International Politics (China)

Background

Although different aspects of China’s international relations have been taught for more than a decade at Glasgow, the MSc in International Politics (China) is a new offering from 2010. Our programme is currently the only one in this subject in Scotland and only one of the very few disciplinary-based courses focussed on China in the UK.

It draws on the combined expertise of one of the UK’s leading institutions for political studies. No other department in Scotland produces as much world class research as indicated by the latest Research Assessment Exercise. Our students benefit from intensive teaching by political scientists with strong publishing profiles and international reputations.

The programme is small (about 6-10 students per year), and we actively promote student-centred teaching and guarantee individual dissertation supervision.

Students will thus acquire a broad grounding in the study of China’s international politics, backed up by rigorous training in research and the key institutions and workings of the international system.

Students on this programme come from all over the world including the UK, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand and the US, providing a very international environment.  Some classes are shared with students from other programmes, adding to the liveliness of classes and enriching debate. 

China and Glasgow

While studying here, you can benefit from various organizations within and beyond the University:

• The Confucius Institute at the University of Glasgow is a partnership with Nankai University supported by the Chinese Ministry of Education’s Office for Chinese Language (Hanban). A primary purpose of the Institute is to teach the Chinese language. The Institute will also organise cultural activities, including lectures and exhibitions.
• The Scottish Centre for Chinese Social Science Research, based at this University, brings together scholars doing cutting edge research on China across a range of social science disciplines.
• The Cross-Party Group on China at the Scottish Parliament brings together figures from civil society, business and politics with an interest in China. Membership is open to the public and events are held several times a year when parliament is in session.
• The China-Britain Business Council (CBBC) has its Scottish office in Glasgow and organizes regular industry briefings. Individual membership is available on a subscription basis.
• The City of Glasgow, through Culture and Sport Glasgow (C&SG) has significant resources relating to China, including important Chinese art collections held by the Burrell Collection.  
• Ricefield Chinese Arts and Cultural Centre delivers high quality events in the city including art exhibitions and film screenings.
• The Scotland-China Association (Glasgow Branch) organizes seminars and informal dinners where you can meet people from Glasgow with an interest in China.