International Relations and European Languages

International Relations and European Languages is a degree that pairs the analytical study of global politics with the linguistic tools needed to engage with different parts of the world on their own terms. International Relations asks fundamental questions about how states interact, how power is distributed in the international system, why wars happen and how they end, and how international institutions, norms, and laws shape the behaviour of governments and non-state actors. Adding European language study to this gives you something that pure International Relations does not: the ability to access primary sources, media, and conversations in languages other than English, which significantly deepens your understanding of how different societies perceive and engage with international affairs.

At the University of Dundee, this four-year full-time programme combines International Relations with the study of a European language, developing both the theoretical and empirical knowledge of the discipline and your competence in reading, writing, and speaking in a second language. You will engage with the history of the international system, the major theoretical approaches to understanding global politics, the workings of institutions such as the United Nations and the European Union, and the current issues shaping world affairs. A year abroad is built into the programme, giving you time to use your language in a different national setting and to study international affairs from a different vantage point.

The combination of analytical rigour, geopolitical knowledge, and genuine multilingualism is a genuinely distinctive profile in the graduate market.

Graduates pursue careers in the civil service, diplomacy, the armed forces, international organisations, journalism, NGOs, think tanks, and the private sector in roles with international exposure. Many go on to postgraduate study in international relations, European studies, or specialist master's programmes in global affairs. The year abroad adds direct experience of the international environment that the degree analyses.