International Relations

lauraaa235

Hi, I'm hoping to go to college this September coming to study International Relations. I'd like to to know if anyone is or has studied it and what college offers the best course, I've applied to UCD, DCU and Maynooth.

AKeenan348

lauraaa235 wrote: »

Hi, I'm hoping to go to college this September coming to study International Relations. I'd like to to know if anyone is or has studied it and what college offers the best course, I've applied to UCD, DCU and Maynooth.

Hiya,

I'm going into my third year in International Relations (IR) at DCU. I never researched Maynooth, as it was too difficult to get to. So, distance and travel definitely influenced my decision, as I've no car. I'm glad I chose DCU, as it's got a real nice sense of community. Campus is not as big as UCD either. Much easier to get around. The lecturers are so lovely and approachable, too. You will be expected to do a lot of work on your own, though. Independent learning and referencing are big deals and plagiarism is a cardinal sin.
In your last year at both DCU and UCD, you get to really refine your degree to your individual interests, which is great. Particularly if you want to do a postgrad.
At DCU, you choose a "stream", which can be one of three languages, or American politics, or cultural politics. This is great, as you can choose to your strengths. My experience of assessments has been mostly written assignments, with about eight exams over the two previous years. As opposed to a Business Degree, which has 12 or 13 exams, per year. But this is because I chose American Politics. You'll get more exams with other streams.
Unless you are really good at languages, (DCU offer, French, German , and Spanish) I wouldn't recommend. You have to pass modules with 40% or better to get the credit. (60 credits per year), to pass the year. Its big pressure, that gets harder every year. In my year, there's only a few keeping languages out of 65 students. and even some of them were advanced in languages.
No matter what college you choose, or get offered, my advice is to start doing some stuff now. There's websites to introduce you to theories and ideas in IR. Just type into google. YouTube do lectures in IR lasting anything from 10 minutes to two hours. so have a look at the modules and stream some lectures about the subjects.
I recommend IR theories to stream. IR is very theory-heavy - and there's loads - which you'll be expected to understand and bring into assignments. If you start watching lectures now, it won't seem as big or daunting and you'll start off with some knowledge. Besides, it'll get your passions going, and it'll reaffirm you've chosen the right degree. University is so different to school. It'll be a big shock, and it'll seem really difficult to start with. But you will get used to the pace. I've loved every minute at DCU, and I'll be so sad to leave.
IR is so fascinating, and very important and relevant for the world we live in at the moment. I've never regretted my choice of IR, so I believe you chose well. If you want any specific questions about IR, or DCU, answer back.
Good luck with your degree, and let me know where you chose.

lauraaa235

Thanks for the reply and the advice it was really helpful!

AKeenan348

Hiya,

How are you? I'm trying to reply to your message, but the website is giving me no indication its going through. Could you check your private messages and let me know? Thanks