About the Master of International Studies (MIntSt)
The MIntSt programme was designed to be distinctive in terms of both content and structure. Unlike other comparable postgraduate degrees in New Zealand, all of the component courses of the multidisciplinary MIntSt degree are taught exclusively at the post-Honours 500-level, whilst the dissertation component allows students to research particular topics of interest and gain valuable research skills.
The Master of International Studies (MIntSt) programme is a truly international experience. Each year nearly 50 per cent of our students come from outside New Zealand. The programme has included students from China, Japan, Norway, Germany, Chile, the USA, Thailand, the UK, Canada, Hong Kong, Brunei, Malta, France, Switzerland and India.
Many MIntSt students graduate to excellent positions all over the world. For example, there are graduates based in the Ministries of Foreign Affairs in Chile and Japan, working for Statistics Canada, producing a BBC Radio Foreign Studies series and working in an Environmental Think Tank in Geneva.
The Master of International Studies (MIntSt) degree requires at least twelve months of full-time, or the equivalent in part-time, study and entails an intensive programme of postgraduate coursework and research in the multi-disciplinary field of International Studies. The aim is to develop in candidates the analytical skills and knowledge essential to understanding the contemporary world. The normal admission requirement is a four-year Honours degree at the upper Second Class level, or higher, or what is considered by the University to be an equivalent qualification.
Degree candidates are required to master a core curriculum of four taught papers - INTS 501 International History, INTS 502 International Politics, INTS 503 The Global Economy, and INTS 504 International Legal Issues - and write a supervised research essay of 20,000 words.
This degree may prepare candidates for leadership roles in professions that require international expertise: diplomacy, the public service, teaching, journalism or business. It can also serve as a foundation qualification for graduates interested in advancing to the PhD.
Why International Studies?
International Studies is a long-established and highly respected academic field of study, which has existed in leading centres of higher education internationally for more than half a century. As a multidisciplinary enterprise, transcending the conventional boundaries of either Political Science or International Relations as such, International Studies seeks to integrate research deriving from a wide range of fields, including Political Studies, History, Economics, Law, Anthropology, Sociology, Religious Studies, Environmental Studies, and Commerce. In the United States alone, there are over 500 undergraduate curricular programmes in International Studies, and an Association of Professional Schools in International Affairs has existed for the better part of thirty years, with a membership that includes Harvard, Yale, Tufts, Columbia, Denver, Georgetown, George Washington, Princeton and American University. The subject has an extensive number of dedicated, high-quality academic journals, venues for scholarly production, and prestigious professional societies such as the global International Studies Association.
In a twenty-first-century context, the value of an integrated approach to trans-national questions ought to require little justification. In an environment so obviously characterised by the effects of globalisation, International Studies has a very great deal to contribute to understanding the major political, economic, and cultural challenges and opportunities that confront the world, and through the identification of concepts and strategies for engagement it has potential to contribute significantly to human welfare.
