I am an undergraduate student of international relations. Could you please give me some information about universities in the UK and the US that offer postgraduate courses in this subject? Should I take the GRE, IELTS and TOEFL after completing my MA in international relations? What scholarships am I eligible for?

Upasana Roy Barman
Calcutta

In the US, American University, Washington DC, offers masters and doctoral degrees in a host of areas like international economic relations, international development, and international politics. The George Washington University, Washington DC, offers a masters of international studies at their Elliott School of International Affairs. In the UK, Oxford is one of the largest centres for international relations. It has a doctoral programme, a well-established two-year taught masters course, and a world-class research environment. Others like Lancaster University and London School of Economics also offer programmes in international relations.

Most UK universities accept the Indian graduation system of three years for entry into most postgraduate courses. However, some courses and universities may require a qualification equivalent to the British bachelors (honours) degree, which requires 16 years of formal education (this means another year after graduation). Most US schools require qualifications that are equivalent to a US bachelors degree (a four-year degree programme) or a minimum of 16 years of formal education. Given the above, you will have to decide when you wish to take tests like GRE and TOEFL, keeping in mind the universities to which you are applying and their admission criteria.

Good schools in the US and the UK offer many scholarships. For information on George Washington University’s Elliott School fellowships, visit www.gwu.edu/~fellows /ESIA.html. The London School of Economics gives Graduate Merit Awards and Anne Bohm Scholarships. Through the first programme, one can get an award ranging from 34 per cent to 47 per cent of the course fee. A host of British Council scholarships are also available every year.

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