AUR’s bachelor's degree in International Relations and Global Politics thoroughly prepares students for international career pathways in the public, private, and non-profit sectors. Our unique program draws upon the extensive professional and academic expertise of our international faculty and our working partnerships with Rome and European governmental and non-governmental organizations.

What makes AUR's International Relations & Global Politics program unique?

Learning on location

The International Relations and Global Politics Program organizes field study trips to expose students to relevant countries facing specific challenges (e.g. Greece after the economic crisis); significant institutions (e.g. the World Trade Organization in Geneva); and influencing actors (e.g. OPEC in Vienna) to take students beyond simply theory and classroom lectures and into real-world practice, case studies, and hands-on experience of the impact that people and organizations make on the ground.

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Influential networks

A number of international organizations, such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), World Food Programme (WFP), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Bioversity International have their headquarters in Rome, and regularly host our students for presentations, discussions, and internships. Rome is at the very center of international politics and global social, political, and cultural change.

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Diversity at all levels

AUR is particularly proud of its diverse student body and is always striving to promote intercultural understanding, and this manifests itself in this faculty: this Program’s professors are a microcosm of the world in terms of their countries of education, life experiences, academic interests and expertise. This diversity of education and intellectual interests enriches the dialogue in the classroom and the learning of students in academic and real-world situations.

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Unlimited career pathways

AUR's degree program in International Relations & Global Politics will be of value to anyone planning a professional career with an international dimension. It prepares students for future work or graduate study in a plethora of fields including, but not limited to: International Institutions, Global Development Organizations, Diplomatic and Foreign Services, Transnational Financial, Business, and Law organizations, and Global Advocacy.

AUR graduates have gone on to fulfil challenging and rewarding careers across the full spectrum of pathways.

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Donna C., 2008.

Crew Time Engineer - NASA.

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Camilla P., 2017

Inter-agency Coordination - UNODC.

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Alice B., 2019

Administrative Assistant - UNFPA.

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Tiffany S., 2018

Associate Attorney - Clark Hill Law.

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Katelin J., 2021

Masters Student - University of Bologna.

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Kathleen H., - 2020

Peace and Dialogue Officer - Sant'Egidio.

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Integral field study & internships

Field study trips ar integral to this program. Trips are mostly, but not always, within Europe. The Fall-field study trips usually focus on cities hosting major International Institutions (e.g. the European Union in Brussels, the UN Agencies and the WTO in Geneva, the UN Agencies and OPEC in Vienna, and the OECD in Paris). Spring-field study trips focus instead on major issues (e.g. security, conflict, and separatism in places like Northern Ireland, Kosovo, the Basque Country, etc.). The 2019 J-term field study trip to Cyprus analyzes the de jure/de facto sovereignty issue of the country – i.e. between the Republic of Cyprus (a member of the EU) and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (Turkey).

Internship possibilities in Rome include

  • International Organizations in Rome e.g. Food and Agricultural Organization; World Food Program; International Fund for Agricultural Development; NATO Defense College
  • International Organizations in Europe e.g. the OECD in Paris
  • Non-Governmental Organizations e.g. Italian branches of Amnesty International and Save the Children
  • Think Tanks e.g. the Institute for International Affairs in Rome – ranked one of the best 20 Think Tanks in the world)

Internships represent a great opportunity students should exploit, during or soon after their Bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Global Politics at AUR, to develop practical knowledge and skills relevant to their future careers.

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Join the Model United Nations during the spring semester

During the Spring Semester, students have the possibility to participate in the Model United Nations (NMUN), in a major European city, practicing their negotiation, public speaking, and critical thinking skills with like-minded peers from across Europe. The MUN is the closest approximation that any student could get to working within the United Nations while still undertaking their studies

Fostering Global Citizenship Since 1927

NMUN, the world's largest and oldest ongoing university-level Model UN, annually draws participants from more than 130 UN Member States to address current global issues. Their experiential learning programs provide students with a forum to hone skills in diplomacy, negotiation, critical thinking, compromise, public speaking, writing, and research. AUR students benefit directly from their formal association with the United Nations Department of Global Communications and utilize simulation procedural rules developed in the 1990s with the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR).

