International Politics and East Asia (MA) (2022 Entry)
Our programme is a disciplinary degree that focuses on the region for its case studies and offers strong disciplinary expertise combined with genuine regional expertise.
East Asia’s emergence as the most dynamic region in the global political economy continues despite a series of economic and security crises since the early 1990s. If anything, the crises reinvigorated the study of the international relations and political economy of East Asia. Instead of just focusing on economic growth, the crises highlighted key actors’ interests and historical and ideational factors behind them, the impact of globalisation on the region and existing development paradigms, US-China great power competition, and the need for greater regional cooperation to cope with future security and economic risks.
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)
English Language requirements header
- 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.
International requirements header
Additional requirements header
There are no additional entry requirements for this course.
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
The module analyses the characteristics and patterns of international politics in Pacific-Asia by focussing on the central theme of the degree to which the region can be perceived to function as a coherent and integrated entity. The module investigates this theme though addressing questions of common and competing understandings of the location and division of the region in terms of geography, modes of political, economic and security interaction, ‘Asian identity’ and culture. In short, the module seeks to address the problem of ‘what’ exactly can be thought to have constituted the Pacific-Asia region in the past and in the contemporary era.
Optional module header
- East Asian Development Policies
- The Nuclear Question
- Comparing Rising World Powers
The optional module lists are updated regularly.
You may select up to 40 CATS (normally two modules) from a list of specialist modules for this course, and a further 40-80 CATS from our extensive range of optional modules for a total of 120 CATS of taught modules.
Modules are taught via one 2-hour seminar per 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.
Class size header
Normally a maximum of 18 per seminar group in PAIS delivered modules.
Contact hours header
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 header
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.