Choosing the Right Elective Subjects During Your International Relations PGCert

With the right module selection, your PGCert will help you meet your goals

Pursuing a Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert) is one of the most flexible ways you can earn a high level qualification in international relations. Not only can you study online through a convenient digital course delivery system, but you are also able to choose which modules you will study to complete your certificate.

All students on the Queen Mary Online PGCert course take a compulsory module called Contemporary World Politics: Theories, Concepts, Themes in order to build a common foundation of international relations knowledge. Depending on your strengths, academic interests, and career goals, you can then choose an additional elective module that will give you more specialised insights into specific areas of the field.

Keep reading to learn more about these modules, and how you can select the one that will best serve your ambitions.

Study Security, War, and Peace During Your International Relations PGCert

One excellent option offered on the Queen Mary Online International Relations PGDip course is International Security: War and Peace in a Global Context. In this module, students explore the changing role of conflict and the use of force in international relations, and examine the role of globalisation in shaping contemporary conflict and security concerns.

Enrich your international relations studies with a module on war and international security

This module could be particularly beneficial to individuals who are interested in the study or practice of international law, or who want to work in national security departments, think tanks, or non-profit organisations in conflict-prone areas of the world. By studying war and security during your online Postgraduate Certificate in International Relations, you can gain insight into some of the highest-stake issues in the global arena today.

Use Your International Relations Postgraduate Certificate to Focus on the US

The precise nature of the USA’s standing as a global superpower is the subject of much study and debate. Nonetheless, it is undeniable that it has considerable influence on the international stage, and as such is of great interest to academics and professionals interested in international relations.

Queen Mary Online PGCert students have the option of studying Themes and Cases in US Foreign Policy, a module which covers key events in the US’s history of international involvement, the Cold War and post-9/11 eras, and related policy issues. For students who are interested in working in an international relations-oriented career in the US, or whose professional goals are to work in the many areas that are deeply connected to American foreign policy, this could be the ideal international relations PGCert elective module.

Students interested in a career in the US may appreciate the American Foreign Policy module

Apply a Globalised Lens to Your International Relations PGCert

Finally, PGCert students may also choose Globalisation and the International Political Economy of Development as their elective choice. This module focuses on different theories of globalisation and its impact on the developing world, and introduces students to its many different components, including capital flows, international markets, imperialism, and anti-globalisation movements.

This subject may be of particular interest for students who are interested in pursuing careers in NGOs and non-profit organisations, especially those that operate in developing countries and areas of the world.

The study of globalisation and development from an international relations perspective can help students gain a richer, more complex understanding of the forces that drive growth and scarcity on an international scale, which is important for professionals who want to address these issues through their work. Regardless of your professional goals in international relations, a PGCert from Queen Mary Online can help you develop the specialised knowledge you need to succeed.

Do you want to know more about our international relations postgraduate certificate course?

Contact Queen Mary Online for all the information you need!