International Relations

Seeing the world in context

Degree programme objectives

The study field of International Relations (taught in Czech with growing number of elective courses taught in English) makes students familiar with basic issues of international relations, with strong emphasis on international relations theory. Key areas of the study program include the history of international relations, the foreign policy of the Czech Republic, and security aspects of international relations. Students can further specialize within optional courses focused on specific issues of international relations and organizations, and also on foreign policy of specific countries and regions.

Students also obtain or further develop many practical skills which they may apply in their study as well as in their future professional careers.

Study plans

International Relations

full-time, single-subject

International Relations

full-time, major

International Relations

full-time, minor

Studies

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Objectives
The study field of International Relations (taught in Czech with growing number of elective courses taught in English) makes students familiar with basic issues of international relations, with strong emphasis on international relations theory. Key areas of the study program include the history of international relations, the foreign policy of the Czech Republic, and security aspects of international relations. Students can further specialize within optional courses focused on specific issues of international relations and organizations, and also on foreign policy of specific countries and regions.
Students also obtain or further develop many practical skills which they may apply in their study as well as in their future professional careers.
Learning Outcomes
After successfully completing his/her studies the graduate is able to:
- understand theories of international relations and correctly use the terminology of the discipline;
- understand the history of IR and its main trends;
- characterize the main dimensions of IR (economic, security, international law);
- analyze foreign policy of states and internatinational politics in selected regions;
- orient themselves in basic methodologies of IR.
- orient themselves in processes of European political development
- know physical, political and social geography of the world
- orient themselves in main trends of current world politics
Occupational Profiles of Graduates
Graduates of International Relations can pursue careers in a whole range of fields, including work as analysts, in the scientific or academic fields, in the administrations of political parties, or in the media.
Significant opportunities may also be found in state administration and in the diplomatic service, mainly in international organizations (particularly in European Union institutions), as well as in the economic sphere. This range is naturally broadened if taken in combination with a second major (subject).
Practical Training
Students may take internships at various institutions in the Czech Republic as well as abroad. The may serve at both institutions with which the department has a memorandum or agreement of cooperation, or at institutions where they arranged for an internship on their own initiative (such an internship is subject to approval of the department head).
Serving as interns, students will improve their skills to apply their theoretical knowledge in practice, they will gain new practical skills, will learn teamwork as well as to work individually.
Goals of Theses
A minimal scope of a Bachelor's thesis is 45,000 characters including footnotes, cover sheet, content, index, list of literature, and annotations.
Students can work with already published texts and data accessible for secondary analysis. They should demonstrate the ability to work critically with specialized texts, process the concepts and theories discovered there, and find relevant answers to the given question. Instructions for Final State Examinations and elaboration of the Bachelor's/Diploma thesis are regulated by FSS Directive No. 5/2024 State Final Examinations, Final Theses and their Defences.
Access to Further Studies
IR (graduate program)
European Studies (graduate program)
Security and Strategic Studies (graduate program)
Political Science (graduate program)
Additional Master's programs as warranted