The Master of Arts in International Relations is a full-time MA program (one and two years) that prepares students for careers in academia, government, international organizations, NGOs, journalism, think tanks or private business. Its ethos may be summarized as “big picture/close focus.” The program provides students with an overview of the field of International Relations—its “big picture”—understood as an interdisciplinary inquiry into the question of just what makes up the global political order. Because the global political order is made up by a multiplicity of historically shaped, socially diverse, and unevenly developed entities and practices, our program also provides a “close focus” of each element of the order, which deserves its own particular attention. Both dispositions are supported by a faculty with diverse educational backgrounds and a multicultural student body drawn from over 20 countries, representing all regions of the world.

Last but not least, the program’s big picture/close focus ethos is reflected in the way our faculty members teach their courses: through seminar discussions in classes that, as a rule, do not exceed 20 students, and in which students can apply themselves to a variety of written and oral assignments. This small classroom size, versatile assignment approach, and thoroughly diverse academic environment allows every student to be heard and express themselves to the best of their abilities. Regular feedback from faculty enables collaborative and self-reflective learning. This helps students to refine questions for their final projects, theses, as well as make informed choices over supervision.