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Bachelor of International Relations- prior to 31 December 2019

The Bachelor of International Relations requires three years of full-time study (or the equivalent part-time) and the honours program an additional year (or the equivalent part-time).

The course is offered by the College of Business, Government and Law.

Enrolment in the honours program may be offered to a student who meets certain academic criteria and subject to the College being able to provide appropriate resources and staff to supervise the program of study.

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)

Combined degrees

The Bachelor of International Relations may also be studied in a combined degrees program with a:

Every effort has been made to ensure the information published on the Course Rule pages is accurate at the time of publication. Flinders University reserves the right to amend its curriculum without prior notice, and will update the Course Rules to reflect any amendments at the earliest opportunity.

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