Faculty of Social Sciences Department of International Environment and Development Studies MASTER S DEGREE PROGRAMME IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 2014-2016 Options and requirements
Programme Content The program will provide the students with the necessary theoretical foundations to understand and analyse international relations today in terms of diplomacy, development and environmental sustainability. The master dissertation will enable students to engage in independent research in a topic of their own choosing. The program will provide practical understanding of international interaction through placement schemes in both organizations and other universities, particularly universities abroad utilizing the existing exchange agreements. Programme Diversity The master programme is international in two ways: The curriculum covers topics that are relevant globally, and our students come from all parts of the world. The programme is also interdisciplinary for two reasons: It consists of courses in different disciplines, and we admit students with a broad disciplinary background into the programme. The high student diversity both in terms of nationality and academic background may create challenges for both students and teachers. We trust, however, that this diversity will be seen as an opportunity for learning. Course Programme Requirements The master programme in International Relations 2014-2016 requires 35 credits of compulsory core courses and a 30 credit research thesis. The remaining 55 credits, respectively, needed to bring the plan up to the minimum limit of 120 credits, can be chosen among courses at NMBU or other universities. A master programme must contain at least 30 credits of 300-level courses. Maximum 10 credits can be from 100-level courses. The combination of compulsory and elective courses should give the study plan a coherent, thematic focus. Any courses given by the department of International, Environment and Development Studies can be selected by the student. Courses taken at other NMBU departments or other universities must be approved by of the department of International, Environment and Development Studies Designing the Study Plan The student should design a two-year study plan as early as possible. Designing a plan and registering for courses and exams are done on the online NMBU StudentWeb at: https://www.studweb.no/as/webobjects/studentweb2?inst=nmbu Note that the compulsory courses have already been entered. Elective courses must be added. Changes can be made later. Students can take more than the minimum limit of 120 credits. However, the student must specify which courses shall be included in the master programme. Additional courses will appear on a separate grade transcript. 2
Compulsory Courses In addition to the introduction course EDS 203 (5 credits), the student must follow the EDS 312; Research Methods (15 Credits) and EDS 374; International relations Theory (15 credits), running through a whole year. The M30-NOR Master Thesis (30 credits) is also compulsory. The compulsory courses have the following three aims: Provide a foundation in International Relations (EDS 203, EDS374). Provide students with a broad knowledge in research methods (EDS312). Students should be familiar with research methods beyond their own thesis research, including both quantitative and qualitative methods. Although listed as compulsory, the courses can be replaced if similar competence can be documented. Students need approval from the department to be exempted from compulsory courses. To do so, the student should complete the study plan for the master programme, state the reasons for replacing compulsory courses and submit the plan and explanation to the study coordinator. Elective Courses Students are free to choose elective courses from the Department of International, Environment and Development Studies Portfolio of courses. We do also encourage students to take courses at other NMBU departments or other universities. Courses taken outside the department of International, Environment and Development Studies need, however, to be approved by the department. To obtain approval, submit a complete proposal to the department study coordinator. The following courses are within the International Relations portfolio at NMBU (changes might occur) EDS 371 Introduction to Intelligence and International Relations 372 Current Topics in Security Studies 373 Piracy and International Relation 374 International relations theory 376 Religion and Politics 377 Foreign Policy 378 Afghanistan/Pakistan, State Building and Conflict 379 International Political Economy 380 International Organizations 381 Sovereignty and the State in International Relations 382 The Politics and Security of the EU Other classes are also highly popular amongst students although not being directly in the M- IR portfolio as 3
EDS 360 Development and conflict (this module is highly recommended for IR students) LNG 240 Academic Writing (this module is usually highly popular amongst IR students) AOS 230 Organizational and leadership psychology AOS 210 Political Structures and Processes Internships The I.R program at NMBU encourages the students to take internships. Internships might be taken with institutions as various embassies, and with aid organizations, as well as human rights organizations and other international institutions. For an internship to be creditworthy, it must entail relevant working experience within fields related to International Relations. Relevant internship will usually be related to organizations engaged in policy consulting, politics, international relations, or within research or philosophy. A 6-week internship, resulting in a 15 pages report submitted to NMBU will normally result in 5 credits. A 12 weeks internship with a 20-page report submitted to NMBU will result in 10 credits. The largest internship is a 5-month internship that will give 20 credits; the student will then deliver a 20-page report. Credits for Internships conducted before the students start in the Master program will NOT be granted A one-month internship might be approved on a case-to-case basis, the student will then be expected to deliver a 15 page reports. The reports will follow the normal academic referencing system It is recommended that the students do internships during the period June-February during the third semester of study. The student is responsible for contacting the institution in question. A contract must be signed with the program responsible and submitted to the study coordinator. An internship will normally be full time, but may be part time. The aforementioned time limits for internship will be adjusted in proportion to the percentage. A 50% internship at 2 months, for example, will count as a 1 month. Transfer of Credits Course credits can be transfered from other universities into the IR programme. To apply, fill in the form below and submit the application to the study coordinator: http://www.nmbu.no/statisk/sit_english/applications/applic_acceptance_external_studypts.pdf 4
