BSc in International Relations
Programme Code: UBIR
Department: International Relations
For students starting this programme of study in 2021/22
Guidelines for interpreting programme regulations
Paper |
Course number, title (unit value) | |
---|---|---|
Year 1 |
| |
LSE100 |
LSE100 The LSE Course (0.5) (withdrawn 2022/23) |
|
Paper 1 |
IR100 International Relations: Theories, Concepts and Debates (1.0) |
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Paper 2 |
IR101 Contemporary Issues in International Relations (1.0) |
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Paper 3 |
| |
Courses to the value of 1 unit(s) from the following: HY113 Empires and Resistance in Global History (1.0) |
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HY116 International Politics since 1914: Peace and War (1.0) |
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Paper 4 |
| |
A course to the value of 1.0 unit relevant to the study of International Relations from outside the Department, approved by the candidate's Academic Mentor and the Departmental Tutor. The following courses are strongly recommended (if not already chosen for Paper 3): | ||
EH101 The Internationalisation of Economic Growth, 1870 to the present day (1.0) |
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GV101 Introduction to Political Science (1.0) |
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HY113 Empires and Resistance in Global History (1.0) |
||
HY116 International Politics since 1914: Peace and War (1.0) |
||
PH103 The Big Questions: An Introduction to Philosophy (1.0) |
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SO100 Key Concepts: Introduction to Social Theory (1.0) |
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(OR)An approved foreign language course from the Foreign Language Selection List: | ||
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Skills course |
| |
Stu dents take the following non-assessed course: IR102 Thinking Globally: Studying International Relations (0.0) |
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Year 2 |
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Papers 5, 6 & 7 |
| |
Courses to the value of 3 unit(s) from the following: IR200 International Political Theory (1.0) |
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IR202 Foreign Policy Analysis 1 (1.0) |
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IR205 International Security (1.0) |
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IR206 International Political Economy (1.0) |
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Paper 8 |
| |
One from:A further full-unit course from Papers 5, 6 & 7: IR200 International Political Theory (1.0) |
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IR202 Foreign Policy Analysis 1 (1.0) |
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IR205 International Security (1.0) |
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IR206 International Political Economy (1.0) |
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(OR)A course to the value of 1.0 unit relevant to the study of International Relations from outside the Department, approved by the candidate's Academic Mentor and the Departmental Tutor. The following courses are strongly recommended: GV264 Politics and Institutions in Europe (1.0) |
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HY206 The International History of the Cold War, 1945-1989 (1.0) |
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HY235 Modernity and the State in East Asia: China, Japan and Korea since 1840 (1.0) |
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LL278 Public International Law (1.0) (withdrawn 2024/25) |
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(OR)An approved foreign language course to the value of 1.0 unit, approved by the candidate's Academic Mentor and the Departmental Tutor. | ||
| ||
Year 3 |
| |
Papers 9, 10 & 11 |
| |
Courses to the value of 3.0 unit(s) from the following: IR305 Strategic Aspects of International Relations (1.0) |
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IR312 Genocide (0.5) |
||
IR313 Managing China's Rise in East Asia (0.5) (suspended 2025/26) |
||
IR314 Southeast Asia: Intra-regional Politics and Security (0.5) |
||
IR315 International Relations of the Middle East (1.0) |
||
IR317 American Grand Strategy (0.5) |
||
IR318 Visual International Politics (0.5) (suspended 2025/26) |
||
IR319 Empire and Conflict in World Politics (0.5) |
||
IR320 Europe's Institutional Order (0.5) (withdrawn 2024/25) |
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IR322 Sovereignty, Rights and Justice: Issues in International Political Theory (0.5) (suspended 2025/26) |
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IR323 Race, Resistance and Decolonisation in International Relations (0.5) # |
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IR324 The Practices of Transitional Justice (0.5) (suspended 2025/26) |
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IR325 The Situations of the International Criminal Court (0.5) (withdrawn 2024/25) |
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IR326 The Rule of Law: A Global History (0.5) (suspended 2025/26) |
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IR327 World Orders in Historical International Relations (0.5) # |
||
IR345 Global Politics of China (1.0) (suspended 2025/26) |
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IR349 Conflict and Peacebuilding (1.0) # (suspended 2025/26) |
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IR354 Governing International Political Economy: Lessons from the Past for the Future (0.5) # |
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IR372 Nuclear Non-proliferation and World Politics (Special Topics in International Relations) (0.5) (suspended 2025/26) |
||
IR373 China and the Global South (0.5) |
||
IR377 The Politics of Peace & Security in Sub-Saharan Africa (0.5) |
||
IR378 Critical War Studies (0.5) |
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IR379 Eastern Europe: Domestic Regimes and Foreign Policies (0.5) # |
||
IR391 Globalisation and Development (0.5) (suspended 2025/26) |
||
IR395 The Politics of Displacement and Refuge (0.5) |
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IR398 Dissertation (1.0) |
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Paper 12 |
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Courses to the value of 1.0 unit from the following: | ||
IR200 International Political Theory (1.0) |
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IR202 Foreign Policy Analysis 1 (1.0) |
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IR205 International Security (1.0) |
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IR206 International Political Economy (1.0) |
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Language Courses (intermediate, advanced or proficiency level) |
Undergraduate Outside Options List (Year 1)
Where the regulations refer to an approved paper taught outside the department, this means that you may take any course in a subject other than the principal subject(s) of your degree, subject to timetabling constraints and any restrictions listed in the Course Guides. If your degree is for joint honours (e.g. Philosophy and Economics) or is a major/minor combination (e.g., Geography with Economics), a course outside the department means a course taught in any department other than the two named in the title of your degree. The home department of each course is indicated by the first two letters in its code.
