User:Shams morsalin/Department of International Relations, University of Dhaka

Introduction The Department of International Relations, University of Dhaka (DUIR) has been one of the foremost schools of higher education in Bangladesh. Since its establishment in 1947 as the first of its kind in South Asia, the Department played a significant role in imparting knowledge on international affairs, particularly in the areas of security, diplomacy, foreign policy, governance, international development and multilateral cooperation.

The Early Journey of International Relations in Bangladesh The endeavor to offer International Relations (IR) as a separate discipline in South Asia had its origin in Dhaka back in the late 1940s when the subcontinent was still the part of the union of territories under the British Commonwealth and Empire. The DUIR formally started its journey in July 1947 under the Faculty of Arts, University of Dhaka. Distinguished historian Dr. Mahmud Hussain (who happened to be the younger brother of the former Indian President Dr. Zakir Hussain) was the founder Head of the DUIR, who later also successively served as the Deputy Minister of then central government of Pakistan in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and as the Vice Chancellor of University of Dhaka in the early 1960s. Professor P. C. Chakravarti was the second Head of the Department, who moved to Kolkata in 1952 and was one of the pioneers of the IR Department in Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India. At its early stage, the DUIR admitted students only to the Masters Program in IR from the academic session:1947-48. As a part of the Arts Faculty, the Department initially drew its faculty members from the Departments of History, Political Science and Commerce. Thus, from its very inception the DUIR emphasized interdisciplinary orientation of its faculty members and the courses offered were also multi-disciplinary in scope and nature. The DUIR introduced three-year Bachelor (Honors) program in 1969. Later the Bachelor program was extended to four years as an integrated course system in order to adjust the international academic standard and practices. For over two decades the Department has been admitting only Honors graduates from the related Social Science disciplines to its one-year Masters program. From the session 2006-07, under the directives of Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Dhaka, the DUIR welcomed the Semester System and CGPA grading evaluation methods both in Bachelor (Honors) and Masters Programs. In addition, the DUIR also offers Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in IR along with a post-graduate diploma course, known as Post Graduate Diploma in International Relations (PGDIR).