Bachelor of International Relations

Admission requirements

The minimum requirements for consideration for entry to all undergraduate courses are specified in detail in the University Entry Requirements.

Course aims

The Bachelor of International Relations aims to give students the intellectual and analytical tools to understand, research, evaluate and communicate key international issues and relationships through:

providing students with a substantial grounding in different theoretical approaches to the study of international relations and the relationship between them
facilitating appropriate international experience
developing practical and theoretical skills, competencies and knowledge that support preparation for a professional career
fostering an understanding of Australia's identity, role, and range of options in the world
cultivating students’ understanding of the variety of societies, cultures and systems of government throughout the world and their impact on/significance to Australia
providing students with a thorough historical understanding of the development of the international system.

The course also aims to give students appropriate opportunities to develop the generic attributes relevant to university-level education. These generic attributes are articulated in the Flinders Graduate Qualities.

Learning outcomes

On completion of the Bachelor of International Relations, students will have developed a comprehensive and well-founded knowledge of contemporary International Relations and an awareness of the challenges facing international order in the twenty-first century. In addition, students will have developed an awareness of the historical development of the international system. Finally they will have a range of transferrable personal and professional skills and competencies, a mature international awareness, and an appreciation of the value of continuing professional development.

International Relations graduates are able to:

recognise and understand complex international perspectives and their implications
demonstrate a sound understanding of the central issues of International Relations, including their historical development, capacity for impact in the contemporary and future world and the relative advantages and disadvantages of the predominant approaches to these issues
employ specialist knowledge in analysing international issues and communicate the results effectively and efficiently
recognise and resolve issues involving values and ethical components
interact effectively as a member of a team in order to work towards agreed shared outcomes as well as take individual responsibility and adapt confidently to changes and challenges in different work environments
reason critically and logically and make independent, informed, evidence-based judgments
demonstrate research and analytical skills that are appropriate to both further study and employment in a variety of professional settings. These skills will include methods such as political and social analysis, normative evaluation, archival and historical research, document and other data interpretation, literature searching and various forms of professionally and culturally aware writing and oral presentation.

Program of study

To qualify for the Bachelor of International Relations a student must complete 108 units with a grade of P or NGP or better in each topic according to the following program:

Year 1 topics

36 units comprising:

22.5 units of core topics:

AMST1002 America and the World: The United States in a Global Context (4.5 units)
COMS1001 Academic and Professional Communication (4.5 units)*
HIST1803 'The Lucky Country'? Australia and the World since 1939 (4.5 units)
INTR1006 International Relations: An Introduction (4.5 units)
POLI1003 An Introduction to Democracy and Government (4.5 units)

Plus 13.5 units chosen from the following:

HIST1703 Turning Points in World History (4.5 units)
HIST1704 History's Killing Fields (4.5 units)
HIST1802 Europe, 1945 to the Present (4.5 units)
INNO1001 Innovative and Creative Thinking: Recognising Opportunities (4.5 units)
INTR1101 Discovering Asia (4.5 units)
INTR1102 Modern Asia since 1945 (4.5 units)
Any first year** language topics:
      FREN1201 Introductory French Part 1 (4.5 units)
      FREN1202 Introductory French Part 2 (4.5 units)
      INDO1201 Introductory Indonesian Part 1 (4.5 units)
      INDO1202 Introductory Indonesian Part 2 (4.5 units)
      ITAL1201 Introductory Italian Part 1 (4.5 units)
      ITAL1202 Introductory Italian Part 2 (4.5 units)
      MGRE1201 Introductory Modern Greek Part 1 (4.5 units)
      MGRE1202 Introductory Modern Greek Part 2 (4.5 units)
      SPAN1201 Introductory Spanish Part 1 (4.5 units)
      SPAN1202 Introductory Spanish Part 2 (4.5 units)

* If exempt replace COMS1001 with a First Year Option topic

** Students who qualify for the Advanced Stream of a Language may substitute the above first year Introductory language topics for the relevant second year Intermediate language topics.

Year 2 topics

36 units comprising:

22.5 units of core topics:

INTR2003 The Asia-Pacific in the 20th Century (4.5 units)
INTR2005 The Next Superpower? The Rise of China in the 21st Century (4.5 units)
INTR2006 Debating Human Rights (4.5 units)
INTR2008 Africa on a Global Stage (4.5 units)
INTR2015 New Security Agenda (4.5 units)

Plus 13.5 units chosen from the following:

AMST2002 American Politics (4.5 units)***
HIST2009 Nazi Germany: Its Origins and Nature, 1870-1945 (4.5 units)
HIST2014 War and Society in the Modern World (4.5 units)
HIST2016 Globalisation in World History (4.5 units)
HIST2030 The Great Powers and the Origins of the Modern Middle East (4.5 units)
HIST2043 Terrorism and Society in Modern Europe (4.5 units)
HIST2076 The Divided States of America, 1920-2000 (4.5 units)
INNO2001 Innovation for Social Impact: Doing Good While Doing Well (4.5 units)
INTR2012 Food Security (4.5 units)
INTR2100 Reimagining the Global South (4.5 units)
INTR2101 Democracy and Human Rights in Asia (4.5 units)
POLI2005 Politics of the European Union (4.5 units)
POLI2012 Environmental Politics (4.5 units)

*** Note that students who wish to apply for the Washington Internship in
their third year must select AMST2002

Year 3 topics

36 units comprising:

22.5 units of core topics:

INTR3001 Australian Foreign Policy (4.5 units)
INTR3003 Africa: International Interventions (4.5 units)
INTR3006 The Rise of the Indo-Pacific (4.5 units)
INTR3100 Environment and Development in Asia (4.5 units)
INTR3102 Controversies in International Relations (4.5 units)

Plus 13.5 units chosen from the following:

AMST3013 The Alliance and the Rise of China (4.5 units)
HIST3004 The Fall of Britannia's Empire and the Postcolonial Experience (4.5 units)
INNO3001A From Innovation to Impact: Creating a Roadmap from Opportunity to Action (4.5 units)
INTR3101 Global Inequality (4.5 units)
INTR3103 International Practicum (4.5 units)
INTR3104 Global Workplace (4.5 units)
POLI3103 Politics and the Internet (4.5 units)

Alternatively, students who qualify and are accepted to undertake the Washington Internship Program must undertake a third year program comprising the following 36 units:

      AMST3016 Internship Program: Washington DC (9 units)
      INTR3001 Australian Foreign Policy (4.5 units)
      INTR3102 Controversies in International Relations (4.5 units)

      Plus 18 units chosen from the following:

  AMST3013 The Alliance and the Rise of China (4.5 units)
      HIST3004 The Fall of Britannia's Empire and the Postcolonial Experience (4.5 units)
      INNO3001A From Innovation to Impact: Creating a Roadmap from Opportunity to Action (4.5 units)
      INTR3101 Global Inequality (4.5 units)
      INTR3103   International Practicum (4.5 units)
      INTR3104 Global Workplace (4.5 units)
      POLI3103 Politics and the Internet (4.5 units)

One topic may be chosen from another cognate discipline with the Course Coordinator's approval.

Honours

A student who has completed all the requirements of the Bachelor of International Relations, or another qualification which the Dean (Education) agrees is equivalent, may be accepted as a candidate for the honours degree providing a sufficiently high standard has been achieved in fulfilling the requirements for the Bachelor level degree. Honours programs may be undertaken in the following disciplines with program details in the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) entry: History; Government and International Relations.

Refer to Bachelor of International Relations (Honours)