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Message from the Director

Imagine yourself in ten years’ time. Your team is negotiating an international agreement. How do you understand what your counterparts are saying? How do you know what they’re really asking for, and what that really means?

The International Relations Program gives its graduates the foundations of this understanding by educating empathy. The program, established in 1976, combines the study of economics, history and political science to equip students with the analytical tools they need to understand the issues of international relations: the origins of war and the maintenance of peace; the nature and exercise of power within the international system; and the changing character of the state and non-state actors who participate in international decision-making.

Whether you pursue further study or a career in international relations, it is essential to know the language that international actors are speaking. Studying how three disciplines approach, define and analyze international relations gives our students a superb grounding for graduate study. It provides students with essential skills to conduct interdisciplinary research and collaboration. The program’s interdisciplinary approach also gives students the tools to understand what’s really at stake even when it is unstated. International Relations Program graduates can dig below the language of economics to perceive the historical and political concerns that are really at stake – or the reverse.

Start your life-long study of international relations by checking out our admission requirements and entrance procedure. If you still have questions, please read our Frequently Asked Questions or contact the program administrator.

Yours truly,

Tim Sayle

Professor Timothy Sayle
Director, International Relations Program, Trinity College