International Relations and Middle East Studies

International Relations and Middle East Studies is a degree that combines the analytical frameworks of political science with deep specialist knowledge of one of the world's most geopolitically significant and complex regions. International Relations, as the MA (Hons) in the Scottish degree system describes it, teaches you to explore the origins of war and peace, the making of foreign policy, trade regimes, international terrorism, human rights, international law, and the interaction of political and economic development in the international system. Adding a Middle East specialism brings this general analytical framework to bear on a region whose political dynamics, resource endowments, colonial legacies, and religious and ethnic complexities have shaped global affairs for well over a century.

At the University of St Andrews, this four-year full-time programme develops your understanding of international relations theory and empirical scholarship alongside a focused and substantive education in the history, politics, culture, and languages of the Middle East and North Africa. You will engage with the theories that explain why states cooperate and conflict, how international institutions emerge and function, and how global economic forces interact with political structures. The Middle East specialism gives these theoretical tools a concrete regional application, examining topics such as the Arab-Israeli conflict, oil politics, political Islam, state formation, and the international dimensions of regional instability.

A year abroad is built into the programme, giving you the opportunity to study in the region or at a partner institution with particular strength in Middle Eastern studies.

Graduates pursue careers in diplomacy, international organisations, the civil service, journalism, think tanks, NGOs, security consultancy, and academia. Many go on to postgraduate study in international relations, Middle Eastern studies, or security studies. The combination of analytical rigour and regional depth is particularly valued in organisations working in or on the Middle East.