MA - International Relations with International Law

Sydney Vicidomini

What attracted you to this course?
I completed my undergraduate studies in English and Russian at home in Italy, focusing on languages and cultures. On graduation, I decided I wanted to continue using languages and apply my knowledge of different cultures to help other people and to make a difference. One way of facilitating this was to take a postgraduate course in International Relations, where I could explore in depth other countries’ political systems, and why they have problems.

I chose the International Relations (International Double Award) programme at Kent because it is a two-year course which allows me to spend the first year in the UK and the second in Russia, where I’ll have the opportunity to improve my Russian language skills and consolidate everything I have learned here. I will also graduate with two Master’s degrees. I really like Canterbury, too; I spent my year abroad here during my undergraduate studies, and was keen to return.

How are you finding the course?
At first I found it difficult because I hadn’t studied Politics before; I wasn’t used to listening to the news on television and reading newspapers in a conscious way, and asking myself important questions about what is going on in the world. The teaching in the UK is also very different to the teaching in Italy; here, you are taught to be more independent in your thinking and are encouraged to express your opinion. Now I feel fully immersed in the course – I’m able to think more critically and do what is expected of me.

I did well in the ethics module in the first term. Now I’m studying human rights, which I really enjoy. I’m learning that international relations is not only about power and politics; it’s also about real people and their problems, and how these problems can be used politically to achieve aims that are not always in people’s best interests.

What I love about postgraduate study here is that you are encouraged to talk to students of other disciplines, such as anthropology and sociology. Kent really offers a “total learning experience” – whatever you do or whoever you meet, you are always learning something new.