Help needed in deciding postgrad! International relations/Law

Oui Oui

Hello everyone,

I'm trying to decide between the courses below and any help and advice would be most welcome! My undergraduate degree was in International Relations with languages.

MA Peace and Security - King's College, London
MA International Public Policy and Diplomacy - School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London
MA International Law - SOAS
LLM/MA International Law with International Relations - Brussels School of International Studies, Kent University (at Brussels)
LLM International Law - Edinburgh University, Scotland.

If anyone could give me any advice on the colleges, reputations, social life and most especially career prospects, I would be very grateful!

Thanks

dory

Really depends what career you want. My masters was International Development and I currently work for the UN, but people in the same job as me all have various masters like the ones you have above. For just about any job I was applying for the title of the course meant little I think (within reason, it had to be along that general theme). The important thing was to have a good grade, a few languages and lots of experience abroad. This would mostly be voluntary experience.

I would say write out all the modules in those courses and see which ones interest you the most. Which ones will you be willing to read article after article on. Those are the ones you'll get the best grade in.

Also, try and get some technical skill while you're studying. This is a very competitive career path, and you need to stand out. I'm a media person, and very few applicants had those skills. My employer told me that's why I got my job. Everyone in this career can read books and write flowery essays.

As far as reputation goes, the only one there that stands out for me is SOAS. I know the others are fantastic universities. But when I read articles they're very often written by people in SOAS. So for that department anyway, SOAS is well known. A colleague of mine went there and she said it's great if you're interested in global issues, they have a very active student body.

Oui Oui

Thank you Dory for your very helpful information!

Just wondering, which university did you do your masters at? Do you think that the reputation and ranking of the college matters much when going for a job after the degree? Also did you get the experience with media through your graduate degree? I have travelled quite a bit but through funded schemes to do with my other interests. Volunteer work is quite expensive. Is there any way to get round this particular aspect or is it seen as a vital part of a CV when looking for a job in the international sphere?

Thank you in advance!

Cannibal Ox

Oui Oui wrote:

Volunteer work is quite expensive. Is there any way to get round this particular aspect or is it seen as a vital part of a CV when looking for a job in the international sphere?

Keep an eye on:
www.activelink.ie
www.charityjobs.co.uk
www.reliefweb.int

Also, it's worth looking at the websites of some of the "big" NGOs, Amnesty, Oxfam, Save the Children, IRC, MSF, etc, because sometimes they offer internships that have some kind of stipend. If you can afford it, and you have the time, try and get an internship while you're in college too. Even if it's only one day a week, it's worth getting some kind of experience down on your CV. Any kind of experience is going to help a lot once you've finished the masters.

+1 on SOAS

dory

Oui Oui wrote: »

Thank you Dory for your very helpful information!

Just wondering, which university did you do your masters at? Do you think that the reputation and ranking of the college matters much when going for a job after the degree? Also did you get the experience with media through your graduate degree? I have travelled quite a bit but through funded schemes to do with my other interests. Volunteer work is quite expensive. Is there any way to get round this particular aspect or is it seen as a vital part of a CV when looking for a job in the international sphere?

Thank you in advance!

I did my masters in DCU. Wouldn't recommend it for Development, they're more concerned with Int Relations/Conflict resolution. UCD seems to be more into Development. And reputation absolutely didn't matter in any job I've ever gotten. DCU is hardly world class, and I know people who went to the big name colleges and didn't get the jobs they wanted. LSE is probably the No. 1 University for my sort of thing, but I think it would have been weird to work for poverty reduction, yet shell out 15,000 Euro for a masters.

Volunteer work is not expensive if you go with a genuine charity. It's expensive if you get conned by those 1700 Euro for two weeks cowboys.
But it is a lot of work, a genuine organisation will have you fundraising/training for a good few months beforehand. If you're looking for a way around it, better not to do it at all. I've had a few volunteers abroad who have clearly not wanted to be there and it made the work much more difficult.

It'd be easier to give you advice if I knew what kind of job you'd like.
Also, no I didn't get media exp through my undergrad, I just made videos everywhere I travelled and some people liked them.
I really went out of my way to learn 4 languages though. That is very important to get to the interview stage.

pow wow

+2 to SOAS (out of the ones listed anyway).

Totally agree with dory on the skills aspect, 'knowing' about peace/conflict, development etc. simply isn't enough anymore, and I found with my MA it didn't really leave me with any tangible skill to offer a prospective employer, outside my 'knowing' about the subject. It might seem odd, but look at the jobs offered by NGOs for example....they're skilled jobs, HR, Engineering etc. and for that reason I'd be leaning possibly more towards the International Law programmes. From my graduate programme (politics with heavy focus on conflict and security) only 2 out of about 30 of us have jobs remotely related to what we studied. I got the job I have now because of what I used to do for a living before I did my masters, moreso than having the masters itself.

As well as the overseas voluntary work I'd be inclined to suggest doing some at home in the offices of whoever you'd like to work for. Most will have students in and out (the agency I work for does) and it gives you some marketable skills (also looks good on your CV!).

Location-wise you're spot on with the colleges you're looking at as being in a big city helps immensely.