Studies & Degrees in International Studies

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International Studies Study Programs

International studies or the study of International Relations examines the functioning of countries, their relation with one another, with multinational corporations and international organizations and so on. The subject deals with various issues like environment, economics, human rights, etc. and tries to explain and analyze them from different perspectives. Rather than treating these as completely separate topics, International Studies tries to look at them as inter connected components of global affairs. Study of International Relations would reveal how the countries are connected in some way or the other and how their behavior affects international politics and national policies of other countries. In a globalized world, International Studies is becoming even more important as a subject of study.

What the Course Offers

Most universities and educational institutes offer post graduate degree in International Studies or International Relations. Graduates in any social science subjects are eligible for the course. Because the subject is somewhat closely related and often considered as a branch of political studies, a Bachelors degree is ideal for anyone who is willing to pursue International Studies. However diversification from a wide variety of subjects is possible and even desirable for development of the discipline. For example, students and scholars of economics, environmental science and even law have taken courses on International Studies.

A post graduate degree course on International Relations typically involves papers on theoretical approach of different schools towards international relations, history of global politics, different forms of governmental structures, area studies involving detailed analysis of politics of specific areas, international trade and political economy, so on and so forth. Knowledge of one or more foreign languages, especially most popular languages in the world, would be of immense importance in study of International Relations. Hence, many universities offer language courses along with degree courses.
For those who want to pursue research and higher studies, chances of doing PhD are ample. Many international scholarships and fellowships are also available for study abroad programs. Think tanks and research organizations offer internship opportunities for willing students. 

Career Prospects

The interdisciplinary nature of International Studies makes the subject even more interesting. A student would naturally develop a broad outlook and will be able to analyze the situation around from many different perspectives. In depth knowledge and expertise on a particular region also adds hugely to one’s specializations. Given the nature of world politics today, experts having considerable knowledge on matters of security and strategic policy making are in high demand by not only governmental but also non-governmental organizations. A student of international studies will be easily absorbed into jobs as domestic and foreign policy makers, advisors to the government, diplomats, educationists and research personnel, journalists and news editors, and many more.

Knowing how the countries are intertwined with each other in different ways, the students of international studies would have an added advantage over many other social science students. This is precisely because they have covered in their courses parts of sociology, psychology, anthropology, economics, environmental science, defense studies, political science, history and much, much more.