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Double Degree with the University Waterloo

The Double MA in Global Governance draws upon the excellence in teaching and research of both PAIS and one of Canada's leading schools of international affairs. This Double Degree programme has a strong ability to promote vigorous engagement across boundaries of discipline and practice.

The University of Waterloo, located at the heart of Canada’s technology hub, is a leading comprehensive university with 35,100 students in undergraduate and graduate programmes. Consistently ranked Canada’s most innovative university, Waterloo is home to advanced research and teaching in a wide range of subjects. The Balsillie School of International Affairs (BSIA) is an equal collaboration among the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) think tank, the University of Waterloo, and Wilfrid Laurier University. The unique integration of the collaborating institutions’ approaches and cultures gives BSIA an unmatched ability to promote vigorous engagement across boundaries of discipline and practice, to connect today's experts with tomorrow's leaders in critical debate and analysis, and to achieve, in all its work, the highest standards of excellence

Programme content

You'll choose between two routes, either carrying out the first year of your studies at Warwick before proceeding to Waterloo in your second year, or beginning with the first year at Waterloo and then completing the second year at Warwick. You'll have the opportunity to spend the equivalent of one academic term as an intern working on global governance issues in the public or private sector, at a research institute, or for a non-governmental organisation, including CIGI (Centre for International Governance Innovation) that is affiliated with the Balsillie School.

Read more about the Warwick year and the Waterloo year

Benefits of doing a double degree:

  • Dual perspective from different but complementary approaches to the study of politics and international studies
  • Huge range of topics to choose from
  • Extensive practical experiences during and after your degree
  • An interdisciplinary approach to the study of the most pressing political and international issues of our time
  • Dynamic international opportunities

At the end of the degree, you will earn an 'MA in Global Governance: [your specialism title] (double degree with University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada)' from Warwick as well as a corresponding Masters from Waterloo.

Further information

About the course

Programme Director:
Tom Parr

Entry requirements

How to apply


The student experience

Josh Darby MacLellan

I happened upon the Double Masters Degree programme by attending a departmental talk on a whim and will be forever grateful that I did. The opportunity to study abroad should not be taken lightly, and the relationship that Warwick has with multiple institutions across the globe should be taken advantage of as much as possible.

For those who wish to live aboard at some point, a Masters course is a great way to do it. You’ll be inserted into a structured routine, with plenty of support, and a classroom full of like-minded people. The assistance given by the PAIS department was excellent; especially from the Double Degree Course Director and the Postgraduate Coordinator.

Between the building and environment you’ll learn in, the facilities and the relationship with the Centre for International Governance Innovation, the MA Global Governance programme is far from the average Masters course. One of the best attributes of the programme is the stepping stones that it provides to the professional sphere.

I am now working as an embedded consultant, managed by Control Risks, a global risk and strategic consulting firm.

- Josh Darby MacLellan, Double MA in Global Governance (2017)

Read more student profiles