The one-year MAIR program is designed for candidates with substantial prior experience, counted after the date of an undergraduate degree, who wish to complete a graduate-level degree to further advance their careers.
Qualified applicants include those who have substantial professional work experience on international issues and/or in an international environment. The MAIR program is also open to those who have already earned another graduate degree in a related field – such as law, business, public health, political science, economics, etc. – and who are looking to complement that degree with an MA in international relations. In addition, the MAIR program is ideal for U.S. Army officers who are required to complete an MA as part of their training in the FAO Program.
Prospective students who have recently graduated with a bachelor’s degree, or who have limited work experience in the field of international relations, are encouraged to apply to either the MA in International Affairs (MAIA) program or the MA in Global Policy (MGP) program.
Curriculum
The MA in International Relations requires a total of 8 courses (32 credits) divided among core (12 credits) and electives (20 credits).
Courses
CORE COURSES (12 CREDITS)
MAIR core coursework ensures that students gain exposure to a range of important facets of international affairs. Students take a common core of three courses:
- GRS IR 601 Fundamentals of International Relations
- GRS IR 604 Diplomacy and Negotiations
- GRS IR 602 Quantitative Analysis for Global Affairs or GRS IR 603 Economics for Global Policy
ELECTIVES (20 CREDITS)
Students choose five elective courses (20 credits), selected from the graduate level course offerings of the Pardee School. Courses not included in these lists may be petitioned to count toward the student’s degree.
Students are encouraged to develop an informal regional or functional concentration with three to four of their electives. Doing so is not a requirement of the degree and a concentration will not appear on university transcripts, but choosing a concentration does help to give greater focus and definition to a student’s program of study.
Foreign Language
Students are required to demonstrate graduate-level reading proficiency in a foreign language prior to completion of the degree. Graduate-level proficiency is the ability to understand newspaper and professional journal articles in the field of foreign relations accurately, using standard reference materials. Language proficiency must be demonstrated through a language examination. Language exams are offered by the Pardee School Graduate Office several times per year.
In the case of non-native English speakers who were required to submit a TOEFL score report as part of their application for admission, knowledge of English fulfills this requirement.
