Masters applications for 2023 entry are now closed.
Applications for September 2024 will open on Monday 25 September. Applications are now open for programmes with a January 2024 start. View our programmes »
| UCAS code |
1234 |
| Duration |
1 year full time
2 years part time |
| Entry year |
September 2025 |
| Campus |
Streatham Campus
|
| Discipline |
Security Studies
|
| Contact |
|
Overview
- You’ll gain an insider’s view of the challenges faced by organisations and government agencies when responding to humanitarian crises, civil wars and international conflict
- Benefit from an accredited work placement in the UK or overseas in the development, diplomacy or policy making sectors
- Expand your knowledge with regular extra-curricular departmental talks by policy makers, activists and visiting scholars
- Learn from world-leading experts with real-world experience
- In a time of constant global change your understanding of complex political and cultural issues will be highly relevant to a range of careers in international politics, security and development
Top 15 in the UK for Politics
Top 100 in the world for Politics
Accredited work placement in the UK or overseas
Top 15 in the UK for Politics
Top 100 in the world for Politics
Accredited work placement in the UK or overseas
Entry requirements
We will consider applicants with a 2:2 Honours degree with 53% or above in their first degree. While we normally only consider applicants who meet this criteria, if you are coming from a different academic background which is equivalent to degree level, or have relevant work experience, we would welcome your application.
Entry requirements for international students
English language requirements
International students need to show they have the required level of English language to study this course. The required test scores for this course fall under Profile B2. Please visit our English language requirements page to view the required test scores and equivalencies from your country.
Course content
The MA Conflict, Security and Development builds on Exeter’s strengths in international relations and security and is particularly relevant to students hoping to work for NGOs, aid organisations, international bodies such as the United Nations or other international agencies. Our high quality academic training is balanced with valuable professional skills development, giving you a fully-rounded degree which truly enhances your CV.
The programme aims to give you first-hand insight into the challenges faced by organisations and government agencies when responding to humanitarian crises, civil wars and international conflict. By gaining an insider's view of the challenges involved in activities such as conflict analysis, post-conflict reconstruction or policy development, you'll be better equipped to interrogate the myths that surround conflict, security and development and improve your understanding of their relationship within a political context.
You can tailor your programme to your specific interests or careers ambitions with our array of optional modules such as Quantitative Data Analysis, State and Society in the Middle East, US Foreign Policy and State Building after Civil War.
The modules we outline here provide examples of what you can expect to learn on this degree course based on recent academic teaching. The precise modules available to you in future years may vary depending on staff availability and research interests, new topics of study, timetabling and student demand.
Compulsory modules
| Code | Module |
Credits |
|---|
| POLM084 |
Conflict, Security and Development in World Politics | 30 |
| POLM085 |
Work Placement in Conflict, Security and Development | 30 |
| POLM886 |
Dissertation | 60 |
Optional modules
Optional module(s) (60 credits)
Politics and International Relations modules (POLMxxx) https://www.exeter.ac.uk/study/studyinformation/modules/?prog=politics
Please note that modules are subject to change and not all modules are available across all programmes, this is due to timetable, module size constraints and availability
Fees
2025/26 entry
UK fees per year:
£12,500 full-time; £6,250 part-time
International fees per year:
£25,300 full-time; £12,650 part-time
Scholarships
We invest heavily in scholarships for talented prospective Masters students. This includes over £5 million in scholarships for international students, such as our Global Excellence Scholarships*.
For more information on scholarships, please visit our scholarships and bursaries page.
*Selected programmes only. Please see the Terms and Conditions for each scheme for further details.
Teaching and research
With the exception of the dissertation and work placement, each module on this programme is normally taught through academic lectures expanded through seminar discussion, presentations, group work, reading and essay assignments.
You will have an individual supervisor for your dissertation, which is a 15,000 word extended essay on a topic of your choice (following discussion and approval from your supervisor).
Library services
Our main library is open 24/7 throughout the academic year. With a book stock in excess of 1.2 million, we have one of the highest UK academic library ratios of books to students. The main library offers self-service machines, state-of-the-art multimedia facilities, and an extended wifi network. The library provides world-class study facilities to all students. It has extensive holdings of works on political science, international relations and the various sub-disciplines.
Dr Kevork Oskanian
Programme Director
Professor Duncan Russel
Professor in Environmental Policy
Dr Gabriela Patricia Garcia Garcia
Lecturer in Security Studies and International Relations
Dr Kevork Oskanian
Programme Director
I obtained my PhD at the London School of Economics’ Department of International Relations, and have previously taught at the LSE, and the Universities of Westminster and Birmingham. My latest monograph - ‘Russian Exceptionalism between East and West: The Ambiguous Empire’ (Palgrave) - provides a novel long-term approach to the role of Russia’s imperial legacies in its interactions with the former Soviet space. My current research interests include the International Relations of Eurasia, and Bourdieusian and post-liberal approaches to International Order.
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Professor Duncan Russel
Professor in Environmental Policy
Duncan Russel is a Professor in Environmental Policy. His research and teaching interests include UK and European climate, climate and public policy, policy appraisal and coordination, evidence and policy interactions and budgetary politics.
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Dr Gabriela Patricia Garcia Garcia
Lecturer in Security Studies and International Relations
Dr Gabriela Patricia Garcia Garcia is a Lecturer in Security Studies and International Relations at the University of Exeter. Her research focusses on the securitisation of (forced) migration. In particular, she analyses governmental-led security practices and discourses, and the lived experiences of security scripts on refugee and migrant populations, including its gendered, racialised and colonial dimensions. More recently, she has begun exploring decolonial understandings of inclusion and ‘diversity’ and participatory and visual methods. She has also practised immigration and asylum law in South America and worked in the development and humanitarian sector.
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Careers
Employer-valued skills
In addition to the academic and knowledge-based skills provided by this programme’s subject material, your studies will also develop personal skills which are highly valued by employers, such as:
- Advanced independent thinking, with the ability to undertake self-directed learning and time management to achieve consistent, proficient and sustained attainment
- Experience of working as an individual on challenging material
- The ability to reflect on your learning, evaluate personal strengths and weakness, and map out a plan of personal development based on those reflections
- Competence with standard IT applications, and an understanding of efficient and effective ways to obtain information from library, database, and online sources.
- Experience of working as a participant and/or leader of a group, and of contributing effectively to the planning and achievement of that group’s objectives
- Experience of giving presentations to others in your field
- The ability to construct a rigorous argument, and defend that argument citing relevant sources, both in written form and orally.
Career paths
A postgraduate degree in Conflict, Security and Development is a pathway to a range of careers in international politics. security and development. It is particularly relevant to students hoping to work for NGOs, aid organisations, international bodies such as the United Nations or other international agencies. Our high quality academic training is balanced with valuable professional skills development, giving you a fully-rounded degree which truly enhances your CV.
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