David Davies, with his £20,000 donation in 1919 for the establishment of the Woodrow Wilson Chair at Aberystwyth University, gave the world its first International Politics Department and launched 100 years of ground-breaking teaching and research in International Politics at Aberystwyth University. His gift changed the lives of the Department’s 7,000 alumni who went on to make a difference around their work on their chosen fields and in the discipline of International Politics.
At a moment when we are still pivoting from the 20th Century to the realities of the 21st, and amidst large global uncertainty, the Department wishes to raise funds and establish a Scholarship Fund in support of our ambitions for the next 100 years.
The Department aims to significantly increase our Masters and PhD scholars, and we cannot do this without your help. The money raised by your generous donations will either fully-fund or part-fund Masters/ PhD students to study and undertake research in those areas that the Department judges to be most urgently needed and most impactful. These students will further our knowledge on some of the most difficult and important global challenges facing human communities today:
- rethinking and shaping the new nuclear disorder;
- adaptation to climate change and its consequences (on the one hand, new migration dynamics and resource conflicts; on the other, research on sustainable strategies within and between rich and poor countries);
- rethinking capitalism and international politics;
- the impact of both digitization and artificial intelligence on international politics;
- forging new values for a post-western international order;
- present and future tensions among global and national political communities.
Ranked 7th overall and 5th in terms of world-leading research, with 44% of research submission judged as world-leading and 32% internationally excellent,* the Department’s PhD programme is among the most successful in the world, with students undertaking PhD research fully integrated into the Department’s programmes and enjoying considerable achievements with prize winning theses, high quality published work, conference platforms and success in the job market. The Department’s interdisciplinary approach and prestigious research collaborations around the world help deliver innovative research and ensure the widest and high profile dissemination of our work.
In turning to our alumni for this support, we aim to create a community of investors in our department, with donations to the Fund making a long term difference to our research and to the further enhancement of our reputation. Your support is urgently needed to help the department to compete in a challenging world for the discipline and for humanity. As a donor, you will receive regular updates about the students and the research your donations are supporting. You will also receive invitations to special events and activities and regular e-newsletters
You may prefer to support a particular activity yourself (i.e. Bursary or Prize) either for the Centenary year or for the years ahead. If you would like to discuss this option, please e-mail: development@aber.ac.uk or call 01970621568.
*(REF 2014).
