Terrorism and Political Violence

University of St Andrews

United Kingdom, St Andrews

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Home/United Kingdom/St Andrews /University of St Andrews/Terrorism and Political Violence

University of St Andrews

United Kingdom , St Andrews

Key Facts

Program Level

Master by Course Work

Study Type

Full Time

Delivery

On Campus

Application Fee

GBP 50

Campuses

Main Site

Program Language

English

Start & Deadlines

Next Intake DeadlinesSeptember-2024 30-Jun-2028

Apply to this program

Go to the official application for the university

Duration 1 year(s)

Tuition Fee

GBP 27,230 / year

Apply Date 30-Jun-2028

Next Intake September-2024

Terrorism and Political Violence

About

The MLitt in Terrorism and Political Violence is a taught postgraduate programme run by the School of International Relations.

Study in Terrorism and Political Violence examines selected approaches to knowledge generation around terrorism and counterterrorism and considers the development of new responses to terrorism and political violence.

The MLitt in Terrorism and Political Violence seeks to develop in students a critical understanding of the concept of terrorism and political violence within the context of a multidisciplinary approach to security studies.

Terrorism and Political Violence is also offered as a part-time distance learning programme.

Each module typically comprises:

one-hour lecture per week
one-hour tutorial or seminar per week
office hours
100% coursework assessment.

For more details about each module, including weekly contact hours, teaching methods and assessment, please see the latest module catalogue, which is for the 2022-2023 academic year; some elements may be subject to change for 2023 entry.

Compulsory
Optional

Students must take the following compulsory module:

Research Methods: presents appropriate research methods to enable students to critically understand the professional literature, and to lay the foundations to enable students to engage in further research.

You must also choose one compulsory module from the following:

Fundamental Issues and Structures of Terrorism: introduces the core conceptual issues of terrorism and political violence.
Terrorism after 1945: provides an overview of the evolution, characteristics, and decline of terrorist movements and campaigns since 1945.

Students choose two of the following optional modules:

Counter-Extremism: Ethics, Policy and Practice: explores the most appropriate response to extremism through collaborative enquiry and direct engagement with policymakers and practitioners. The roles of education, civil society efforts to counter extremist speech, deradicalisation initiatives, victims, communities, and companies are explored.
Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict: familiarises students with different approaches that seek to explain how ethnicity and nationhood are created and maintained, how different forms of ethnic conflict and ethnic violence come about, and what possible mechanisms to contain nationalism and ethnic conflict are.
State Responses to Terrorism: takes a holistic look at state responses to terrorism and political violence; students study the work of scholars from right across the social sciences and humanities who have sought to understand and explain aspects of state responses to terrorism.
Terrorism and Liberal Democracy: addresses conceptual and definitional issues concerning terrorism; the relationship of terrorism to other forms of political violence; the origins, dynamics and development of contemporary terrorism; the efficacy of terrorism as a political weapon; the dilemmas and challenges of liberal democratic state responses to terrorism; and case studies in terrorism and counter-terrorism.
Terrorism and Theories of Collective Action: addresses issues such as what it means to take a 'political collective action' approach to terrorism; social movement theory and terrorism; understanding recruitment and mobilisation in terrorism and high-risk activism; terrorism and the collective action repertoire; terrorism in the context of transnational activism.

Optional modules are subject to change each year and require a minimum number of participants to be offered; some may only allow limited numbers of students (see the University's position on curriculum development).

The modules listed here are indicative, and there is no guarantee they will run for 2023 entry. Take a look at the most up-to-date modules in the module catalogue.

Teaching

Teaching format
Assessment
Support

The course is delivered through mixed-mode teaching, which involves traditional teaching in the form of lectures and tutorials alongside access to e-teaching facilities including online journals, podcast presentations and interviews by experts in the field.

Over the course of a year, students will take four taught modules followed by a three-month research period finishing in the submission of a 15,000-word dissertation.

Assessment comprises coursework including essays and projects.

Every MLitt student is assigned a dissertation supervisor who will advise on the choice of subject and provide guidance throughout the research process.

Disciplines

School of International Relations

Requirements

Entry Requirements

Postgraduate candidates will be expected to hold a Bachelor's degree from a recognised institution with an overall grade of A, 84%, or a GPA of 3.7.

Postgraduate entry requirements may be higher depending on the School and the programme you wish to study. For more information please contact the team in Admissions by emailing [email protected].

The degree of MD (Medicine) requires a medical qualification that is recognised by the UK General Council.

This information is for general guidance; we consider each application on its own merits, as outlined in the admissions policy.

Career

Students who graduate from the MLitt in Terrorism and Political Violence go on to work in various professional fields including:

law
policy research and consultancy
non-governmental organisations
charities
international organisations
civil service
publishing.

The Careers Centre offers one-to-one advice to all students as well as a programme of events to assist students in building their employability skills.

Further study

In addition to the MLitt, the School offers a two-year Master of Philosophy (MPhil) degree option in International Relations.

The new Professional Doctorate (DProf) in International Relations offers a more flexible and attractive programme of research study to those students working in a professional capacity. Undertaken on a part-time basis, the DProf is open to experienced professionals who are employed in any area of work, including those in emerging professions and disciplines.

Many graduates continue their education by enrolling in a PhD programme at St Andrews.

Fee Information

Tuition Fee

GBP 27,230 / year

Application Fee

GBP 50

How to Apply

The University of St Andrews accepts direct applications from a small number of students each year. You should only submit a direct application if:

The University of St Andrews is the only UK university you are applying to.
You are liable to pay tuition fees at the overseas rate. You can find out more about your fee status on the tuition fees page.
You are not applying to any other UK universities via UCAS or the Common Application.

Applicants for the BA International Honours joint degree with William & Mary can apply through either our direct application or through the Common Application, even if they have applied for other programmes through UCAS.

In order for us to begin processing your application, payment of an application fee of £50 (pounds sterling) is required. You will need to complete the payment process before you submit your application. Details on how to pay can be found on the University's online shop.

Application process

If you wish to submit a direct application to the University, this checklist will help you through the application process.

Take a look at the courses available at the University of St Andrews.
Check the entry requirements and any subject-specific prerequisites for your country, area or state. These can be found on the entry requirements page.
The University of St Andrews offers a wide range of degree options, including joint Honours degrees. Before you start your application, you will need to decide which Faculty you wish to study in. There are four Faculties at the University of St Andrews – Arts, Science, Divinity and Medicine. You can find out more about the structure of the undergraduate degree programme on our degree routes page.
Once you have decided which course and Faculty are the most appropriate, you can begin to fill in the online direct application form.
Draft your personal statement carefully so that it reflects your choice of course. You can find more information about what we look for in an application on the how to apply page.
Pay the required £50 (pounds sterling) fee through the University’s online payment service. Please note the order number given to your purchase on your application form so that we can match the payment to your application.
Submit your application by the appropriate deadline. The current direct application deadlines can be found below.