Program Overview

MA Geopolitics & the Global Economy

The MA Geopolitics and the Global Economy is a graduate degree programme offered by the School of Geography. It has been in existence for over a decade and is led by Professor Alun Jones, Member of the Irish Academy and Academia Europea, and Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in the UK. This programme equips students with an in-depth understanding of critical political geographies and geopolitics, international relations, war and diplomacy, as well as global economic processes.

Programme Overview

The programme is designed to enhance conceptual understanding, analytical abilities, and practical skill sets through small group teaching, appraisal of up-to-date readings, and student engagement with geopolitics through face-to-face interviews with political elites and diplomat practitioners. High-level fieldwork in Brussels is offered exclusively for students on this programme.

Indicative Course Content

• GEOG40450 Critical Geopolitics & Diplomacy: This module explores Critical Geopolitics as an approach to understanding political geographies, examining how Critical Geopolitics has emerged in Human Geography and its reaction and misuse in Europe.
• GEOG40700 International Fieldwork - Brussels: A residential field class in Brussels where students explore the city as a 'place' to recognize and interpret key geopolitical processes and appraise their significance and effect.
• GEOG40820 Introduction to ArcGIS: This module introduces students to ArcGIS, enabling them to understand conceptual, theoretical, and practical geographical considerations and gain practical GIS skills for their use and application.
• GEOG40970 Critical Geographies: Spatialising Power and Inequalities: This module explores how power and inequalities are central to the creation of places and how these are formed through power and recreate inequalities, focusing on Critical Geographies.
• POL40370 International Political Economy: Covers theoretical and thematic topics in the field from the perspective of the "American" school, examining central issues in IPE such as trade, money, foreign investment, globalization, regionalization, and the politics of the illicit global economy.
• AMST40560 The Global Politics of Cyber Security: Investigates the impact of new technologies, including the internet, on global politics, analyzing the extent to which new technologies have changed traditional features of global and US politics.

Careers

The programme has regularly attracted high-caliber students and has led to highly successful careers in European policy making, departments of state, international NGOs, research/policy consultancies, and journalism. Graduate success is based on skill sets offered in the programme, including critical approaches to international relations, in-depth assessments of contemporary geopolitical changes, and firsthand engagement and networking opportunities with senior diplomats and political representatives in the European Union.

About the School

UCD School of Geography is ranked in the top 100 Geography schools in the world. The school offers a range of programmes and research opportunities, with a strong focus on critical geographies, geopolitics, and global economic processes.