Diplomatic studies and law
Short courses
Our short courses and events in diplomatic studies and law include day schools, lecture series and weekly classes.
Graduate programmes
The Department offers the following full-time programmes in diplomatic studies:
- Foundations of Diplomacy Pre-Masters is a six month course open to applicants with no previous knowledge of the field of diplomacy/international relations.
- Master of Studies in Diplomatic Studies is a full time programme aimed at diplomats in early-to-mid career.
Please note: the Master's in International Human Rights Law, along with the summer school in Oxford, is now offered by the Faculty of Law.
Upcoming courses
Online - live • Short courses • Lecture series • Hybrid - in person or online
Examine the most controversial decisions in British foreign policy over the past century, from Chamberlain to Johnson. We will examine six key decisions where the choice was diplomacy or the use of military force. Lecture series with Dr Martin Holmes.
- Fri 20 Oct 2023 – 24 Nov 2023
- 2:00 – 3:15pm
Online - live • Short courses • Lecture series • Hybrid - in person or online
Although the British public has tended to view Neville Chamberlain’s appeasement policy in a negative light, historians have often taken a more positive, ‘revisionist’ stance. This lecture examines the evidence – are the revisionists right or wrong?
- Fri 20 Oct 2023
- 2:00 – 3:15pm
Online - live • Short courses • Lecture series • Hybrid - in person or online
Ernest Bevin adopted a hard-line anti-Soviet policy, encouraging Truman to respond to Soviet behaviour in Eastern Europe with both diplomatic and military measures. This talk evaluates Bevin’s influence on the Truman Doctrine and the creation of NATO.
- Fri 27 Oct 2023
- 2:00 – 3:15pm
Online - live • Short courses • Lecture series • Hybrid - in person or online
The overwhelming consensus is that Anthony Eden’s Suez policy was a disaster. But why did Eden, a renowned foreign policy expert, blunder so badly? This talk explains Eden’s mindset and exactly what he did and did not know prior to November 1956.
- Fri 03 Nov 2023
- 2:00 – 3:15pm
Online - live • Short courses • Hybrid - in person or online
Why did Margaret Thatcher use military force to reclaim the Falkland Islands after the Argentine occupation in April 1982? Why did she reject diplomatic alternatives? This talk looks behind the façade of the official explanations for the war.
- Fri 10 Nov 2023
- 2:00 – 3:15pm
Research, student spotlights and related subjects:
Human Rights Law Research
Human rights law research in the Department for Continuing Education at the University of Oxford.Jarosław Bajaczyk
Jarosław applied for the Diplomatic Studies Programme as he wanted to devote time to research and study in a multicultural and multidisciplinary environment.Student spotlights
View all student spotlights for this subject area