King's College London

This course introduces students to the main theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of foreign policy widely conceived. Foreign policy analysis (FPA) is a field of inquiry that aims to understand and explain how foreign policy is made and who shapes it, but is also interested in outcomes, their impact and the assessment of performance. Theories of international relations are relevant to FPA to understand pressures and opportunities arising from the international system, but states are not seen as unitary bodies that respond in the same way, but they differ amongst each other and comprise contradictory forces and competing actors. FPA investigates the interplay between systemic, national and sub-national factors, actors and processes, including bureaucracies, public opinion and individual decision-makers. FPA pays significant attention to decision-making processes and their outcomes, including group dynamics, leadership styles, and cognitive theories. The first part of the course is conceptual, theoretical and methodological, while the second part compares and contrasts the foreign policies of selected countries to understand national idiosyncrasies as well as common features and factors that shape foreign policy-making.

This course provides students with an understanding of the fundamentals of audit and assurance practices, in relation to the regulatory framework. It discusses the role, principles, and limits of audit and assurance, and students learn to assess internal controls and apply the audit procedures for detecting material misstatements or fraud in financial statements. Students also discuss the professional values of auditing and learn to apply them to specific cases. Students demonstrate problem solving skills and develop reasoned arguments by applying concepts and frameworks to case studies.

The course describes formal languages and the main abstract models of computation.

The course engages students in systematic reflection on the assumptions, concepts, and values inherent in the fields of global public health; develops participants' critical awareness and appreciation of theories and themes from applied moral philosophy related to the fields of global public health; develops students' capacity to use this awareness to analyze the nature and values of health/public health-related practice and the policy context shaping it; and develops participants' awareness of the contribution of bioethics to the health-care arena.

This course introduces students to basic concepts from abstract algebra, especially the notion of a group. The course helps prepare students for further study in abstract algebra as well as familiarize them with tools essential in many other areas of mathematics. The course is also intended to help students in the transitions from concrete to abstract mathematical thinking and from a purely descriptive view of mathematics to one of definition and deduction.