Department of International Relations and International Organization of the University of Groningen

The department of International Relations and International Organization (IRIO) hosts about 1,000 students, which makes it the biggest International Relations (IR) department in the Netherlands. IRIO is unique in its sort: it teaches international relations not as a specialization track (within political science or history) but as independent BA and MA degree programmes. The department is committed to top-tier research combined with high-quality teaching. This is enhanced by the fact that IRIO uses a yearly ‘numerus fixus’ when selecting new students for the BA, which implies that only the best are allowed to enter the programme. The commitment to excellence is apparent at both undergraduate, graduate and PhD levels.