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Postgraduate study after International Relations degree?

Is it worth doing a Master's after doing a BA in International Relations? I'm studying International Relations but not sure what exact kind of work I want to go into when I graduate. Would doing an MA in International Relations or something similar give more job opportunities?

Reply 1

returnmigrant

No.

Many undergrads make the mistake of thinking that a Masters degree will immediately make them even more employable than an undegrad degree. And for Soc Sci and Humanities course it simply doesn't. What employers want is experience not endless bits of paper that show how many books you've read at Uni.

You need to build up you CV with 'other stuff I did at Uni' - this is what will make an interested employer want to interview you. Placements, Internships and relevant vacation work. There are plenty of ways to achieve this and this sort of experience not only builds your CV, gives you relevant references but also helps you sort out what job you DO want to do. A Masters degree is just a very expensive way of putting this decision off for yet another year - and gaining nothing in the meantime.

Good websites to look for 'other stuff' and first jobs on graduation in this subject area are :

W4MP - lots of jobs, internships, voluntary work etc in formal politics, think tanks, social justice, campaigning charities, lobby firms etc. (scroll down for the actual job ads) - http://www.w4mpjobs.org/SearchJobs.aspx?search=alljobs

Charity jobs - vacancies with all sorts of charities, both voluntary/internships and paid jobs. Often a really good way of getting graduate experience in interesting job areas. http://www.charityjob.co.uk/

Central government jobs - not just in London - https://jobs.civilservice.gov.uk/company/nghr/jobs.cgi

Reply 2

Little Jules

It depends. A masters on its own will not get you a job - the above poster is right about experience, which is more important. But it's a competitive job market and a good masters can help. But doing a masters can be very expensive, and if it's a choice between a year of studying or a year of interning, interning would probably be better. Trying various internships would probably also help you figure out what you want to do.

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Reply 3

zettel

what about going on to do an MA in management/business/marketing?
it seems many unis only ask for a degree in the social sciences, so i dont think you would actually need a BA in mangagement/business/marketing in order to apply.
since IR is in the social sciences, that could be another path to take.

Reply 4

jelly1000

Original post by mariocasas

An MA alone would never give you more opportunities. However an MA & work experience should open up more doors depending on what you want to do in future. For example I'd love to work in research for a think tank or similar and all researchers at the think tanks have masters degrees so without one I'd be at a disadvantage. In fact when I looked at trying to get an internship with a think tank all the interns they had information about on their websites had masters degrees!

Reply 5

polscistudent88

Thing is some (actually many) work opportunities in the field of international relations require a Masters degree. So yes, it makes sense if you want to work in one of those (if unsure, just look at the websites of companies, organizations, think tanks, agencies to know if they do or don't require it).

Then, it might be a good idea to focus, with your MA, on a specific issue of IR, at least if your background is in international relations.

So... Is it worth? It depends on what you want to do afterwards. Even if, tbh, masters degrees are more and more common is the social sciences. So, other than formal (de iure) requirements, there are also de facto requirements.

Reply 6

returnmigrant

But .... if you look at these job adverts you will see that the requirements is NOT 'must have done a Masters degree straight after an undergraduate degree'. What these employers are asking for is experience THEN a Masters.

Reply 7

jelly1000

Original post by returnmigrant

Either way you have to do the masters at some point for certain areas and certainly in my case I'd find it easier doing it now than trying to go back to uni in a few years time. And I will of course be looking for experience in between the degree and masters.