International Relations with Global Development
International relations with global development is a combination that connects the study of global politics with the specific challenges of poverty, inequality, and development in the world's least advantaged countries and communities. International relations provides the theoretical and empirical tools to understand how the global system works: how states relate to each other and to international institutions, how power is exercised, and how norms and agreements shape what is possible. Global development addresses the conditions of life for the majority of the world's population, asking how economic growth, political stability, healthcare, education, and gender equality interact and what role international actors, including states, NGOs, and international organisations, play in supporting or undermining development.
At Leeds Beckett University, this three-year full-time programme develops both these dimensions, preparing you for professional practice in international policy, development, or research. You will study the major theories of international relations alongside the history and contemporary practice of development, engaging with questions of inequality, aid, trade, environmental sustainability, and human rights. The programme includes a year abroad, which enriches your international engagement and broadens your perspective on how these issues are experienced in different political and cultural contexts.
Graduates from international relations with global development programmes go on to careers in international development organisations, NGOs, the civil service, the UN system, think tanks, journalism, and policy research. The combination of political analytical skills and development knowledge is particularly valued by organisations working on global inequality, humanitarian affairs, and sustainable development. Further study at postgraduate level in international development, international relations, or humanitarian action is available for those who wish to develop specialist expertise.