Global Affairs

MA

  • Entry year 2025
  • Duration Full time 1 year, Part time 2 years

Overview

Top reasons to study with us

  • Study with experts in Politics and International Relations from across the World

  • World Top 50 Arts & Humanities THE World University Rankings 2024

  • Internship and placement opportunities

The School of Global Affairs offers four master’s degrees that share a common ethos and course structure. Each provides distinctive yet interconnected opportunities to develop the skills, knowledge, relationships and partnerships needed to meet the global challenges of our time.

Why Lancaster?

  • Develop critical, creative and cross-disciplinary approaches to global affairs
  • Study with world-leading researchers whose expertise spans a diverse range of global affairs contexts across the arts, humanities, and social sciences
  • Learn global leadership and collaboration skills that equip you to navigate difficult decision-making
  • Work collaboratively with peers across our suite of global master’s courses to build your own interdisciplinary professional network
  • Develop a practical and future-orientated understanding of how change is made
  • Learn from experts in British, Russian, Middle Eastern, Asian, European, African and American global politics and international relations

Our innovative master’s course is designed to generate fresh thinking to address global problems such as climate change, conflict, identities, information and truth. Applying critical concepts, theories and practices drawn from the humanities and social sciences, you’ll gain the knowledge, skills and confidence to be an impactful and transformative professional.

A new approach to Global Affairs

In today's world of complexity and interdependence, global challenges are evolving, shifting and transforming across different sectors, disciplines and localities. Multi-disciplinary perspectives and insights will be essential to meet the problems facing humanity and the planet.

This course is built around critical thinking, collaboration and creative approaches. You'll be introduced to cutting-edge concepts, theories and practices from across disciplines ranging from politics, sociology and history to art, economics and environmental sciences.

You will be encouraged to draw on different disciplines as you consider issues from the perspectives of diverse stakeholders and seek workable solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges.

Collaboration in practice

This master’s course is one of a series of four interconnected courses that have a common ethos and structure.

You’ll take part in subject-specific modules designed to build in-depth knowledge of global affairs. You’ll assess, engage in and create responses to real- world issues.

In studio modules you’ll work collaboratively with other course participants on live community briefs, connecting Lancaster’s research with both local environments and analysing global issues.

For some modules, you’ll join with students from other master’s cohorts on projects that will develop your leadership skills – using use generative, collaborative thinking to create innovative solutions that are relevant to diverse external stakeholders.

Working with students from our other cohorts will bring you into contact with those specialising in global sustainability and the environment, AI, and global health and medical humanities. You’ll experience the benefits that harnessing skills and knowledge from diverse groups and subjects can bring.

You’ll have the opportunity to tailor your final project to draw on your academic, personal or professional experience. A range of innovative assessment types will give you the freedom to represent your chosen topic creatively and persuasively.

Learn or develop a language

This course gives you the opportunity to gain advanced cultural perspectives via a beginners or continuing language module. Choose from French, German Spanish, Italian or Chinese

Explore areas of interest

Optional modules enable you to study a range of topics such as:

  • Global conflict and violence
  • Geopolitics and security: traditional and critical approaches
  • Global histories: modernity, colonisation and legacies of empire
  • Population mobilities and borders.
  • Global hunger, poverty and inequality
  • Global governance and leadership
  • Human rights, social movements and community activism

A new type of leader

With its dedicated leadership module, this course prepares you for a future as a collaborative change-maker. The course challenges traditional views of leadership, adopting an understanding of leadership grounded in critical, creative and collaborative skills - a holistic and humanistic way of thinking.

By taking this interdisciplinary approach and engaging in the discourses of leadership ethics, you’ll be equipped to perform whatever role you take to bring about positive change.

You’ll benefit from Lancaster’s rich, collaborative academic environment, being able to participate actively in research events and opportunities provided by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

Flexible study options

Study while continuing your career by taking this course on a part-time basis. Running over two years, you would take the following core modules each year:

  • Year 1: Navigating, Applied Learning Studio 1, and Global Leadership
  • Year 2: Applied Learning Studio 2 and MA Project

We would liaise with you over your choice of optional modules and your schedule, so that you can successfully balance your work and other commitments alongside the master’s programme.

