment and analysis of the threat of terrorism in the U.S. and beyond, and the analysis of intelligence collection. Students will also develop a deep understanding of the international context in which U.S. national security issues are shaped.
The program consists of a core of 7 courses (21 credits). Pedagogically, the program core focuses on building the critical analytical skills graduates need to succeed professionally and academically in the field of national security affairs. The ability to critically analyze intelligence information and global security issues, interpret historical and contemporary issues informing the field, and perform textual analyses, defines the program core's most important learning outcomes.
Following completion of the program core, students must complete 15 credits of coursework from the list of available electives. The majority of the elective offerings were developed specifically for the national security and international relations program, with a small number drawn from closely related fields. The elective list contains both courses that emphasize domestic security and courses that have a broader international focus, resulting in sufficient breadth of subject matter to allow students to tailor their choices around particular academic or professional interests.
Students interested in Cyber Security can choose to take a specific concentration in this area. Students who choose this option must complete 9 credits from the Cyber Security concentration and 6 credits from the elective list. Before choosing this option, students must secure permission from the Department of History and Political Science. After a consultation, it will be determined whether the student can enter the Cyber Security concentration, or if additional foundation courses will be required in order to enter and successfully complete the concentration.
Core Courses (21 credits)
Electives (15 credits)
Optional Cyber Security Concentration
In addition to successfully completing all course work, students must pass a tabletop examination to be awarded the M.S. in National Security Affairs and International Relations. When a student has completed all coursework, has maintained a minimum of 3.0 GPA with no "incomplete" grades, and is a "student in good standing" with no disciplinary actions pending or disciplinary tasks to complete, the student will be eligible to take the tabletop examination. The tabletop exam is an assessment of the student's ability to integrate the knowledge and skills gained through course work.The exam tests the student's written ability to critically analyze and apply conflict assessment, theory, and research methodology to hypothetical conflict situations. The exam also tests knowledge of material specific to the academic curriculum.
This MA explores how contemporary politics, conflict and debates about human rights and security are informed by the processes of globalisation.
You will study topics including human rights and humanitarian intervention, the world economy and the changing global order, global governance and the United Nation system, the growth of global networks and movements, global security, conflict resolution and peace-building, international relations and law, global poverty and development, and the politics of sustainability and environmental decline. Because globalisation transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries, our MA takes an interdisciplinary approach to challenge conventional political and international relations approaches.
There are two core modules: Globalisation and Global Politics, and Conflict, Security and Human Rights. You can also select two optional modules to focus on an area of particular interest, for example human rights and humanitarian intervention, global environmental politics, the Middle East, conflict resolution, genocide, international relations theory, the nature of warfare, and global ethics.
On the Globalisation: Politics, Conflict and Human Rights MA, you will:
The programme is founded on the notion that politics, conflict and human rights must now be understood in the context of contemporary globalisation.
Globalisation and Global Politics
This module begins by examining a range of approaches to globalisation and global politics before exploring the processes, institutions and ideologies that are widely considered to be driving them. For example, economic globalisation is studied in relation to the financial crisis of 2008 and wider debates about global economic disorder. In particular, the emphasis is on fostering an informed understanding of contemporary globalisation through study of critical theories, debates about power, patterns of global poverty and inequality, and development responses.
In relation to claims about a shift in global power, the rise of China and its implications for the Asia-Pacific Region and the rest of the world are explored. At an institutional level, the Human Rights Council, the International Criminal Court and the European Court of Human Rights are examined. The politics of global sustainability is considered in relation to the formation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Finally, the politics of a transnational/global movement is investigated through the study of La Via Campesina.
Conflict, Security and Human Rights
This module examines contemporary conflict, security and human rights debates in relation to globalisation and the evolution of global politics. Areas and issues examined include: the relationship between global security and international relations theory; conflict resolution theory and the prospects of conflict resolution in Syria; state building and peace-building in Somalia; and a global NGO (Amnesty International) dedicated to monitoring conflict and human rights abuses.
Environmental security is considered within the context of global environmental decline, focusing in particular on Moscow’s apparent resource-based approach to international relations. As for human rights, the major theories and critiques are examined, with specific reference to humanitarian intervention and the emergence of the concept of human security. In this vein, the politics of movement under contemporary globalisation is explored by studying the Geneva Convention and the rights of refugees.
Modules
Two from:
This MA is relevant to careers in the public sector, teaching, the media, the legal profession, business, journalism, management and human resources, as well as to further research. You may also seek work in development, charities, non-governmental organisations and the environment, as well as the European Union and the United Nations.
