The Start of my MSc

Monday and yesterday, I spent much of the day in the Queen Elizabeth House (the building for the Department of International Development) for induction. I am studying for an MSc in Global Governance and Diplomacy, so the induction was a chance to meet the other 24 students in my course and get a brief introduction from the faculty on the available subjects. While almost a third of the students are from the U.S., there are also students from Brazil, Singapore, Taiwan, France, South Korea, and several other countries. Their educational backgrounds are just as diverse, representing a variety of undergraduate majors including Development Studies, International Relations, Commerce, Political Science, and Law. While I have obviously been excited about the opportunity to study this program at Oxford, I have also been slightly concerned that my engineering background would put me at a disadvantage. Fortunately, the backgrounds of the other students and the typical absence of a course in diplomacy and global governance at the undergraduate level have put me more at ease.

The educational system in the U.K., expecially at Oxford, is very unique. The year is divided into three terms (Michaelmas, Hilary, and Trinity), which are each eight weeks long. There is a five week break between terms, but I have heard that these breaks are more of a chance to catch up on coursework than actual vacations. Unlike most American schools that test and record grades at regular intervals, the entire mark or grade for the program is based on a three hour test in Trinity term and the dissertation. As such, most of the lectures are in Michaelmas and Hilary, leaving the majority of Trinity for paper revision and exam preparation.

My course is composed of a foundation course, either in Diplomatic Practice or Global Governance; a choice of two option courses; a research methods course; and a dissertation. I elected to study Diplomatic Practice as my foundation course, as it is geared slightly more toward the practicioner. While the available option course topics ranged widely from Global Financial Governance to the History and Politics of South Asia, I chose Multilateral Governance and Regional Integration as one option and International Diplomacy (taught by a professor who also teaches at the British Military Academy, Sandhurst) as the other. The research methods course is the same for everyone and I will not decide on my dissertation title for several more weeks.

On a completely different note, Oxford is a huge bicycle town and I just got a new bike! Walking around the city for the last week, I've been able to avoid the cars and buses because they are big and loud. I avoided the bikers too, but they are much more dangerous because you don't expect them and they typically operate in stealth mode. I guess I need to figure out the left hand side of the road deal now, too. Well, I'll write more later, but I have my first lecture on Saturday and I need to do some reading before my college's quiz night this evening.