Explore our United States Foreign Policy taught Master's degree.

P-M9PQ

MA

1 year full-time;
2 years part-time

2 October 2023

Politics and International Studies

University of Warwick

Warwick's MA in US Foreign Policy focuses on both the domestic and global contexts of national security as well as wider significance of US foreign policy for international affairs, including diplomacy, counterterrorism, conflict management and climate policy.

The significance of United States foreign policy has grown in the two decades since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and the subsequent 'war on terror' in ways that have been reflected in the development of the academic literature and in the increased level of interest in the subject area. Recent events such as the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Russian invasion of Ukraine have raised significant questions about US power and its role globally. The climate change crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic have also stimulated debates about the extent to which transnational threats should become more central priorities in US foreign policy.

This programme focuses on US foreign policy in the context of national security as well as wider aspects of the country’s foreign policy and its impact on international relations, the global economy and particularly security. Emphasis is given to critical debates over whether US power is declining and how well equipped the US is to deal effectively with the challenges of contemporary international affairs.

Modules are taught via one 2-hour seminar per week. Seminars give you the opportunity to interact with leading scholars as well as with your peers to explore a set topic each week. Every seminar will be based on extensive guided reading you will do each week, but there is no strict pattern to how sessions are run. This may include mini-lectures followed by discussion, Q&A sessions, organised debates, peer presentations, policy briefs, small group work, and other projects.

You can also choose to study part-time with us. Find out more about part-time study on our PAIS web pages.

Normally a maximum of 18 per seminar group in PAIS delivered modules.

6 hours of Seminars per week for 9 weeks in Terms One and Two plus advice and feedback hours when requested and Dissertation supervision in Terms Two and Three.

Assessment methods include research essays and other (written) assignments throughout the year, culminating in a 10,000 word dissertation at the end.

Reading lists

Most departments have reading lists available through Warwick Library. If you would like to view reading lists for the current cohort of students you can visit our Warwick Library web page.

Your timetable

Your personalised timetable will be complete when you are registered for all modules, compulsory and optional, and you have been allocated to your lectures, seminars and other small group classes. Your compulsory modules will be registered for you and you will be able to choose your optional modules in a module pre-registration process about which you will receive information at the beginning of September.

2:i undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in a related subject.

Visit our PAIS web pages for department-specific advice on applying to ensure your application has the best chance for success.

Postgraduate FAQs (PAIS specific)

Postgraduate FAQs (General)

• Band B
• IELTS overall score of 7.0, minimum component scores of two at 6.0/6.5 and the rest at 7.0 or above.

There are no additional entry requirements for this course.

United States Foreign Policy and National Security

This module is about the study of US foreign and national security and the critical analysis of the key global issues confronting the United States in the twenty first century. Some of the key questions informing this module are: What are the main sources of US foreign policy making? What is the balance between power and principle in US foreign policy? What are the main threats to US national security and how are they confronted? How is US foreign and security policy being transformed to deal with transnational threats such as climate change, pandemics and racial injustice?

Dissertation
The Dissertation is the final piece of assessment, worth 60 credits. It gives you a chance to treat a topic of your choice, related to your course. It is a personal and autonomous piece of research, conducted under the guidance of a member of staff in your disciplinary field, mostly during term 3 and summer.

• The CIA and Covert Action
• The Global Politics of Nuclear Weapons

The optional module listsLink opens in a new window are updated regularly.

You will have the freedom to select 2-4 modules from our extensive range of optional modules, up to a total of 120 CATS of taught modules.

We have revised the information on this page since publication. See the edits we have made and content history.

This is a holding content block which does not currently display on the page. To make it live, update the copy above, change the Title to remove the brackets, and delete this sentence.