We live in an age where there is an urgent need for cooperative responses to address major global security challenges, as well as to transform intractable inter-state and intrastate conflicts. This programme responds to that need by providing students with an advanced interdisciplinary training in the theory and practice of global cooperation and conflict resolution. We offer research-led teaching at the intersection of International Relations, Political Psychology and Security Studies, combined with a 5-day training programme in 'Trust, Diplomacy and Conflict Transformation'.
Our students can follow a flexible programme with a wide choice of modules (part-time students are also welcome). In addition to our three core modules, we encourage students to take our new optional module in the Political Psychology of Conflict and Cooperation. Overall, our programme offers interdisciplinary training focused on the role of values, emotions, and beliefs in shaping the possibilities of conflict, cooperation and security at the international level.
In the School of Government and Society we offer much more than a degree. As a student here, whether undergraduate or postgraduate, you have the opportunity to take part in a wide range of events, with some or all of the costs paid for by the School.
Our MSc degree explores the theory and practice of how individuals, states, and political institutions manage conflict, and develop cooperation in international relations. The programme considers how political communities with different values, cultures, histories, and security conceptions can build trust in a global system.
You will gain a multidisciplinary understanding of key global security challenges (e.g. climate change, nuclear proliferation, transnational terrorism, and intractable conflicts inside and across state borders) and cover debates in International Relations, Political Psychology and Security Studies.
Topics and issues examined include:
Our students explore cutting edge scholarship through three core modules: Fear, Cooperation and Trust in World Politics, Global Cooperation in Practice, and our exclusive training programme on Trust, Diplomacy and Conflict Transformation. In addition, our Political Psychology of Conflict and Cooperation examines the psychological determinants of political choices and behaviours. Our programme allows for a truly interdisciplinary training in understanding and tackling the challenges of complex international tensions.
Our MSc degree has one more distinctive feature: it is offered by the Institute for Conflict, Cooperation and Security (ICCS), a world-leading interdisciplinary research centre, in partnership with the Department of Political Science and International Studies. The ICCS has strong connections to high level practitioner networks, which offer summer internship opportunities. Our MSc students can also become members of the four ICCS Research Working Groups: Trust; Political Settlements; International Political Psychology; Unmanned and Remote-Piloted Systems.
Who is the programme for?
Our MSc degree is designed for students interested in international relations, political psychology and security studies. Our students share a common goal: to advance their academic training, establish a policy-related career, work in government, international organizations and NGOs, or serve as mediators, negotiators and diplomats to address intractable conflicts at all levels of world politics.
You might also be interested in one of our other MSc programmes: Political Psychology of International Relations
We advocate an enquiry-based approach to learning, which means that we encourage you to become an independent and self-motivated learner. Through the programme of study we offer, we will develop the qualities that employers value in today's university graduates - qualities that will set you apart in your future career.
To help you develop these skills, we adopt a range of teaching methods. They may include:
More about teaching and learning at the University of Birmingham.
Our MSc students can pursue exciting and stimulating career opportunities with a range of organisations including government agencies, international organisations, the armed forces, NGOs, think-tanks, the media, the political world, and multinational corporations. Our excellent academic training is complemented by networking opportunities and voluntary work placements either at the Institute for Conflict, Cooperation and Security (ICCS)itself, or at one of our partner organisations. All our placements are offered on a competitive basis, over the summer term for a maximum of 20 days in order to allow sufficient time for the completion of your dissertation. These include:
Institute for Conflict, Cooperation and Security (ICCS)
Our four research-focused working groups invite applications for summer placements in the following areas:
If you are interested in the way our world has been shaped by security issues, conflict, defence policies and how business and other organisations deal with risks in different areas of the world you will be interested in Strategic Studies. Much is discussed about our world and the challenges we face in terms of conflict but where does this conflict come from? How do different countries look at their security issues and what changes their perception of risk? You study historical issues which have lead to conflict in the world and where this conflict comes from. You look at international organisations and their contribution to global order and you look at domestic policies, ideology, historical influences which continue to play out and cultural ideological factors.
You scrutinise real world conflicts and the application of power and force, learning about global security and development. You study global defence policies, domestic and cultural factors involved in strategy. The programme attracts a number of international students due to its international focus and graduates go on to wide ranging careers with a focus on strategic studies such as public sector, government organisations, non government organisations, charities, private business, journalism and policy work.
Semester 1
Semester 2
Semester 3
Find out more detail by visiting the programme web page
Find out more from the programme page
*Please be advised that some programmes have different tuition fees from those listed above and that some programmes also have additional costs
View all funding options on our funding database via the programme page and the latest postgraduate opportunities
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