MA in Global Affairs
Course Overview
The MA in Global Affairs at LSLPE is a UK Level 7 Master's degree running one year full-time or two years part-time across on-campus, online and distance routes. The programme reads global affairs as an interdisciplinary craft that draws on international relations theory, international political economy, public international law and area studies. Modules trace how Whitehall, Chatham House, the LSE-adjacent think-tank cluster and the international bodies actually decide on major global questions.
By graduation you will have completed a dissertation, capstone or sponsor consulting project of around 15,000 words for a chambers, government department, think tank or international body. Assessment moves through structured briefings, oral defence, applied policy work and the closing dissertation.
Key Features
- UK Level 7 Master's with dissertation, capstone or live-client sponsor project.
- Reading list aligned with British International Studies Association (BISA), Political Studies Association (PSA), IISS and Chatham House publication standards.
- Weekly senior seminars run in the select-committee tradition with tutors from chambers, government and international bodies.
- Optional strands in security, development, and global economic governance.
- Live-client sponsor projects with think-tank or NGO partners.
- Structured articulation into MPhil and PhD routes at LSLPE partner universities.
What You Will Learn
- Apply IR theory to live UK foreign-policy questions.
- Interpret UN Security Council, G7 and G20 outputs.
- Analyse international political economy and sanctions regimes.
- Read select-committee and IISS strategic-survey outputs.
- Design and complete an MA-standard dissertation.
- Run a live-client sponsor consulting project.
- Present oral argument at senior-seminar standard.
- Locate British foreign policy inside a global comparative frame.
Who This Course Is For
- Working diplomats, defence staff and civil servants.
- NGO senior programme staff and international-affairs officers.
- Journalists moving into policy analysis and public-affairs consultancy.
- Career-changers from law, economics or teaching into international policy.
- International applicants preparing for senior public-service or multilateral roles.
Career Pathways
- Foreign Policy Adviser
- Diplomat
- International Relations Analyst
- Strategic Intelligence Analyst
- Defence Policy Analyst
- Global Affairs Analyst
- Government Relations Manager
- Political Consultant
The LSLPE careers service runs annual employer days linking MA in Global Affairs students with Whitehall analytical services, Chatham House-adjacent think tanks, international bodies and public-affairs consultancies across the City.
Entry Requirements
- A UK Bachelor's degree (2:2 or above) or equivalent international qualification in a relevant discipline.
- IELTS 6.5 overall (no band below 6.0) for non-native English speakers.
- Applicants without a Bachelor's degree but with 5+ years of senior professional experience in politics, defence, diplomacy or public policy are considered on portfolio.
- One academic and one professional reference.
- A 500-word research proposal or professional practice statement.
Why Study at LSLPE
LSLPE reads global affairs as an interdisciplinary craft where law, politics and economics converge and no serious practitioner works alone. The MA in Global Affairs is taught in small senior-seminar cohorts by staff with chambers, Whitehall and international-body backgrounds, and borrows modules from the LSLPE Law and Economics departments.
Central London puts Chatham House, IISS, the FCDO-adjacent think-tank cluster and the leading international bodies within a short tube ride of every seminar. Three parallel study modes let senior practitioners complete the MA without leaving employment, and the careers service refreshes curriculum alignment annually against BISA and PSA guidance.
Apply for MA in Global Affairs
Places are offered on rolling intakes with senior admissions review. Enrol on an LSLPE Master's programme, dissertation, capstone or sponsor project supervised by practising barristers, policy advisers and City economists. Enrol Now.
