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Overview of Concentrations and Programs
Functional Concentrations
Economic and Political Development
The Economic and Political Development (EPD) concentration prepares students for future work in international development with a special emphasis on reducing poverty and inequality. Through an interdisciplinary array of courses and internships, and either an applied workshop in international development or intensive work in policy analysis or research in development, students in the EPD concentration acquire a broader understanding of the processes of economic, political, and social change in the developing world. Students also develop more focused competencies in specific fields such as development management, micro-enterprise or micro-credit development, democratization, public health, international education, environmental policy, and urban planning.
Environmental Policy Studies
The Environmental Policy Studies (EPS) concentration provides training for students interested in national and international environmental policy, law, economics, journalism, and business. SIPA classes include analyses of national and international institutional arrangements, regulatory policies, market-based forces and solutions, and management techniques.
Human Rights
At a time when human rights issues are at the forefront of international relations, the Human Rights (HR) concentration rains students for different professions, notably international human rights advocacy, monitoring and reporting, policy and empirical analysis, NGO development, and the protection of refugees and displaced persons.
International Economic Policy
The International Economic Policy (IEP) curriculum studies the theory, formulation, institutional history, and track record of international trade policies and international monetary relations. The IEP concentration trains students in economic, empirical, political, and institutional analyses of international economic policymaking.
International Energy Management and Policy
The International Energy Management and Policy (IEMP) concentration is designed for students interested in international energy resource management and related public policy issues. The curriculum provides a thorough understanding of energy industry fundamentals, including the structure and operation of international energy systems, and of the business organizations involved in the producing, transporting, and marketing of energy products.
International Finance and Policy
The International Finance and Policy (IFP) concentration is designed for students who wish to pursue internationally oriented careers in the private sector, in public sector agencies dealing primarily with the private sector, or with international organizations.
International Media and Communications
The International Media and Communications (IMC) concentration is designed to acquaint students with the news media and global communications, their methods of operation, their policies, and their role in society and international relations. It provides students with the opportunity to learn principles of communications policymaking and to develop journalistic skills in reporting, writing, and editing for cyberspace as well as traditional media. Students may choose one of three tracks: print, broadcast, or communications.
International Security Policy
This International Security Policy (ISP) concentration is designed for students interested in defense policy, military strategy, arms control, peacekeeping, and alternatives to the use of force. It provides a solid conceptual foundation for understanding international conflict, as well as expertise for analyzing specific functional and regional security issues. The focus is the study of the causes, conduct, and consequences of war, and policies and mechanisms for its prevention.
Management and Institutional Analysis
This concentration is intended for students interested in general management and operations in the public and nonprofit sectors. It helps prepare students to be leaders in the public and increasingly in the private sector, developing skills in decision making by focusing on the fundamental skills of operating complex organizations in a changing environment. There is also a focus on building skills in governance, the organization of nonprofit organizations, strategic planning, and program development. For those interested in the public or the private sector on issues of public financial markets and budgets, there is a focus on knowledge and skills in the areas of accounting, financial management, economics, and capital markets.
Typical careers for concentrators in Management include: running line agencies in local, state, and federal government; managing nonprofit organizations (either domestic or international); working in bond rating agencies or the public sector capital markets arena; and working in public sector groups of management consulting firms.
Typical courses taken include Decision Models, Operations Management, Nonprofit Management, Budgeting (Public Sector), Budgeting (Nonprofit Sector), Accounting, Economics of Finance, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Law for Nonprofit Managers, Ethical Dilemmas in Public Policy, and Implementation and the Urban Policy Process among many others.
Advanced Policy and Economic Analysis
This concentration is intended for students who desire expertise in policy analysis and its core skills of economic analysis, data analysis, and program evaluation. The remarkable resources of Columbia University, including its world-class social science departments and full array of top-ranked professional schools, afford students extraordinary opportunities in this area.
Typical careers for concentrators in Advanced Policy Analysis and Economic Analysis include program evaluation, planning, and research positions in the public, nonprofit, and private sectors, both domestically (at the federal, state, and local levels), and internationally, economic analysts at both private and public institutions to name a few.
Typical courses include Cost-Benefit Analysis, Macroeconomic Policy, Public Economics, Gender Economics, Advanced Quantitative Analysis, Time Series Analysis, and Program Evaluation.
Social Policy
This concentration is intended for students whose interests in policy include those issues that affect social welfare in the areas of health, education, employment, race and ethnicity, gender, immigration, and immigrant incorporation.
Coursework is diverse and draws from offerings at many of the University professional schools and graduate divisions including Social Work, Public Health, Teachers College and the political science, sociology and economics departments.
Urban Policy
This concentration is intended for students whose interests in policy are among the major issues facing urban development. These include city management, urban planning, housing, urban education, and international urban education.
Coursework is diverse and draws from offerings at many of the University professional schools and graduate divisions including Urban Planning at the School of Architecture, Social Work, Teachers College, and the departments of history, political science, sociology, and economics.
In-depth knowledge of a policy arena allows managers and analysts to move confidently into the work force while robust skill sets help them handle whatever challenges the job presents.
Programs
Humanitarian Affairs Program
The Humanitarian Affairs Program provides a learning environment for both practitioners and academics concerned with humanitarian assistance in the wake of catastrophic natural disasters as well as complex humanitarian emergencies caused by acts of social violence, such as civil war, genocide, or ethnic strife. It pays considerable attention to the links among prevention, relief, and post-conflict recovery, as well as to issues of effectiveness and efficiency in the management of international humanitarian organizations.
UN Studies Program
The UN Studies Program promotes teaching, training, and career development for SIPA students interested in global governance. Among its initiatives have been a variety of seminars and training programs undertaken in collaboration with the UN, NGOs, and think tanks, bringing prominent practitioners to SIPA, and working with the Office of Career Services to identify internship opportunities.
International Conflict Resolution Program
The International Conflict Resolution Program (ICRP) focuses on an interdisciplinary field of study that allows students and practitioners to examine and formulate effective approaches to deadly conflict. Scholars in the field link their work to the study of development, human rights and humanitarian affairs, security policy, and social psychology.