AUR students and the International Relations & Global Politics faculty enter a forum for addressing global concerns in a real-world context. The annual MNUN conference addresses important issues, including regional conflicts, women and children, peacekeeping, human rights, economic and social development, and the environment. The explicit goal of the MNUN is to provide a better understanding of the inner workings of the UN while students build skills in diplomacy and compromise.

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Selected Core Course

Selected Major Electives

  • Introduction to International Relations: History and Concepts
  • International Relations: Theories and Cases
  • Research Seminar in Social Sciences
  • Global Politics
  • International Organizations
  • U.S. and Europe since 1945
  • The European Union: Origins, Evolution, and Impact
  • International Political Economy
  • International Relations Senior Thesis
  • International Law of War and Peace
  • Comparative Foreign Policy
  • Islam and Politics
  • The US, the EU and China: Who Is Going to Lead?
  • International Relations of East Asia
  • International Crime and Global Security
  • International Human Rights
  • Berlin: National vs European Vision
  • Brexit: The UK and the EU after the Vote

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Selected International Relations & Global Politics course details

U.S. AND EUROPE SINCE 1945

This course examines U.S. influence in the reconstruction of Europe after WWII, the Marshall Plan and the development of the idea of European integration, the U.S. as a world power with a permanent military presence in Europe, and the birth and evolution of NATO.

POLITICAL RISK ANALYSIS

Topics covered include the analysis of the most widely used techniques in economic and political forecasting (e.g. statistical extrapolation, game theoretical approaches, Delphi techniques, prediction markets, expert judgment), as well as the role of the digital revolution both as a catalyzer for new ‘cyber’ risks and as a generator of new tools for the collection and analysis of intelligence.

INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS

Through an illustration of the general framework as well as an analysis of selected issues, this course aims to understand how human rights have become a part of the legal system of the international community

ISLAM AND POLITICS

This course intends to provide a comprehensive, analytical, and in-depth examination of political Islam in an increasingly globalizing world to show the interaction of Islam and politics and the multiple and diverse roles of Islamic movements.

POLITICS AND SEPARATISM

Examines the history and contemporary reality of one of Europe’s most longstanding and intractable issues of nationalism and separatism. Along with similar issues in Catalonia, Scotland, and Belgium, it is a difficult contemporary issue for the whole of Europe.

INTERNATIONAL CRIME AND GLOBAL SECURITY

The course will examine international crime and the related security issues in today's world. The course focuses on the global crime threat and how transnational crime impacts on the political, economic, and social security dimensions.

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Outstanding Faculty

AUR's International Relations and Global Politics faculty arrive in Rome from a diverse and global range of professional and academic backgrounds. They each bring distinct perspectives and innovative ideas to the program.

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Irene Caratelli, Ph.D

Professor Caratelli has a broad academic and professional background in International Relations. She has worked as a policy analyst and as a consultant for at the Istituto Affari Internazionali, the WTO, the Laboratory of International Economics, ResetDoC, and The Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal (PPT) of The International Lelio Basso Foundation. She has taught at LUISS, La Sapienza, and St. John’s University, among others.

Francesca Conti, Ph.D

Prof. Conti’s research focuses mostly on emigration/immigration/asylum; sport; integration and human rights in a comparative, international perspective. Her research projects include the identification and exchange of good practices for migrant integration across Italy (in collaboration with CSER, Centro Studi Migrazione), and the critical assessment of human rights in both theory and practice, sponsored by the Istituto San Pio V.

Giorgio Potì, PH.D

Potì is a modern historian with a background in international studies. His research revolves around the entangled processes of state- and empire-building in the Euro-Mediterranean area, and their interactions with the global political and legal order. Professor Potì is currently completing a book manuscript examining the contestation and re-negotiation of British, French, Italian, and Spanish imperial rule in the Middle East in the early aftermath of World War One.

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