International relations application help

Hi guys,

So I was hoping to apply to International Relations at LSE and KCL but they are obviously both extremely competitive.

Other that excellent academic achievements, what work experience, non-academic achievements and extra-curriculars would help make my application stand out?

I would be very grateful for advice from offer holders or students on the course right now on what you think helped you get your place and work experiences/achievements.

Many thanks

International Relations student here! I did not apply to either of these universities, but I did get an offer from Exeter (albeit I went to a different university in the end), which is competitive for International Relations too. Grades are the most important factor, but it does not hurt to show your interest in the course, so here are some things that might help your application

- reading many politics and international relations books
- reading periodical journals for politics and international relations (Note: This is more of a university level thing, but if you want to study International Relations, you should probably get used to journals as you will most likely need to reference them in your essays in university)
- being a student Ambassador
- being a class rep/Head Boy/Head Girl/etc
- clubs and societies (e.g. debating, public speaking, writing, etc)
- Model United Nations
- volunteering (especially abroad, though any volunteer work will do)
- work experience with an MP
- literally any work experience
- being a member of a political party
- NCS
- charity work (e.g. fundraising for a charity)
- participating in the school newspaper
- visiting the Parliament
- summer school (if you can afford it)
- winning competitions (if applicable)
- speaking more than one language (if applicable)
- living and studying in more than one country over your lifetime (if applicable)

Besides these things, feel free to include anything that you consider relevant and/or impressive. For example, if you are a grade 8 in violin, took an extracurricular course, run your own business or published a book, it is worth mentioning them, though I would recommend not going into much detail about them.

Hope this helps! Good luck with your application

This was extremely helpful thank you! Are there any books and journals that you would reccomend me to read?

How is your course structure, just out of curiosity, in terms of coursework, lecture hours, and what kind of essay titles do you have?

And what do you hope do after uni, if you don't mind me asking? I'm aspiring to work in an NGO or in international development, maybe as a human rights officer.

Thank you, you are more than welcome!

Oh, dear, I have a long list of book and journal recommendations!

Books, articles, and essays:
- Understanding International Relations by Chris Brown and Kirsten Ainley
- The Art of War by Sun Tzu
- The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
- On Liberty AND/OR Utilitarianism by John Stuart Mill
- A Treatise of Human Nature by David Hume
- Perpetual Peace by Immanuel Kant
- Theory of International Politics AND/OR Man, the State, and War by Kenneth Waltz
- Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes
- An Essay Concerning Human Understanding by John Locke
- Rationalist Explanations for War by James D. Fearon
- International Relations by Jon Pevehouse and Joshua Goldstein
- Principles of International Politics by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita
- Designing Social Inquiry: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research by Gary King, Robert O. Keohane, and Sidney Verba
- The Fundamentals of Political Science Research by Guy D. Whitten

Given your career aspirations, you might like the works of liberal thinkers like Mill, Kant, Locke, and Hume more, but please do not neglect the others.

For other books to read, I highly suggest you check the reading list for the modules you plan to take, if possible.

Journals:
- International Affairs
- International Relations
- Security Studies
- International Security
- World Politics
- Foreign Affairs
- Journal of Strategic Studies
- Political Science Quarterly
- The International Journal of Human Rights (since you mentioned you might become a human rights officer)

My first year coursework consisted of 1000-1500 words long essays, 3000 words long final assignments (worth 50% of my grade; they substitute exams in modules in which I had no exam), short 500 words long assignments, and occasionally 100 words long essay outlines before the 1500 words long essay. I also have tests and presentations. In one case, participation was counted as part of my overall grade, as well. Some modules are assessed exclusively by coursework and others have exams at the end of the year. I recommend picking coursework-only modules whenever possible, lest a module you really like has an exam. I had eight hours of lectures and a week, though it is worth noting that I would only have had seven had I not picked German as an outside module. In my second year, I will have up to ten hours a week in a worst case scenario. My International Relations modules had a one hour long lecture and a one hour long seminar.

I could choose the topic for my long essays, actually! As long as my essay was on something we studied (for example, liberalism), it was fine. I shall put all my first year assignments in the spoiler below as they take up quite a bit of space. (And sorry because I cannot talk about second year and third year assignments, it is just that I am not at that stage yet. )



I do not mind at all! Those are good goals, keep working hard and do your best to reach them! I wish you the best of luck in reaching them.

After university, I want to apply for a Master's. In terms of work, I would love to do the Civil Service Fast Stream, work for an international organisation like the UN, become a political analyst or go into research. My dream is to work in the realm of international security, preferably in strategy or conflict settlement, resolution, and prevention.

Wow I'm going to a very productive summer! They all sound so interesting and I look forward to diving into them!

Working for the UN would be a dream! Again, thank you, and good luck with your degree and career aspirations

Hi guys,

So I was hoping to apply to International Relations at LSE and KCL but they are obviously both extremely competitive.

Other that excellent academic achievements, what work experience, non-academic achievements and extra-curriculars would help make my application stand out?

I would be very grateful for advice from offer holders or students on the course right now on what you think helped you get your place and work experiences/achievements.

Many thanks

Elite UK universities care little for non relevant extra curricular activities so in this case music, sport e.c.t

Wider reading that demonstrates a pssion for IR will help as well as work experience if you have some, however it is by no means essential for an IR course. You need to think about it in terms of what you got out of it that would be beneficial for university study e.g. team work.

Good advice

OP I guarantee you that you don't need to slog through that massive reading list to get an offer on an undergrad IR course. I'd strongly advise that you don't.

Read one or two things and write a little about an aspect of the course you're specifically interested in. I'm not sure what the point of reproducing that massive list here was beyond showing off.

International Relations student here! I did not apply to either of these universities, but I did get an offer from Exeter (albeit I went to a different university in the end), which is competitive for International Relations too. Grades are the most important factor, but it does not hurt to show your interest in the course, so here are some things that might help your application

- reading many politics and international relations books
- reading periodical journals for politics and international relations (Note: This is more of a university level thing, but if you want to study International Relations, you should probably get used to journals as you will most likely need to reference them in your essays in university)
- being a student Ambassador
- being a class rep/Head Boy/Head Girl/etc
- clubs and societies (e.g. debating, public speaking, writing, etc)
- Model United Nations
- volunteering (especially abroad, though any volunteer work will do)
- work experience with an MP
- literally any work experience
- being a member of a political party
- NCS
- charity work (e.g. fundraising for a charity)
- participating in the school newspaper
- visiting the Parliament
- summer school (if you can afford it)
- winning competitions (if applicable)
- speaking more than one language (if applicable)
- living and studying in more than one country over your lifetime (if applicable)

Besides these things, feel free to include anything that you consider relevant and/or impressive. For example, if you are a grade 8 in violin, took an extracurricular course, run your own business or published a book, it is worth mentioning them, though I would recommend not going into much detail about them.

Hope this helps! Good luck with your application