M.S. in Global Affairs

CONCENTRATIONS

Students are required to complete a total of six courses in any one of the five concentrations listed below or a combination of four courses from one concentration and two courses from any of the other concentrations.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
This concentration explores topics such as the analysis of conflict and means of avoiding and resolving strife through negotiation, the role of the media in shaping policies, the challenges of maintaining security without jeopardizing democracy, the new role of the U.S. as the single superpower and the consequent impact internationally, and the elements that go into foreign policy formulation. Courses include:

• Security Policy: Issues and Challenges
• Ethnic Conflicts
• International Negotiation: Cases and Lessons
• Machinery and Politics of U.S. Foreign Policy Decision Making
• The Role of the U.S. in World Affairs
• The Media and International Affairs

PRIVATE SECTOR: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS, ECONOMICS, AND DEVELOPMENT
In this concentration, the courses provide you with a broad introduction to international business and finance, as well as in-depth examinations of emerging issues such as corporate power and social responsibility. Courses include:

• Political Economy of Development
• The Multinational Corporation: Economic, Political, and Managerial Perspectives
• Introduction to International Business and Finance
• Corporate Power and Responsibility
• American Trade Politics and the World Trade System
• Globalization and Its Impacts

INTERNATIONAL LAW, DISPUTE SETTLEMENT, AND INSTITUTIONS
This concentration focuses on the increasingly important role played by international law, transitional justice, human rights, environmental protection, national reconstruction, and international organizations in the global arena. Courses include:

• International Environmental Law and Policy
• International Dispute Settlement: Methods and Procedures
• International Trade Law and Policy
• Contemporary Issues in World Affairs: A Legal Perspective
• International Human Rights: Laws, Mechanisms, and Practices
• International Organizations

HUMAN RIGHTS AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE
Human rights protection and advocacy, refugees and internally displaced persons, issues in humanitarian assistance and intervention, women’s rights, and the historical evolution of non-governmental organizations are among the issues covered in this concentration. Courses include:

• Human Rights Promotion and Practice: The Role of NGOs
• Nongovernmental Organizations in the Developing World: A Regional Perspective
• Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons: Protection and Practice
• Issues in Humanitarian Assistance and Intervention
• International and National Women’s Movements

ENVIRONMENT/ENERGY POLICY
These courses reflect the increasing importance of energy in the formulation of foreign policy throughout the world. Issues examined include affordable supplies for sustained economic growth, securing a sound environment, lessening dependence on fossil fuels, and the correlations between energy interests and foreign policy. Courses include:

• Introduction to Energy Policy
• The Geopolitics of Oil
• The Economics and Finance of Energy
• Energy and the Environment

TRANSNATIONAL SECURITY
This concentration addresses the growing necessity for a multilateral approach to security issues that face the international community as a whole. Students explore the heightened need for coordination between international agencies when confronting emerging global threats. Courses include:

• Security Policy: Issues and Challenges
• Transnational Crime
• Counter-Terrorism and Homeland Security
• Economic Security: Challenges, Prescriptions, and Opportunities

REGIONAL COURSES

An additional regional study course provides an in-depth look at the political, social, and economic climate of one particular region in the world. Students select one course from the following: Inside Latin America, The European Union, Inside Africa Today, Asia Today: An Introduction, or The Contemporary Middle East.