Careers

This course will appeal to those already engaged in a professional role as well as graduates wishing to move into a challenging but rewarding career where you can make a difference to the world we live in.

It is an opportunity to extend your prior educational and work experience in new directions. The master’s is suitable for students from a wide range of academic backgrounds and careers who are keen to work in a Global Affairs role anywhere in the world.

You may be interested in roles with:

  • NGOs
  • Financial Institutions
  • Global Commerce
  • Think tanks
  • The United Nations
  • Media and Education
  • The World Health Organisation
  • Charities
  • The Civil Service
  • Governance and Policy Making
  • The Intelligence services

Entry requirements

Academic Requirements

2:1 Hons degree (UK or equivalent) in any subject, or 2:2 with professional experience relevant to the programme (please give further detail of your experience in your personal statement).

The personal statement should be a 300-500 word reflection on your interest in the programme, the relevance of your experience and what you hope to gain from the programme.

The department plans to interview all eligible applicants.

If you have studied outside of the UK, we would advise you to check our list of international qualifications before submitting your application.

English Language Requirements

We may ask you to provide a recognised English language qualification, dependent upon your nationality and where you have studied previously.

We normally require an IELTS (Academic) Test with an overall score of at least 6.5, and a minimum of 6.0 in each element of the test. We also consider other English language qualifications.

If your score is below our requirements, you may be eligible for one of our pre-sessional English language programmes.

Contact: Admissions Team +44 (0) 1524 592032 or email pgadmissions@lancaster.ac.uk

Pre-master’s programmes

Delivered in partnership with INTO Lancaster University, our one-year tailored pre-master’s pathways are designed to improve your subject knowledge and English language skills to the level required by a range of Lancaster University master’s degrees. Visit the INTO Lancaster University website for more details and a list of eligible degrees you can progress onto.

Course structure

You will study a range of modules as part of your course, some examples of which are listed below.

Information contained on the website with respect to modules is correct at the time of publication, but changes may be necessary, for example as a result of student feedback, Professional Statutory and Regulatory Bodies' (PSRB) requirements, staff changes, and new research. Not all optional modules are available every year.

Core

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Optional

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Fees and funding

Location Full Time (per year) Part Time (per year)
Home £11,960 £5,980
International £24,830 £12,415

General fees and funding information

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Scholarships and bursaries

You may be eligible for the following funding opportunities, depending on your fee status and course. You will be automatically considered for our main scholarships and bursaries when you apply, so there's nothing extra that you need to do.

Unfortunately no scholarships and bursaries match your selection, but there are more listed on scholarships and bursaries page.

If you're considering postgraduate research you should look at our funded PhD opportunities.

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We also have other, more specialised scholarships and bursaries - such as those for students from specific countries.

Browse Lancaster University's scholarships and bursaries.

Important Information

The information on this site relates primarily to 2025/2026 entry to the University and every effort has been taken to ensure the information is correct at the time of publication.

The University will use all reasonable effort to deliver the courses as described, but the University reserves the right to make changes to advertised courses. In exceptional circumstances that are beyond the University’s reasonable control (Force Majeure Events), we may need to amend the programmes and provision advertised. In this event, the University will take reasonable steps to minimise the disruption to your studies. If a course is withdrawn or if there are any fundamental changes to your course, we will give you reasonable notice and you will be entitled to request that you are considered for an alternative course or withdraw your application. You are advised to revisit our website for up-to-date course information before you submit your application.

More information on limits to the University’s liability can be found in our legal information.

Our Students’ Charter

We believe in the importance of a strong and productive partnership between our students and staff. In order to ensure your time at Lancaster is a positive experience we have worked with the Students’ Union to articulate this relationship and the standards to which the University and its students aspire. View our Charter and other policies.