Research students are encouraged to feel they are part of a research community rather than working in isolation. We have excellent completion rates, and many of our former research students hold senior academic and government positions around the world. This course covers the following areas: American Politics; British Party Politics; British Political History; Central Asian Studies: politics, security, religion, economics, international relations; China's International Relations; Economic Development in the Middle East: economic diversification and self sustaining growth, labour markets and employment creation, technological transfers and intellectual property rights, the Arab telecommunications and multimedia industry, global versus national governance of trade and investment flows; The European Union; German Politics; History of Political Thought; International Development; International Organisation; International Relations of East Asia; International Relations Theory and Methodology; Islamic Studies: Islamic thought, intellectual trends, politics and contemporary movements, the role of Islam in the political and social dynamics of Muslim countries, minority Muslim communities, popular and scholarly Western perceptions of Islam, the relationship between Islam and other faiths. In addition to the above, the School offers expertise in the field of Quranic and Shi'a Studies, with considerable resources available in the University; Middle East Politics: including domestic and international politics, political economy, society; Modern Iranian Studies: modern politics, international relations, political economy; North African Studies: politics and history, religion, political economy, international relations, boundary disputes; Peace and Conflict; Political Culture; Regional Security Issues: geopolitics and economic geography; Religion and Politics. All research students attend the Faculty Research Training Programme, which offers: Induction: an introduction to the work of our IT service, Library and Language Centre; and to life and work as a postgraduate student; Research Methods: an introduction to ontology, measurement, methodology, data sources and data analysis; Study Methods: computer literacy and library use; Philosophy and Methodology: including legal and ethical issues; Managing your project: including presentational skills and thesis production.