KCL MA International Affairs vs International Relations

Hi,

I am currently considering pursuing an MA degree (part-time/online) either in:

- International Affairs (specialism in cyber security, Cyber Security, Espionage & Surveillance and Strategic Studies
or
- International Relations & Contemporary War (Part-time/Online)

The latter being under the Department of War Studies, hence reputable.

Interested to here your thoughts on the part-time programs here.. Are they reputable? Should I pursue considering that they are both quite expensive? I cannot seem to find much information about the international affairs degree.

Reply 1

AliMoud82

Not worth the money, purely a cash cow project of KCL. They have enrolled more than 300 students, and the teaching staff will have no time for you. You will basically spend your money on buying a long reading list for each module.

For more than 16000 Sterling, I am not sure if it is worth the efforts of time and financial engagement. I have to be fair that their pre-made online material is fairly top quality, yet there are minimum interactions between the students and teaching staff. The majority of the staff who mark your work won’t be the guys who present the teaching materials.

But sure, it looks good on your CV if you are from a western military background, they will honor your background and state of being. Otherwise, I suggest you to look elsewhere

(edited 2 years ago)

Reply 2

Anonymous #1

Here's a screenshot I took from students' comments, over 70% are not satisfied with this program. The problem is the so-called department of defense.DSD is full of self-conscious and self-important chauvinists who will be your teaching fellows and staff. Be aware before you enroll.

Attachment not found

Reply 3

Seborga82

there are indeed some interesting figures will involve with the teachings at this department of DSD at KCL, if you dig deeper. These are very questionable teaching fellows. Just few examples:

The worst of all, For example, one of the senior lecturers at the department, apparently only published one scientific paper and one book.

And indeed, the only amazon review on their book tells enough about their academic ability. The only other journal article they authored as the main contributor is
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00358530500331826 merely received 8 citations. For a “scholar” who has been in the academia for over 20 years, that’s really remarkable. BTW, their main research is about the “state failures”, I am wondering which state they thinks of?

Another “wonderful” scholar, who is the “middle east” expert, whose google scholar page shows https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=kH7rCb4AAAAJ&hl=en , I wonder how can I person with merely 27 citations can end up at KCL? Plus his recent book receives no citations nor online reviews on amazon, “The Political Economy of EU Ties with Iraq and Iran: An Assessment of the Trade-Peace Relationship” …
These are not serious scholars; role-play of being a “university teaching member” is most likely their passion…

Reply 4

balu832

Original post by lionelabraham

Hi! I am considering International Affairs or Global security MA (online, distance learning)

What has been your experience, would really appreciate some insights, THANK YOU! :smile:

Reply 5

Anonymous #2

I completed this program some time ago and I was pleased with the program. Disclaimer: i an already employed in a relevant field and so I never intended to use the program to expand my network or as a bridge to finding a job.

I balanced it with my full time job and i did fine. I know some who failed modules though, so it depends on you as to how you will manage studying and submitting the required assessments. I liked the content and yes, the reading lists. The lists guided me with the course content and helped understand the concepts better and provided in depth backgrounders. It felt a lot like a research degree, really, which I didnt mind.

There were biweekly live online seminars so you can directly engage teaching fellows. My cohorts were also very friendly and helpful to one another, no *******s.

The student support was very good in my experience, from the application stage to the graduation. An enrollment adviser was assigned to me, who was very helpful. Then once i started the program, a student success advisor was assigned to me who did routine check-ins. During the dissertation modules, my supervisor was always responsive and was actually the one reaching out to me to ask about my progress (this helped me move things along).

I liked how it gave me access to online journals too. KCL also provided me with free online mental health sessions with a therapist, i think we are allowed up to three sessions every 7 weeks? You can reach out to your student success advisor about that if you think you're feeling some anxiety about the coursework or your performance or just about life in general.

I did however, have cohorts who dropped out because they were disappointed with the program. But most of my cohorts completed it and we were very happy when we graduated. Some took breaks in between the modules but resumed their studies and graduates later than others.

Overall, im very happy that i did the program.