International Relations and Area Studies program is an undergraduate interdisciplinary program that offers a rigorous international and comparative perspective on the contemporary global system and different regions of the world. Its aim is to foster creative thinking about complex global problems and to equip students with the analytical tools, language expertise, and cross-cultural understanding to guide them in that process. Our degree provides a solid grounding in international issues together with an opportunity to specialize in International Security or Area Studies.
Research and teaching span the full spectrum of topics in International Relations and Area Studies, including international politics and economics, development, global governance, ethics of international affairs, conflict resolution and peacebuilding, regional integration, cultural diversity, and intercultural dialogue.
Solid grounding
During the first three semesters, you will: learn the fundamentals of the key subjects for studying international relations, such as international political economy, international history, theories and methods of IR, globalization, economic and political geography, human rights, and international ethics. With this solid foundation, you will be ready to choose your preferred specialization, and you will focus on either international security or two regions of the world offered as part of our Area Studies track.
Truly international
IRAS has attracted students from over forty-five countries, which has allowed our graduates to master intercultural communication and develop a global or cosmopolitan mindset through interaction in-class discussion and outside of the classroom. Exposed to different views and perspectives, our students learn how to value diversity and culturally-based approaches to social, political, and economic developments.
Excellence & career-focus
Our Faculty of International and Political Studies is home to many specialists, excellent researchers, and practitioners such as former diplomats, experts, and politicians. You can learn from all of them. Our degree program combines intellectual rigor with an applied focus and develops a range of intellectual and practical skills that are relevant across a wide range of career opportunities. Our graduates have found work with a wide range of employers, including non-governmental and intergovernmental organizations, banking and accounting services, local and national governments, educational establishments, and media and publishing companies. Others have opted to continue studying international relations, or other disciplines, at the M.A. and Ph.D. levels.
Academic & administrative support
We care about the quality and learning experience of each student. Our first-year tutorials provide an introduction to studying at the Jagiellonian University, help to enhance learning skills, and discuss academic and other matters during individual meetings with a tutor. This process is also facilitated by regular contact with second and third-year IRAS students acting as mentors and helping their fellow students navigate the program and their new life in Krakow.
IRAS specializations
International security
In order to ensure that you are able to master the complex challenges of the post-9/11 world, this specialization module views security from a broad theoretical and historical perspective, placing traditional security concerns in the context of such fields as development, economics, human rights, and globalization. It will introduce you to the main concepts and approaches in international security and encourage you to analyze, interpret, and evaluate world political events and issues. You will focus on a diverse range of topics including strategy, conflict resolution, foreign policy analysis, intelligence, human security, military technology, and regional security.
Area studies
This specialization will provide a solid grounding in politics, history, economic cooperation, culture, and society of various regions of the world. You will be able to focus on two regions chosen from Europe, Russia and its neighborhood, the Americas, the Middle East, and North Africa, and Asia-Pacific/ East and South Asia. This module is ideal for those who wish to explore and understand the different regions, their cultures, traditions, and international relations from a comparative perspective. It is interdisciplinary and interactive, linking language study with other disciplines such as politics, history, economics, cultural studies, and anthropology.
Extra-curricular opportunities & activities
University education does not happen only in the classroom. There are numerous other opportunities to learn invaluable skills, such as public speaking and creative thinking, outside class.
For example, you can join AIAS – The Association of International and Area Studies and get involved in its activities. AIAS is a self-governing student society registered with our department, established and managed by IRAS students.
AIAS focus is on four major areas:
Education
Developing academic interests and expanding students’ knowledge of international politics and different regions of the world.
Communication
Conferences, public debates, seminars, and the Jagiellonian University’s International Model United Nations organized annually by IRAS students, provide an opportunity to communicate with others, present and learn how to raise awareness in relation to key global and local challenges.
Diversity
AIAS has created a community of students and scholars and universal minds who share ideas and experience.
Inspiration
The goal of AIAS is to spark interest and encourage each member’s development through debates, movie nights, study trips, academic publications, and workshops.
The Jagiellonian University in Krakow
Join us at Jagiellonian University, the best and the most prestigious university in Poland, with a very rich tradition of academic excellence that dates back to the fourteenth century.
Live and study at the academic heart of Central Europe, the home of excellent researchers in many disciplines, including the humanities, social sciences, medicine, mathematics, and natural sciences. The University has many international partners, and our students benefit from various forms of study exchange, shared virtual classrooms, visits of guest professors, and many other aspects of international cooperation. The Faculty of International and Political Studies, which will be your home department, is widely recognized for its research on areas and countries, politics, international relations, and intercultural studies.
