Programme Specifications

N/A

Politics and International Relations

September 2023

The degree scheme will provide a Research Training path that will complement the existing Specialist MA with the same title. Such provision will also be consistent with the provision of the other MA of the Department of International Politics, the MA International Relations, which also has both a Specialist and a Research Training path. The new MA (Research Training) in War, Strategy and Intelligence will nevertheless have its own unique and distinct scope, including a total of 4 Research Training modules, as well as core and optional modules in the fields of war, strategy and intelligence. The degree scheme will provide students with the necessary conceptual and empirical tools and knowledge to understand, debate and critique the interconnected phenomena of war, strategy and intelligence. The question of war has been at the heart of the human experience since the beginning of political communities and remains an enduring feature of the international system. Understanding the causes and consequences of war is a complex task that requires an interdisciplinary approach. Throughout the course, students will engage with a diversity of fields from the social sciences and humanities in order to understand the phenomenon of war and the perennial but elusive quest for security that characterises international relations. Through engaging with fields such as military history, security, intelligence, strategic studies, and international relations, students will develop the knowledge and analytical capacities needed to understand the concepts of war and warfare, the various strategies used to wage it and the intelligence apparatuses used to inform those strategies.

The learning outcomes of this programme are designed to meet the expectations of the Benchmarking statement for Politics and International Relations. This programme provides opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate knowledge, understanding, qualities, skills and other attributes in the following areas:

• A1 The connections between the phenomenon of war, strategic thinking, and intelligence collection.

• A2 The changing nature and historical evolution of war and warfare in their conceptual and practical dimensions.

• A3 The influence of the phenomenon of war on the evolution of the international system and the effects it has on the nature of the state and sub-state entities.

• A4 The question of security broadly understood (human, state, international) and global stability in the context of the changing character of war and warfare.

• A5 The multidisciplinary character of the study of war, strategy, and intelligence; including political theory, sociology, philosophy, history, psychology, cultural studies, geography, and international law.

Learning and Teaching

Acquisition of 1-5 is through seminars, examinations and a range of assessed coursework. Assessment methods are tailored to the specific learning aims and objectives of the module as detailed in the specific module handbooks. Students also learn through participation in the department’s vibrant graduate culture, which includes a programme of visiting speakers, staff-graduate seminars, specialised research group meetings and student societies meetings. Extensive library facilities as well as internet access further facilitate student learning.

Assessments

Knowledge and understanding (1-5) are tested through a combination of assessment formats, including essays, seminar presentations, policy reports and blog pieces. All students will also undertake the Dissertation.

10.2.1 Intellectual Skills

By the end of their programme, all students are expected to be able to demonstrate:

• B1 The ability to critically evaluate current research and advanced scholarship at the forefront of the field

• B2 A critical awareness of current problems and/or new issues.

• B3 An understanding of methodologies and research techniques applicable to research in the field.

• B4 The ability to exercise independence of mind.

• B5 That they can reflect on the experience of learning and adjust their intellectual approach and strategies accordingly.

Learning and Teaching

Seminars introduce students to topics and ideas at an advanced level (1-5). Students are required to prepare independently for these seminars on the basis of guidance provided by seminar tutors. They provide an opportunity for a full and in-depth exchange of views, understandings and interpretations. This process clarifies ideas and concepts and therefore leads to an enhanced learning experience for all concerned. Further reflection on and engagement with the intellectual challenges raised in the seminar context is facilitated in the process of preparing assessed work. Student learning is further facilitated by engagement in the wider graduate culture.

Assessment Strategies and Methods

Intellectual skills (1-5) are assessed primarily in assessed coursework and examination performance. The published criteria for marking reflect these intellectual skills which in turn are mirrored in the feedback to students. Subjective formative assessment takes place in seminars and other discussion forums. Tutors form impressions of, and assess, a student’s ability and progress. Also, students can assess their own performance by gauging their rate of progress in comparison to that of their peers, and in the light of tutor’s comments. Students are welcome to discuss the informal development and assessment of such skills during staff office hours.

10.2.2 Professional practical skills / Discipline Specific Skills

By the end of their programme, all students are expected to be able to demonstrate:

• C1 The ability to deal with, and effectively communicate, complex issues both systematically and creatively.

• C2 Self-direction in tackling and solving problems.

• C3 The capacity to act independently in planning and implementing tasks.

• C4 The ability to evaluate and integrate theory and practice in a wide range of issues.

• C5 That they can take responsibility for continuing to develop their own knowledge and skills.

Learning and Teaching

The departmental core and basket modules contain elements which directly address the development of practical skills such as structuring effective arguments, the identification and effective deployment of sources, and making connections between theory and practice (1-5). The process of writing essays, reports and presentations (1-4) and preparing for examinations allows the student to develop professional and practical skills at an advanced level, guided by feedback from tutors. Discussion in seminars or engagement with debate in public fora leads students to improve their intellectual communication skills (1). Again, students learn and improve such skills through personal reflection on their learning experience and purposeful adaptation of their learning methods.

Assessment Strategies and Methods

Skills (1-4) are tested summatively and directly by essay and report writing. The criteria for marking include such skills, and penalties for late submission of work test (3, 5) in particular. Skills (1-5) are tested through the assessment process. The seminar context is specifically geared towards encouraging students to interact together, engage in a reflexive manner with their own views and the views of others – taking on a variety of roles (paper giver, discussant, rapporteur, etc) in the process. The role of the seminar tutor is to provide constant feedback precisely in order to facilitate the process of group interaction and reflection.

By the end of their programme, all students are expected to be able to demonstrate:

• D1 The ability to communicate arguments effectively to specialist and non-specialist audiences through comprehension, explanation and interaction in written and oral media.

• D2 Self-direction and creativity in tacking and solving problems.

• D3 The ability to exercise independence, initiative and personal responsibility.

• D4 That they can operate effectively in a variety of team roles, taking a leadership role when appropriate.

• D5 That they can acquire and analyse information, evaluate its relevance and synthesise it in the context of new situations.

Learning and Teaching

Students accepted onto this programme are expected to have obtained an second class (or equivalent) award at undergraduate level. We do not seek, therefore, to replicate the skills training that they have already received at the undergraduate level. Rather, transferable skills are developed further through academic study at an advanced level. Much of the learning takes place through feedback on assessed work or informal feedback and self-reflection on seminar work (1-5). The dissertation is the greatest test of independent work (2) and students learn and develop this skill in part through guidance from Dissertation Advisers. Students also have access to University-wide specialist resources, such as the Language and Learning Unit (1), Information and Library Services (2, 3, 5), the Careers Advisory Service and Student Support Services.

Assessment Strategies and Methods

Communication skills (1) are assessed directly through monitoring the accuracy and coherence of student communication in assessed coursework and examinations. Student’s IT skills are assessed by examining the diversity and location of sources and the accuracy of word-processed presentation in assessed coursework (both key criteria). The Dissertation explicitly assesses the student’s ability to write independently and exercise initiative (3), demonstrate self-direction and creativity, (2) and acquire and analyse information. Time and resource management (3) is assessed both by the quality of student work submitted to deadline and by the system of penalties for late submission of work. While teamwork (4) is not formally assessed in a module, feedback is built in. Similarly, assessment of a student’s capacity to evaluate performance and to consider career strengths, options or development is formative but can be ‘measured’ against success in achieving stated goals. More generally, students are required to submit a reflective portfolio covering the skills delivered by the programme that is formally assessed.