Modern Languages (Italian and Russian) and International Relations

Italian, Russian and international relations is a degree that brings together two of Europe's most significant languages with the academic discipline that examines how states, international institutions and non-state actors interact to shape global order. Italian is the language of one of Europe's founding nations, a carrier of literary, artistic and political traditions of immense depth. Russian is the language of a country whose history, culture and geopolitical weight have profoundly shaped European and global affairs, a language spoken across a vast territory and by diaspora communities worldwide.

International relations provides the analytical frameworks to understand conflict and cooperation, security, trade, human rights and the institutional architecture of the international system.

At the University of St Andrews this four-year, full-time MA (Hons) programme develops your Italian and Russian to a high level of proficiency while also building rigorous competence in international relations theory and empirical analysis. You will engage with Italian and Russian literature, culture, history, politics and film alongside the study of international political theory, comparative foreign policy, security studies, European and post-Soviet politics and global governance. The programme includes a year abroad, which gives you the opportunity to live and study in an Italian or Russian-speaking environment, transforming your linguistic confidence and cultural understanding.

Graduates of this combination are well placed for careers in diplomacy, the foreign office, international organisations, security and intelligence services, journalism, international business, NGOs, think tanks, academic research and the civil service. The rarity of genuine proficiency in both Italian and Russian, combined with a rigorous training in international relations, makes graduates of this programme distinctively valuable in a world where Russia's role in European and global affairs demands informed analysis.