International Relations BA Bachelor's
This is for you
if you wish to work in international, intercultural, and transnational relations, want to be able to use foreign languages professionally, and desire to harness global forces and opportunities in pursuit of your goals.This is the program for you if you want to add your voice to an increasingly multicultural and cross-continental conversation about the future of our global community and of our planet. Join us and be at home in the world in the heart of Europe.
Life is full of surprises and excitements, catch and enjoy all of them to become the best student and the best person. METU is just full of surprises and excitements; you learn something new all the time.
Bergougnan Lena, France
Short description
In an increasingly turbulent world, this program provides you with the skills you need to make your way among the many political, social, and economic challenges we face.
Our program offers a truly global approach to international political and social challenges. With courses that reflect the increasingly multicultural and globalized nature of the contemporary world order, it brings together students from all over the world to study and discuss the most pressing contemporary political issues from perspectives reflecting the diversity of today’s world.
The broad foundations in many disciplines from political science to history, from law to economics, from communication to research and analysis gives our graduates a clear advantage in our complex and fast-paced world. Armed with the knowledge and skills necessary to understand and make use of the inner logic of global relations, our students gain the ability to anticipate the direction in which the world develops, and to draw on the opportunities these changes bring, whether in official interstate relations, international business or civil society.
What can you study with us?
Our highly student-centric program is focused on combining skills development with a broad range of applied knowledge.
At a time when people often change careers several times during their life, our program helps you develop highly transferable skills (in communication, critical thinking, negotiation, writing, time management, learning, etc.). These skills are crucial to being effective real-world problem solvers in today’s complex and demanding work environments in professions ranging from business to politics, from social activism to journalism, from public administration to the academic world.
We also understand that skills in themselves are not enough, and therefore our graduates are also equipped with the knowledge necessary to understand the social, political, economic and environmental factors that shape the rapidly changing global and local contexts in which they are going to build their future.
Structure of the program
The 1st and 2nd semesters offer a broad introduction to the fundamental knowledge and skills in the social sciences, as well as to the historical foundations of present-day international relations.
The 3rd, 4th and 5th semesters contain the core professional subjects specific to the field of international relations, including the subjects of the chosen specialization. Finally, the 6th semester is the time allocated for completing the thesis and the compulsory internship.
Recommended Curriculum:
Specialization
- Diplomacy and International Communication
The specialization trains international politics professionals who are able to combine effective analytical and decision-making skills, ethical integrity and cutting-edge communication techniques, and who therefore can easily find their way in the 21st-century world of diplomacy and international economic relations. Courses in the specialization offer insights into security policy, foreign policy analysis, questions of global ethics, environmental politics, and the geopolitics of digital technologies, together with up-to-date communication practices in diplomacy and other fields of international communication. The specialization includes a model diplomacy component modelling the inner workings of international organizations and/or governmental decision-making, offering a chance for students to hone their skills in negotiation, argumentation, critical thinking and political strategy. The specialization is especially recommended for those seeking to work as diplomats, foreign policy experts, public administration employees or communication professionals.
- International Development Cooperation
This specialization prepares professionals in the field of International Development Cooperation. Apart from having specialized courses in international development and practice, students acquire the skills that are necessary for successfully navigating the broader context of international negotiations and economic relations, including familiarity with international business culture and private international law. Students who select this specialization will also learn how to create, manage and finance their own projects, with the opportunity to put these skills into practice in a semester of project work.
Specializations are launched only if a minimum of 15 students wish to join the specialization.
Career opportunities
- officers and diplomats in the state sector
- actors in the business sector servicing the needs of actors in global governance
- analysts in think tanks and policy advisors
- public administration employees
- NGO and international NGO sector employees
- officers in international organizations
- members of transnational advocacy groups
- employees of transnational private regulators
- further studies (MA, MBA) in English in the fields of international relations and business
Main topics
- Introduction to International Relations
- Diplomacy
- International Organizations
- International Law
- History of Modern International Relations
- International Systems in World History
- Global Cultural Anthropology
- Political Science
- Political Philosophy
- Basics of Law
- Sociology
- Microeconomics
- Macroeconomics
- International Economics
- Globalization and World Economic Regions
- Applied Statistics
- European Integration
- International Protocol and Etiquette
- Regional Studies (China, Russia, United States, etc.)
- Academic Writing
- Research Methodology
- Informatics
- Skills Training