MA International Relations after Geography BA

Hi everyone, I'm looking to do a Masters in IR after my current Geography BA at Newcastle.

I'm looking at Oxford , Warwick and Edinburgh as possible universities, is this being too ambitious?

Reply 1

oriel historian

alig23

Hi everyone, I'm looking to do a Masters in IR after my current Geography BA at Newcastle.

I'm looking at Oxford , Warwick and Edinburgh as possible universities, is this being too ambitious?

Depends on what you're on target for. With a high 2.1 or First class degree, I don't see at all why not. The social sciences / history are fairly interchangeable as subjects and closely related in many ways. I guess you're interested in human geography then rather than rocks and stuff? :p:

Ilexaquifolum is the lady to ask - she's the IR doyenne here.

But yeah, anyone with colouring in as a degree can do it.*

*being a historian, I had to get it in there someplace :biggrin:

Reply 2

Kitty Pimms

Hello! I'm very flattered to be called the IR doyenne - technically I'm actually rather allergic to IR (it's not as good as proper political science :hmmm:

) but I digress.

Given that you did a BA not a BSc you should be fine - it counts as a social science according to most classifications, and IR tends to be more accomodating of differing BA subjects than politics in my experience. If you're on for a first or at a push a high 2.1 all of those universities should be attainable:

Oxford's DPIR

What are the requirements for entry?
Prospective applicants should ordinarily have a high Upper Second Class or a First Class Honours degree from a UK university, or its international equivalent. The degree should be in Political Science or International Relations, or in a closely related discipline (e.g. Economics, History, Philosophy, Sociology, Law, etc). However, each application will be assessed upon its own merits and the Department is by no means averse to receiving applications from candidates with unconventional backgrounds. We would expect a GPA of 3.7 or above from students who have studied at a university that uses the US grading system. Applicants who intend to apply for direct entry to the DPhil will need a Master's qualification in addition to an undergraduate degree.