- About
- Apply
- Awards + Funding
- Graduate Students
- Life + Community
- Faculty + Staff
- Individualized Interdisciplinary Studies in Graduate Studies
"I chose SFU due to recommendations from people I knew who had attended in the past, the geographic proximity to where I currently live, and the desire to work with my (now) supervisor."
Wyatt Wickstead
Political Science master's student in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
I am a first-year MA student studying Political Science focusing on International Relations and Security. When I began my undergrad degree in 2016, I had initially planned to focus on Psychology. However, after taking a Political Science class in my second semester purely out of interest, I saw the light, so to speak and switched my focus. In the end, I completed my Bachelor of Arts with a double major in Political Science and History and haven’t looked back.
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO COME TO SFU?
After my undergrad, I applied to multiple schools and was accepted to each. In the end, I chose SFU due to recommendations from people I knew who had attended in the past, the geographic proximity to where I currently live, and the desire to work with my (now) supervisor. Before my program began, I was able to take part in the NATO Field School, which further piqued my interests and helped me see that SFU was the right choice.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR RESEARCH OR YOUR PROGRAM TO A FAMILY MEMBER?
My research interests have to do with international relations and security. I am especially interested in exploring how western countries conduct state-building and how a misunderstanding of reality vs. political theory has led to recent failures. For example, why did Iraq, Libya, and Afghanistan fail to become successful democracies, yet South Korea, a military dictatorship until the ’80s, succeeded. Moreover, I am interested in exploring the ramification of continuing the status quo for security.
WHAT ARE YOU PARTICULARLY ENJOYING ABOUT YOUR STUDIES/RESEARCH AT SFU?
I enjoy interacting with some other students whose different perspectives offer more insight into the problems I am looking at. Furthermore, I am enjoying the ability to combine the domains of Political Science and History to try and solve those problems.
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE?
I am very thankful for the opportunities that SFU has given me.
Contact : wrw1@sfu.ca