MA in International Relations (Brussels)
This MA program is offered at the BU campus in Brussels, Belgium. It is intended primarily for part-time, mid-career students, but other students are welcome to apply as well. Students normally complete the program in one and a half years.
Requirements of the Program
NOTE: The following explicates the requirements applicable only to the Brussels MA in International Relations program. Students should first consult the International Relations MA Core Requirements portion of this Bulletin for detailed requirements applicable to all IR MA programs.
Students must complete all International Relations MA Core Requirements, including the General Core Course, Foreign Language, Statistics, and MA Paper requirements. The program requires a total of eight courses (three core courses plus five elective courses) or the equivalent of 32 credits. Please note the course offerings are limited at the Brussels campus, as described below.
Core Courses
Students take the following three courses to fulfill their MA Core Course Requirement.
- CAS IR 550 West European Integration (Regional Studies Core Area)
- CAS IR 589 North Atlantic/European Security Issues (Security Studies Functional Core Area)
- GRO IR 704 Global Economic and Development Policy (Political Economy Functional Core Area)
Elective Courses
Students choose five of the following courses. Listed below are the courses offered regularly. Course offerings may be expanded as student demand and faculty availability allow.
- CAS IR 509 Islam in Middle East Politics
- CAS IR 524 War and Statecraft
- CAS IR 535 Diplomacy and Statecraft
- CAS IR 577 Foreign Policy of the People’s Republic of China
- GRO IR 701 Introduction to International Relations
- GRO IR 760 The Political Economy of the European Union
- MET AD 725 B Negotiations and Organizational Conflict Resolution
- MET AD 749 B International Economics
Statistics Requirement
Students fulfill the statistics requirement as described on the MA Core Requirements page. For students who have not fulfilled the statistics requirement prior to matriculation to BU, the Brussels campus offers the course listed below. This course fulfills the statistics requirement, but does not count as one of the eight courses required by the MA degree program.
- MET OM 735 Statistical Analysis
Additional Information
More information about the Brussels program can be found on the Brussels campus website. Applications for the Brussels program are processed at Boston University Charles River Campus in Boston. Prospective students interested in the Brussels program should follow the directions given in the How To Apply section and should also read the page of additional information for Brussels applicants.
Boston/Brussels Interchangeability
Students at the Charles River Campus in Boston are welcome to take courses in Brussels and vice versa. The courses count toward the student’s degree the same as if they were taken at the student’s home campus.
Students planning to spend a semester or summer at the alternate campus need to plan ahead. Of particular note, in some semesters Brussels offers only two IR courses. Additionally, the Brussels and the Boston Charles River Campus academic calendars are not the same. Please refer to the Brussels calendar and to the Boston calendar for current information.
