Curious about studying International Relations and Security MAat University of Westminster, London? We've gathered all the key details—entry requirements, modules, fees, and more. Hear from real students by checking out reviews, or take the next step by booking an open day to explore it for yourself.
MA - Master of Arts
Regent Campus
Part Time
Sep 2026
2 Year
The International Relations and Security MA provides an advanced, critical examination of security as one of the defining issues in contemporary international politics. Central themes include the underlying dynamics of interstate wars, state and non-state violence (including terrorism), the global balance of power, and challenges to the legitimacy of international institutions. Alongside these movements, there are existing and emerging geopolitical shifts, the proliferation of surveillance and algorithmic violence, the dangers of authoritarianism, and escalating humanitarian emergencies which raise significant questions for states, communities, and societies worldwide. The course's critical approach—combined with historical and comparative analysis of interstate conflicts, state and nonstate violence, terrorism, surveillance politics, humanitarian crises, and challenges to international institutions—builds advanced analytical, research, and critical thinking skills. Graduates are highly valued by employers who need professionals capable of interpreting complex security landscapes, situating current events within broader theoretical and historical frameworks, and crafting informed policy responses.
The end of the Cold War fundamentally altered the nature of international security, heralding the emergence of new issues and threats. In the contemporary era the locus and nature of the paramount threats have altered, with intra-state conflicts and non-state actors characterising sources of insecurity. This module will provide you with a comprehensive overview of security discourse and practice since the end of the Cold War relating key issues such as humanitarian intervention, self-defence and terrorism to broader trends such as the evolving role of the UN, the challenges to international law and the new concern with intra-state crises.
You will receive supervised guidance and research methods training (through a series of research method workshops, the Dissertation induction and colloquium seminars, and individual Dissertation supervision sessions) to prepare you for your Masters Dissertation on an agreed research topic. You will begin identifying your Dissertation interests at the start of your studies, when you will be able to discuss your ideas with different tutors who may direct you towards taking appropriate option modules that support your future research studies. This module must be taken either following the completion of all other modules, or concurrently with modules in your second semester.
This module examines the contemporary discourse and debates surrounding the meaning of international security. The end of the Cold War fundamentally altered the structure of the international system and precipitated the emergence of a new security agenda. The new systemic dynamics and reconfigured security agenda led many to question the dominant theoretical frameworks previously applied to international security, and new security discourses ? such as human security and critical security studies ? have emerged to challenge established security theory. This module will examine the key tenets of the new theoretical frameworks and critically analyse their contribution to our understanding of ?security?.
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