International Relations (MA) Program at a Glance

The Master’s program in International Relations is research-driven. Its faculty is interdisciplinary in composition and the student body is international and diverse.

The program leads to a Master of Arts degree in International Relations: Global Governance and Social Theory. A consecutive PhD is offered by the Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences (BIGSSS), a joint project by Jacobs University and University of Bremen.

This two-year program consists of three terms of study and one term for the MA thesis. Students attend a total of twelve seminars. The fields covered are:

• Theories and Issues of Global Governance (including War and Peace, International Political Economy)
• Changing Context of Global Governance (including International History, Legalization and International Law)
• Theorizing Social Order and Change (including Modern Social Theory, Normative Theories of International Order)
• Methodology (including Advanced Qualitative and Quantitative Methods)

The core of the program of studies is composed of four main fields:

1. Theories and Issues of Global Governance
This field focuses on basic theories and themes of international relations and governance including issues of international security and international political economy.

2. Changing Context of Global Governance
The second field highlights broader processes of political change which impact international and transnational cooperation including state transformation and the legalization of world politcs.

3. Theorizing Social Order and Change
Covering classical as well as contemporary social theory, as well as normative theory of world politics, this component aims to provide a theoretical framework for understanding and evaluating issues of governance.

4. Methodology
In order to provide students with the techniques to conduct up-do-date research, the program offers courses on advanced qualitative and quantitative research methods as well as on research design and the logic of scientific research.

During the course of study students will take three courses from each field, amounting to a total of 12 courses for the M.A. program. Each course is worth 7.5 ECTS credit points, the MA thesis is worth 30 ECTS credit points. The annual maximum credits to be collected are 60 ECTS points. Upon completion of the M.A. program students may choose to continue on the PhD track in Bremen. Further information can be found in the program handbook.

Jacobs University Bremen

Prof. Dr. Klaus Boehnke
Professor of Social Science Methodology

Prof. Dr. Marc Frey
Professor of History

Prof. Dr. Philipp Genschel
Professor of Political Science (Deputy Program Chair)

Dr. Özen Odag
University Lecturer in Methods

Prof. Dr. Georg Ress
Professor of International Law

Prof. Dr. Margrit Schreier
Professor of Empirical Methods in the Humanities and Social Sciences

Prof. Dr. Marco Verweij
Professor of International Relations

Prof. Dr. Welf Werner
Professor of International Economics

Prof. Dr. Adalbert Wilhelm
Professor of Statistics

University of Bremen

M.A. Michael Carle

Dr. Klaus Dingwerth

Prof. Dr. Kerstin Martens

Prof. Dr. Peter Mayer
(Program Chair)

Prof. Dr. Patrizia Nanz

Prof. Dr. Martin Nonhoff

Graduates who complete the 2-year Master’s program will be in an excellent position to continue their studies on the PhD level or to seek careers in non-governmental organizations, public administration or international organizations.