International Relations in Eurasia

Teaching in the programme is based on a multidisciplinary approach that allows students to examine the complex interrelationship of politics and economics in today’s globalized world with a focus on Eurasian studies. It aims to attract Russian and international Bachelor’s and Master’s students. 

Students in the programme benefit from studying in truly international groups under the supervision of international faculty and experts from academia, business, and government institutions. Since the project began in 2008 many students from Russia, UK, USA, China, Germany, Poland, Finland, France, Austria, Italy, Czech Republic and other countries have completed their Master’s degree at HSE and partner universities.

This programme has compulsory courses, including: 

• Research Methods of International Relations and Foreign Policy. Studying research methods used in public policy, power, and human rights.
• World Politics and International Political Economy. Understanding the main problems of international cooperation and ways to solve them and examining the state's role in the process of globalization and regional integration.
• Students also choose elective courses:
• Challenges to the Russian Economy in Transition. Understanding the Russian Federation economy's specifics, the basis of its formation, and the conditions for further development.
• Civil Wars: Onset, Dynamics, and Termination. Studies all aspects of civil wars, the connections between various conflicts, their strengths, and weaknesses.
• China and Russia: Great Powers in an Era of Global Disorder. Looks into the PRC and Russia's foreign and domestic policies and the history of these countries' relations.
• Post-Soviet Eurasia and SCO: Society, Politics, and Integration. Learning the specifics of international relations in the Post-Soviet countries and using statistics and historical literature to understand the region's future development. 
• US-Russia Relations after the End of the Cold War. Explores the relationship between Russia and the USA, the problems between the two countries, and their development over the past 20 years.
• BRICS Economies and Russia. Studies the structure of the organization and its further development, looking at each member state in detail.

The programme also includes a Russian as a Foreign Language course for international students.

This two-year master's degree programme brings in international students from all parts of the world. Germans, Italians, Americans, British, and Chinese apply for it annually.   

The programme runs in cooperation with two British universities, the University College of London and the University of Kent. Students take their first year abroad, and their second year is at the HSE in Moscow. 

Students select a UK partner  university according to the programme track. Students who have chosen Politics & Security or Politics & International Economy majors go to the University College of London. Those who have selected the International Relations track spend their first year at the University of Kent.  

Graduates are awarded two diplomas which are recognized  both in Russia and abroad.

This MSc programme includes an academic internship for second-year students. They can take it in the RIAC, PIR-center, media, or businesses.

Second-year masters also take a Post-Soviet Eurasia research seminar. It runs to help students understand the main approaches used in their research and apply this data in articles, essays, and dissertations.

At the end of the second year, students present their master theses in English.  

Alumni of the programme are working at:

• research foundations
• foreign policy agencies
• transnational corporations
• non-governmental organizations in Russia and abroad
• Russian and foreign media

After graduation, some alumni get a job at universities to build a research and teaching career. 

Applicants are required to submit an online application to one of the British universities.   

To apply for the programme, international students must provide their academic and professional portfolios. Moreover, they must submit a motivational letter, recommendations, and the results of one of the English exams (TOEFL or IELTS). More information about admission requirements is available here.