How long is the MSc in International Relations for Business?

One year full-time, or two years part-time via online and distance routes. The MSc in International Relations for Business schedules cohort calls across UK and APAC time zones so distance learners stay synchronous.

Can the MSc in International Relations for Business be studied online?

Yes. The MSc in International Relations for Business runs on-campus in central London, fully online and by distance learning, assessed against the same dissertation and sponsor project.

Is the MSc in International Relations for Business recognised by UK employers?

Yes. The MSc in International Relations for Business is shaped around Chatham House and RUSI frameworks, BISA senior competencies and IOE&IT senior policy content, so UK employers recognise it.

What are the entry requirements for the MSc in International Relations for Business?

A UK 2:2 honours in a relevant discipline, GCSE English at grade 5/C, and IELTS 6.5 for international applicants. Portfolio route available for candidates with three years of policy experience.

What does the MSc in International Relations for Business cost?

Tuition varies by route and domicile. Contact LSIBM admissions for the current schedule and scholarship eligibility for the MSc in International Relations for Business.

MSc IR for Business | LSIBM London | Harold International College of London

Course Overview

The MSc in International Relations for Business at the London School of International Business and Management (LSIBM) is a senior-track postgraduate degree for public-affairs directors, government-relations leads, trade-policy specialists and market-entry consultants. Delivered inside the International Business & Trade faculty, it deepens geopolitical analysis, trade-policy work, Whitehall engagement and international market-entry. The syllabus is refreshed each cohort to sit alongside Chatham House policy analysis, the FCDO Country Business Guides and UK Export Finance market briefings, so classroom debates and case work track the questions UK employers are asking this year rather than last decade’s textbook.

You will complete a sponsor consulting project on a live UK-facing policy question, sit an MSc-level geopolitical-risk simulation, and produce a dissertation supervised by a former civil servant or Chatham House-affiliated practitioner and defended in front of a working panel. Across the one year full-time, you sit alongside a small tutor-visible cohort, work through applied case studies drawn from London-facing employers, and close with an assessment mix that mirrors the situations working practitioners actually face on the job. The MSc in International Relations for Business runs on-campus in central London, fully online with UK / APAC time-zone cohort calls, or by distance learning, so applicants pick the study pattern that fits the rest of their working week.

Key Features

Level pitched at UK Master's degree standard with tutor-visible small cohorts and a single intake schedule.
Three study modes — on-campus in central London, fully online with UK / APAC time-zone cohort calls, or by distance learning.
Whitehall-engagement clinic with a former civil servant or trade-body director.
Structured route toward the CIPR Public Affairs Diploma and IOE&IT trade credentials.
Assessment blend — stakeholder map, market-entry brief, policy paper and viva.
Structured over one year full-time (two years part-time via online / distance routes), with fortnightly practitioner clinics and defined assessment milestones.
Sponsor consulting project and dissertation defended in front of a working practitioner panel.
Careers support covering CV clinics, mock interviews and warm introductions through fortnightly practitioner sessions.
Cohort networking across a single intake schedule, with London evening events at the CMI, IoD Pall Mall clubhouse and relevant professional-body chapters.

What You Will Learn

The MSc is written for people whose next role sits in a leadership meeting or a working committee. You will graduate able to build a strategy paper, defend a dissertation in front of a senior panel, and step into an executive-track role with the credential a UK employer recognises.

The UK international-affairs landscape — Whitehall, the FCDO, DIT and UK Export Finance.
Multilateral trade rules — WTO, plurilateral trade agreements and UK FTA policy.
Geopolitical risk assessment for UK-facing companies.
Public affairs and government-relations in Whitehall and Westminster.
Emerging-market entry — country-risk, joint-venture and greenfield options.
Sanctions regimes, OFSI compliance and dual-use export controls.
Trade-association and Chamber of Commerce engagement.
Climate and energy transition policy for UK multinationals.
Corporate diplomacy and stakeholder communications at cross-border level.
Research methods, policy-analysis writing and dissertation methodology.
Ethics of corporate lobbying under the CIPR and IPA codes.

Who This Course Is For

The MSc in International Relations for Business is designed for a mix of new entrants and working professionals. The five audience segments below are the ones we most often see on the Master's degree intake list, and the tutor team tailors examples so every segment is visible in the classroom.

Recent graduates targeting a first public-affairs or government-relations role.
Policy administrators inside trade associations and Chambers.
Career switchers from journalism, law or consulting into public affairs.
International-affairs staff at UK-facing multinationals.
International applicants preparing a UK-facing CV for London public-affairs roles.

Career Pathways

Graduates typically step into senior-specialist, manager and director-track roles across UK employers. The MSc strengthens applications but does not by itself guarantee job offers or visa outcomes. Typical destinations include:

Government Relations Analyst
International Affairs Manager
Diplomatic Programmes Officer
Public Policy Adviser
Public Affairs Consultant
Trade Association Executive
Market Entry Consultant
Corporate Affairs Manager

The MSc in International Relations for Business is a natural runway toward the CIPR Chartered Practitioner route and Chatham House associate programmes. Graduates leave with a portfolio of applied work, a written credential UK employers recognise, and enough classroom rehearsal of the discipline-specific conversations that a first interview panel or a promotion window feels familiar rather than intimidating. The LSIBM careers office also runs an alumni-referral programme and structured warm introductions in the closing term, so applicants leave with a working London network rather than only a certificate.

Entry Requirements

A UK 2:2 honours degree in a relevant discipline — politics, international relations, economics, law, business — or an equivalent international qualification. Applicants with three years of substantive policy, public affairs or trade experience may apply on a portfolio route with a policy paper or briefing.
GCSE English Language at grade 5/C (or equivalent) is required for domestic applicants.
IELTS 6.5 overall (no band below 6.0) for non-native English speakers.
A short statement of intent (600 words) explaining research or applied interests, plus two references (one academic, one workplace or professional-body).

Why Study at LSIBM

The London School of International Business and Management (LSIBM) is a specialist business-education provider based in central London and part of Harold International College. Postgraduate cohorts run in small tutor-visible groups, are shaped by working senior practitioners (partner-level at a Big Four firm, Fellow-level at CIM or CIPD, CFA charter-holders in investment routes) and close with a substantial dissertation, sponsor consulting project or applied capstone defended in front of a working panel.

London puts the City, Canary Wharf, Whitehall, Companies House, the FCA, the Bank of England, the West End and the major consulting, banking and multinational headquarters within a short tube ride of every classroom. LSIBM postgraduates attend a fortnightly senior-practitioner clinic and a structured executive-application coaching programme in the final term.

Apply for the MSc in International Relations for Business

Step into the senior track with the MSc in International Relations for Business. Click Enrol Now and admissions will reply within one working day with intake dates, dissertation supervisor allocation guidance and the current fee schedule. LSIBM postgraduates are supported by dedicated executive-application coaching in the final term.