The Master of International Relations is designed to develop an understanding of the institutions and the political, social, economic and legal processes of the international system. There is an emphasis on the competing explanations of how these processes and institutions operate.

The program is designed for those who wish to study international relations both out of interest and for career advancement in public, business, voluntary or political work, including in the media. It will also help to prepare students for doctoral study and research in international relations. For students who demonstrate exceptional ability and have an interest in further post-graduate research, we offer a special research track which could lead to doctoral studies in the Department of Politics & International Relations.

The Politics Department at Macquarie University has a strong reputation in teaching and scholarship in international relations. In recent years graduates have joined government departments including the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Australian Agency for International Development. They have also gone on to doctoral research at universities including the Australian National University and into national-profile positions in other fields such as journalism.

Underpinning the teaching of international relations at Macquarie University is an academic commitment to the diverse roots and considerable recent development of the discipline across the English-speaking world and beyond. Staff are research active and include both established senior scholars as well as rising academics investigating new areas including international organizations and law in the post-2001 era and the role of gender in international politics.