Please note that some course combinations are not allowed. Please see the Mutually Exclusive Options list.
The courses available as outside options where regulations permit are:
AC102 Elements of Financial Accounting (0.5) | |
AC103 Elements of Management Accounting, Financial Management and Financial Institutions (0.5) | |
AN100 Being Human: Contemporary Themes in Social Anthropology (1.0) | |
AN101 A History of Anthropological Theory (1.0) | |
DS101A Fundamentals of Data Science (0.5) | |
DS101W Fundamentals of Data Science (0.5) (suspended 2025/26) | |
EC1A5 Microeconomics I (0.5) | |
EC1B5 Macroeconomics I (0.5) | |
EH101 The Internationalisation of Economic Growth, 1870 to the present day (1.0) | |
EH102 Pre-industrial Economic History (1.0) | |
FM101 Finance (0.5) | |
GV100 Introduction to Political Theory (1.0) | |
GY100 Introduction to Geography (1.0) | |
GY103 Contemporary Europe (1.0) | |
GY120 Environmental Change: Past, Present and Future (1.0) | |
GY121 Sustainable Development (1.0) | |
GY140 Introduction to Geographical Research (1.0) | |
HY113 Empires and Resistance in Global History (1.0) | |
HY116 International Politics since 1914: Peace and War (1.0) | |
HY118 Faith, Power and Revolution: Europe and the Wider World, c.1500-c.1800 (1.0) A | |
LL106 Public Law (1.0) | |
LL108 Criminal Law (1.0) | |
LL143 Tort Law (1.0) | |
LN104 Mandarin Language and Society Level 1 (Beginner) (1.0) # | |
LN142 Mandarin Language and Society 2 (Intermediate) (1.0) # | |
LN251 Comparative Literature and 20th Century Political History (1.0) # | |
LN270 Society and Language: Linguistics for Social Scientists (1.0) | |
LN340 Mandarin Language and Society 5 (Mastery) (1.0) # (suspended 2025/26) | |
LN370 Discourse and Communication (1.0) | |
PB100 Foundations of Behavioural Science (1.0) | |
PB102 Social Psychology (1.0) (suspended 2025/26) | |
PH103 The Big Questions: An Introduction to Philosophy (1.0) | |
PH105 Historical and Global Perspectives on Philosophy (0.5) | |
PH111 Introduction to Logic (0.5) | |
PH112 Intermediate Logic and Probability (0.5) | |
PH224 Epistemology (0.5) | |
SO110 Power, Inequality, and Difference: Contemporary Themes in Sociology (1.0) F | |
SP112 Politics of Social Policy Making (1.0) | |
ST101 Programming for Data Science (0.5) # (suspended 2025/26) | |
ST101A Programming for Data Science (0.5) | |
ST101W Programming for Data Science (0.5) | |
Footnote for Undergraduate Outside Options List (Year 1)
A: HY118: Can be taken in Year 1 only.
B: MG104: Can be taken in Year 1 only.
C: MG105: Can be taken in Year 1 only.
D: PB101: Is not available to third year students.
E: SO100: Can be taken in Year 1 only.
F: SO110: Can be taken in Year 1 only.
