A degree in International Relations can take you places
BEYOND BORDERS: The postgraduate students of International Relations department at Stella Maris College. Photo: K. V. Srinivasan
M.A. International Studies at Stella Maris College is the only course of its kind in Tamil Nadu. It is open to students from any discipline.
Interested students must be up-to-date with current affairs and will have to sit for an entrance examination on the latest current events, international issues and politics. There are 40 seats each year.
Head of Department Priya Suresh says that one of the highlights of the course is the summer internship that the students must undertake. They get to intern at research institutes, media houses, NGOs and some even choose to go to organisations abroad.
The basic course is International Studies though it is a multi-disciplinary area where students cover subjects such as ethnicity, international law and environmental protection and global strategy.
The syllabus is changed once in three years, but it is open-ended, due to the dynamic nature of the subject.
It thereby gives lecturers the leeway to add current affairs as they happen.
Every year, the department hosts a visiting scholar in residence, where he spends a week at the college, lecturing about his area of specialisation. They also have lots of guest faculty, to keep up the constant input from external resources.
In the fourth semester, students will have to give in a dissertation.
Graduates from this course have been placed at UN Tsunami Relief, multi-national corporations, NGOs, research agencies and consulates. The average starting salary is about Rs. 15,000. From this academic year, the International Studies department has tied up with the University of Nantes, France, whereby three exchange students spend a year at the Chennai college.
SUSAN MUTHALALY
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