Master in International Relations

1. Introduction

The Department of International Relations has a total of 16 faculty members all of whom have received Ph.D. degrees in the most distinguished universities in the world, such as UC Berkley, Columbia University, Yale University, Cornell University, London School of Economics, Peking University and Tsinghua University.

Research at the Department of IR focuses on modern methods and solid substantive knowledge. The curriculum is structured to introduce students to a highly specialized as well as broad spectrum of international relations theory and foreign policy analysis.

The program aims to provide students with solid training on major international relations theories and modern methods, deepen their understanding on Chinese classic and modern thoughts on international relations and enhance their capabilities to apply international relations theories and Chinese approaches to the analysis of the international issues and foreign affairs.

To provide students with more extra-curricular academic activities, the Department successfully initiated the Carnegie-Tsinghua International Relations Lecture Series in 2010, in which established scholars and policy makers are invited to give lectures on various aspects of international relations and policy making. 

The graduates of the program will be qualified to be administrative officers and policy analysts in various levels of governments, think tanks, international organizations, multinational corporations and international media. The program is designed to be completed in two years of full-time study, including completion of the course curriculum and the Master thesis.

In the 2011-2012 academic year, 61 students from 31 countries are registered in the program. The department has distributed some full scholarships, full tuition waivers as well as partial tuition waivers to students on a competitive basis.

2. Courses

Students are required to complete a minimum of 28 credits from the following:

1) Compulsory public courses

(1) Chinese Culture and Society (2 credits)

(2) Chinese Language (2 credits)

2) Compulsory training programs

(1)Literature Review and Research Proposal (1 credit)

(2)Academic Activities (1 credit)

(3)Academic Introductions to International Relations(2 credit)

3) Elective courses

Ancient Chinese Thoughts on International Relations (2 credits)

Arms Control and International Security (2 credits)

Comparative Democratization and China (2 credits)

Comparative Politics and Government Administration (2 credits)

Contemporary Theories in International Politics (2 credits)

International and Comparative Political Economy (2 credits)

International Organization and Global Governance (2 credits)

Politics and Government in China (2 credits)

Public Diplomacy: Chinese and Global Perspectives (2 credits)

Regional Diplomacy: China and South Asia (2 credits)

Research Design and Writing in International Studies (2 credits)

Research Method in International Relations (2 credits)

Theory and Practice of Chinese Foreign Relations (2 credits)

US-China Relations (2 credits)

3. Thesis

Research for the thesis is supervised by a faculty advisor. The Master degree requires completion of a thesis of publishable quality. The thesis must be defended before a committee consisting of the faculty advisor and at least two other faculty members in the Department. The research area may be one of the following:

(1) International Security

(2) International Political Economy

(3) China’s Foreign Policy

(4) Regional and Countries Studies

(5) Comparative Politics

(6) Chinese Studies

(7) Public Diplomacy

(8) International Organizations

(9) Foreign Policy Attitudes Analysis

4 Qualification of Applicants

Applicant should have a Bachelor degree or equivalent academic background.

5. Documents for Application

(1) The completed Foreigner's Application Form for Admission to Graduate Programs of Tsinghua University with 2-inch recent photo, signed by the applicant.

(2) Personal statement.

(3)The original or the notarial degree certificate or proof of education in academic institution (need to submit original or notarial degree certificate after being awarded), and academic transcript. The degree certificate and academic transcript must be officially sealed.

(4) Two academic recommendation letters from scholars of associate professorship or higher (must show referee’s phone number and email address on the letter).

(5) Copy of the page with personal information in the passport (personal and ordinary passport).

(6) The completed Application Form for Tsinghua University Scholarship (if applicable, original).

The application fee is RMB 600 (non-refundable).

The certificates provided should be the original documents in Chinese or in English, otherwise notarial translations in Chinese or English are required. None of the above application documents will be returned.

6. Application Schedule

Phase 1: November 1, 2011 -- December 31, 2011

Phase 2: January 1, 2012 -- February 29, 2012

Both the Online Application and a complete set of Application documents should be completed and the package should be received by February 29, 2012.

Please note that for the Government or University scholarship applicants, online application and all the application documents should be submitted before December 31, 2011.

7. Application Procedure

Step 1: Online Application

Complete Online Application on the website of Foreign Student Affairs Office, Tsinghua University (http://intlstudent.cic.tsinghua.edu.cn). Print and sign the Application Form produced by the system after the application status changes to "verified". For scholarship application documents, please refer section "Tuition and Scholarship" below.

Step 2: Documents Submission

Submit the application documents listed above to the address indicated below by post mail or in person.

Step 3: Application Fee Payment

Two ways to pay application fee:

1. Pay online using credit card;

After your online application form is verified or the materials are received by Tsinghua University, the staff will make you the online payment draft, and at the same time, an email will be automatically sent out to remind you to pay the application fee via the online application system.

2. Pay in cash at the Foreign Student Affairs Office (Room 120,Zijing Building 22)of Tsinghua University.

8. Tuition and Scholarship

Tuition fee is RMB 30,000/year.

Accidental Injury and Hospitalization Insurance: RMB 600/year.

Accommodations: RMB 40-80/day•bed for single rooms, AB rooms and double rooms in international student dormitories.

The qualified applicants are encouraged to apply for Chinese Government Scholarship (CGS). Applicants should apply to China Scholarship Council (CSC) (Website: http://www.csc.edu.cn) through the Chinese Embassies or Consulates, or relevant organizations in the home countries of the applicants between November and April (varied for different countries). Please find out the application deadline for your country in advance.

The applicants may also apply for Chinese Government Scholarship with the recommendations from Tsinghua University. But the number of the recommended applicants is very limited, and the applicants should be excellent among those who are not studying in China. For application of this scholarship, please complete and submit the Application Form for Tsinghua University Scholarship along with other application documents.

In addition to Chinese Government Scholarship, the applicants may choose to apply for Beijing Government Scholarship / Tsinghua University Scholarship, which supports full or partial tuition. For application of this scholarship, please complete and submit the Application Form for Tsinghua University Scholarship along with other application documents.

9. Contact Information

Ms. Zheng Hang

Department of International Relations

Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, P. R. China

Tel: +86-10-62788403 Fax: +86-10-62773173

Email: iisws@tsinghua.edu.cn

Web: http://www.tsinghua.edu.cn/publish/iren/index.html