Language Courses
LN104 Mandarin Language and Society Level 1 (Beginner) (1.0) # | |
LN142 Mandarin Language and Society 2 (Intermediate) (1.0) # | |
LN251 Comparative Literature and 20th Century Political History (1.0) # B | |
LN270 Society and Language: Linguistics for Social Scientists (1.0) F | |
LN340 Mandarin Language and Society 5 (Mastery) (1.0) # (suspended 2025/26) |
Footnote for Language Courses
A: LN250: LN250 Not available to 2nd and 3rd year students on the BA/BSc in Social Anthropology programmes.
B: LN251: LN251 Not available to 2nd and 3rd year students on the BA/BSc in Social Anthropology programmes.
C: LN252: LN252 Not available to 2nd and 3rd year students on the BA/BSc in Social Anthropology programmes.
D: LN253: LN253 Not available to 2nd and 3rd year students on the BA/BSc in Social Anthropology programmes.
E: LN254: LN254 Not available to 2nd and 3rd year students on the BA/BSc in Social Anthropology programmes.
F: LN270: LN270 Not available to 2nd and 3rd year students on the BA/BSc in Social Anthropology programmes.
Selection List of Papers Approved by the Department as Relevant to the Study of International Relations
EC2A5 Microeconomics II (0.5) | |
EC2B5 Macroeconomics II (0.5) | |
EH225 Latin America and the International Economy (1.0) | |
GV245 Democracy and Democratisation (1.0) | |
GV251 Government, Politics and Public Policy in the European Union (1.0) | |
GV264 Politics and Institutions in Europe (1.0) | |
GY211 Introduction to Global Development (0.5) | |
GY220 Environment: Science and Society (1.0) | |
HY206 The International History of the Cold War, 1945-1989 (1.0) | |
HY226 The Greater War c. 1912-1923 (1.0) | |
HY242 The Soviet Union: Domestic, International and Intellectual History (1.0) | |
HY319 Napoleon and Europe (1.0) | |
LL250 Law and The Environment (1.0) | |
LL279 Public International Law (0.5) | |
LL280 Advanced Issues in Public International Law (0.5) | |
Papers 9, 10 & 11 options list
IR305 Strategic Aspects of International Relations (1.0) | |
IR312 Genocide (0.5) | |
IR314 Southeast Asia: Intra-regional Politics and Security (0.5) | |
IR315 International Relations of the Middle East (1.0) | |
IR317 American Grand Strategy (0.5) | |
IR318 Visual International Politics (0.5) (suspended 2025/26) | |
IR319 Empire and Conflict in World Politics (0.5) | |
IR322 Sovereignty, Rights and Justice: Issues in International Political Theory (0.5) (suspended 2025/26) | |
IR323 Race, Resistance and Decolonisation in International Relations (0.5) # | |
IR324 The Practices of Transitional Justice (0.5) (suspended 2025/26) | |
IR326 The Rule of Law: A Global History (0.5) (suspended 2025/26) | |
IR327 World Orders in Historical International Relations (0.5) # | |
IR350 Global Politics of China (0.5) | |
IR354 Governing International Political Economy: Lessons from the Past for the Future (0.5) # | |
IR372 Nuclear Non-proliferation and World Politics (Special Topics in International Relations) (0.5) (suspended 2025/26) | |
IR373 China and the Global South (0.5) | |
IR377 The Politics of Peace & Security in Sub-Saharan Africa (0.5) | |
IR378 Critical War Studies (0.5) | |
IR379 Eastern Europe: Domestic Regimes and Foreign Policies (0.5) # | |
IR391 Globalisation and Development (0.5) (suspended 2025/26) | |
IR392 The Political Economy of China's Technological Rise (0.5) | |
IR395 The Politics of Displacement and Refuge (0.5) | |
IR398 Dissertation (1.0) |
Language Courses (intermediate, advanced or proficiency level)
Footnotes
# means there may be prerequisites for this course. Please view the course guide for more information.
A: Paper 12: Courses selected from the list of language courses must be approved.
Language Specialism:
Students who have taken and passed at least one language course in each year of their degree (i.e. 25% of their overall programme of study) will be offered the opportunity to receive a language specialism attached to their degree certificate and transcript. Students must take all courses in the same language (French, Spanish, German, Mandarin or Russian) in order to qualify for the specialism. The three courses must also be consecutively harder in level, for example: beginner, intermediate and advanced. Students who choose to take language courses are not obligated to receive a specialism, but have the option if they wish. Degree certificates which include a language specialism will state the language in the title, for example: BSc in International Relations (with French).
Note for prospective students:
For changes to undergraduate course and programme information for the next academic session, please see the undergraduate summary page for prospective students. Changes to course and programme information for future academic sessions can be found on the undergraduate summary page for future students.