The School of Global Affairs offers four master’s degrees that share a common ethos and course structure. Each provides distinctive yet interconnected opportunities to develop the skills, knowledge, relationships and partnerships needed to meet the global challenges of our time.

Why Lancaster?

• Develop critical, creative and cross-disciplinary approaches to global affairs
• Study with world-leading researchers whose expertise spans a diverse range of global affairs contexts across the arts, humanities, and social sciences
• Learn global leadership and collaboration skills that equip you to navigate difficult decision-making
• Work collaboratively with peers across our suite of global master’s courses to build your own interdisciplinary professional network
• Develop a practical and future-orientated understanding of how change is made
• Learn from experts in British, Russian, Middle Eastern, Asian, European, African and American global politics and international relations

Our innovative master’s course is designed to generate fresh thinking to address global problems such as climate change, conflict, identities, information and truth. Applying critical concepts, theories and practices drawn from the humanities and social sciences, you’ll gain the knowledge, skills and confidence to be an impactful and transformative professional.

A new approach to Global Affairs

In today's world of complexity and interdependence, global challenges are evolving, shifting and transforming across different sectors, disciplines and localities. Multi-disciplinary perspectives and insights will be essential to meet the problems facing humanity and the planet.

This course is built around critical thinking, collaboration and creative approaches. You'll be introduced to cutting-edge concepts, theories and practices from across disciplines ranging from politics, sociology and history to art, economics and environmental sciences.

You will be encouraged to draw on different disciplines as you consider issues from the perspectives of diverse stakeholders and seek workable solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges.

Collaboration in practice

This master’s course is one of a series of four interconnected courses that have a common ethos and structure.

You’ll take part in subject-specific modules designed to build in-depth knowledge of global affairs. You’ll assess, engage in and create responses to real- world issues.

In studio modules you’ll work collaboratively with other course participants on live community briefs, connecting Lancaster’s research with both local environments and analysing global issues.

For some modules, you’ll join with students from other master’s cohorts on projects that will develop your leadership skills – using use generative, collaborative thinking to create innovative solutions that are relevant to diverse external stakeholders.

Working with students from our other cohorts will bring you into contact with those specialising in global sustainability and the environment, AI, and global health and medical humanities. You’ll experience the benefits that harnessing skills and knowledge from diverse groups and subjects can bring.

You’ll have the opportunity to tailor your final project to draw on your academic, personal or professional experience. A range of innovative assessment types will give you the freedom to represent your chosen topic creatively and persuasively.

Learn or develop a language

This course gives you the opportunity to gain advanced cultural perspectives via a beginners or continuing language module. Choose from French, German Spanish, Italian or Chinese

Explore areas of interest

Optional modules enable you to study a range of topics such as:

• Global conflict and violence
• Geopolitics and security: traditional and critical approaches
• Global histories: modernity, colonisation and legacies of empire
• Population mobilities and borders.
• Global hunger, poverty and inequality
• Global governance and leadership
• Human rights, social movements and community activism

A new type of leader

With its dedicated leadership module, this course prepares you for a future as a collaborative change-maker. The course challenges traditional views of leadership, adopting an understanding of leadership grounded in critical, creative and collaborative skills - a holistic and humanistic way of thinking.

By taking this interdisciplinary approach and engaging in the discourses of leadership ethics, you’ll be equipped to perform whatever role you take to bring about positive change.

You’ll benefit from Lancaster’s rich, collaborative academic environment, being able to participate actively in research events and opportunities provided by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

Flexible study options

Study while continuing your career by taking this course on a part-time basis. Running over two years, you would take the following core modules each year:

• Year 1: Navigating, Applied Learning Studio 1, and Global Leadership
• Year 2: Applied Learning Studio 2 and MA Project

We would liaise with you over your choice of optional modules and your schedule, so that you can successfully balance your work and other commitments alongside the master’s programme.