Sample Plan One sample plan is provided below. The courses included in the plan are timetable secured, i.e., the students will not risk overlapping lectures or seminars. Combining other courses may lead to timetable conflicts. International Relations Year Semester Code Course Title Credits August block EDS203 Introduction to International Relations 5 Autumn parallel EDS312 Research Methods Part A 5 EDS374 International Relations Theory Part A 10 EDS382 The Politics and Security of the EU 10 EDS372 Current Topics in Security Studies 10 2014-2015/ Sum autumn semester 30 January block EDS378 Afghanistan/Pakistan, State Building and Conflict 5 Spring parallel EDS312 Research Methods Part B 10 EDS374 International Relations Theory Part B 5 EDS379 International Political Economy 10 2015-2016 June block August block Autumn parallel January block Spring parallel Sum spring semester 30 EDS373 Piracy and International Relation 10 EDS375 Advanced studies in International Relations 10 M30-NO Thesis 10 Sum autumn semester 30 EDS381 Sovereignty and the State in International Relations 10 M30-NO Thesis (writing) 20 Sum spring semester 30 120 Font codes for courses: Bold: Compulsory courses Regular: Elective courses specific to the sample plan MASTER THESIS Students are free to select reseach topics for their master theses provided the availability of supervisors and that the topic is related to the wider field of international relations. We do, however, encouraged students to link their research to ongoing collaboration between the Department of International, Environment and Development Studies and NUPI. Each student will be allocated a supervisor and is entitled to 30 hours of supervision. The supervision should preferably be given by a department staff member. Students may also transfer their thesis reseach to another department at NMBU. In such cases, the department 5
of International, Environment and Development Studies has no responsibility for the thesis work. The recommended length of the 30 credit master thesis is between 20000 and 28000 words excluding references. It is not unusual for Master students to publish parts of or their entire thesis, Theses with topics related to ongoing projects at NMBU is more likely to be published, but NMBU do not guarantee such publication. Students and supervisors must sign a contract for the master thesis work. The contract form can be found at: http://www.nmbu.no/statisk/sit/skjemaer/engelske/contract_degree_thesis.pdf The department of International, Environment and Development Studies provides a research allowance of NOK 8,000 to each IR-master student with supervisor at the department. To qualify for the fieldwork allowance, the student must have earned 60 credits during the two first semsesters and have the research proposal approved by the supervisor. The research allowance is transferred to the student s account, on behalf of recites. Students writing a thesis in the field of freedom of expression, human rights and democracy can apply for one of five research grants, NOK 10,000 each, offered by the The Freedom of Expression Foundation, Oslo. Application form is available in Classfronter under Master Students 2014-2016. REGISTRATION AND SUBMISSION OF THESIS Students must register for the thesis in the spring semester 2016. Deadline for handing in the thesis will be May 15, 2016. The deadline can be extended by three months based on a written application for medical reasons (doctor s declaration is needed) or for other documented reason beyond the student s control. Students who cannot meet the May 15 deadline for any other reason, should withdraw their registration for the spring semester (deadline for withdrawal is April 15) and register again for the autumn semester 2016 instead. The new deadline will then be December 15. The student may however, hand in the thesis earlier than December. THESIS DEFENSE The student and supervisor decide a date for thesis defense. During the defense, the student will give a 20-minutes presentation of the thesis research and answer questions from the external examiner and the supervisor. If the student has done a Special Curriculum, he/she will also be examined in the subject after the thesis defense. FIELD COURSES IN TANZANIA AND INDIA EDS384 Development and Environment in Practice, (SUA: Tanzania) 15 EDS387 State and Civil Society in Development and Environmental Governance of India (IDS: Jaipur, India) 15 6
The field courses are designed to provide an understanding of opportunities and challenges for practical field projects and applied research methods. The field course EDS384 can be taken at SUA Tanzania (http://www.suanet.ac.tz/) and the field course EDS387 can be taken at the Institute for Development Studies, Jaipur, India (http://www.idsj.org). A minimum of 10 students must attend for the course to be arranged at each location. Teaching starts in the first week of August and ends in the last week of September. Students attend lectures by a wide range of experienced staff from universities, government agencies and nongovernmental development organizations and gain experience in the use of research methods. Several field trips will give students the opportunity to interview urban and rural people, government staff and NGO employees. The courses are primarily designed for students enrolled the programmes International Development Studies and International Environmental Studies. However, students in International Relations are also welcome to attend. EXAMS AND GRADES Courses can have quite different rules for exams and grading. Some courses have only a final written or oral exam, while others may base grades on the basis of one or more term papers submitted during the semester. Some courses may also have compulsory activities, for instance seminar attendance or class presentations. Students must read the online course description carefully to make sure they fulfill all requirements. Note that the online version of the course catalog provides the current course descriptions. Courses may have been modified after the printed catalog was issued. If a student finds a grade unexpected or unreasonable, he/she may ask the course teacher for an explanation. The teacher may respond either orally or in writing. If the student still finds the grade unreasonable, he/she may send a written request for a re-assessment of the exam papers to the Study Office in the main administration. Use the form: http://www.nmbu.no/statisk/sit_english/forms/assessment/forms_assessment_complaint.pdf. A new internal and external examiner will then be appointed. The new grade may be better or worse and will be final. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION A master programme consists of 120 credits. Students can take more than 120 credits if they so wish. However, the student must specify which courses shall be included in the master programme. Additional courses will appear on a separate grade transcript. The Student Information Centre (Studentenes informasjonstorg, SIT; (sit@nmbu.no) answers general questions regarding studies at NMBU. Noragric s study coordinator for the IR program is Ingunn Bohmann ingunn.bohmann@nmbu.no and Elisabeth Sørbø Haug Elisabeth.sorbo.haug@nmbu.no 7
Studies at NMBU are governed by a set of rules and regulations than can be found at NMBU s web pages at http://www.nmbu.no/en/students/sit/rules-and-regulations NMBU s academic calendar for autumn 2014 and spring 2015 can be found at http://www.nmbu.no/en/students/academic_calendar Forms and templates needed by students can be found on the web page http://www.nmbu.no/en/students/sit/forms Students are responsible for their own registration for courses and exams. Students who do not register for exams within the specified deadlines will not be allowed to take the exams. Students, who decide not to participate in an exam, must withdraw their registration before the deadline. 8