Programme Title: International Relations

Exit Awards: - Bachelor’s Degree Honours in International Relations - Diploma of Higher Education in International Relations

Programme Duration:

 Bachelor’s Degree Honours in International Relations (4 years)
 Diploma of Higher Education in International Relations (2 years)

Programme pre-requisite: Rwandan Advanced General Certificate of Secondary Education (or its equivalent)

Career Opportunities in International Relations at the completion of the programme:

Foreign Service

The best-known international career is undoubtedly diplomacy. The lead institution here is the Foreign Service of Rwanda and the Region. This group of Rwandan and Regional embassies abroad and Rwandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as Rwanda and the Region foreign affairs agencies in Kigali and other cities in the Region.

Other Government Agencies

 The bulk of people working in international affairs in Kigali and other cities in the Region work for agencies other than the Rwandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs ones.

 Various countries Agencies for International Development (AID) administers Rwandan and Regional foreign aid and has a fairly large staff. In general it seems to recruit people with technical training in areas like economics or agriculture.

 Many "domestic" executive agencies have international activities or offices; these are often small, but sometimes they offer interesting opportunities. Commerce, for example, is concerned with foreign trade, Agriculture with farm exports, Justice with international legal issues, etc.

The United Nations

The United Nations, located in New York City, its specialized organizations (UNICEF, UNDP, FAO, ILO, WIPO, etc.) and their regional and national representative offices, is a fascinating place to work, and it has lots of employees.

The Private Sector: Kigali and other cities in the Region There are a large number of private research groups and pressure groups of every political stripe in Kigali and other cities in the Region with interests in foreign affairs.

The Private Sector: International Business

Multinational corporations play a prominent role in current international affairs. Most Rwandans and Regional graduates tend to think in terms of working far abroad for an Rwandan and Regional corporation, but in fact there may well be better opportunities working in Rwanda and in the Region, either for an Rwandan and Regional business or perhaps even a foreign firm.

The Private Sector: Non-Profit

There are literally hundreds of private, volunteer organizations which work in international affairs; they are so important that they have been awarded the ultimate distinction of their own acronym, PVOs. Some of the PVOs are religious in origin; others are entirely secular. Some are quite large, others are minuscule. They share a lack of direct government control and general concern for humanitarian issues.

Prominent examples include Oxfam, Catholic Relief Services, Care International, etc. The Rwandan and Regional government administers some foreign aid through some of these agencies, and they have been prominent in such issues as famine relief in Africa. The PVOs overlap somewhat with private advocacy organizations such as Amnesty International. Many of these organizations employ small permanent staffs; recruitment is often based on previous performance as a volunteer. Salaries are low, but many people find the work extremely rewarding.

University Teaching And Research

Rwandan and Regional universities serve, among other things, as repositories for international expertise. Faculty work within departments, usually organized around the major disciplines such as economics, political science, and history. Their job consists of teaching (communicating skills and knowledge to students) and research (creating new knowledge and communicating it to others). University faculty usually have a great deal of freedom in selecting what they will research and teach, enabling them to develop specialized knowledge in a wide variety of areas.

Modules:

 Modules in year 1 International Relations

 Modules in year 2 International Relations

 Modules in year 3 International Relations

 Modules in year 4 International Relations

ULK UNDERGRADUATE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS PROGRAMME SPECIFICATION AND MODULES DESCRIPTIONS:

Click Here

For More details on the Programme Specification and Modules Descriptions, please contact:

The Head of the Department of International Relations, Kigali Campus:
hodintkigali@ulk.ac.rw
+250788303715
P.O. Box. 2280 Kigali, Rwanda, Africa

The Head of the Department of International Relations, Gisenyi Campus:
hodintgisenyi@ulk.ac.rw
+250788303760
P.O. Box. 248 Rubavu, Rwanda, Africa