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MIA Core Curriculum
The purpose of the core curriculum is to ensure that every student in the MIA program receives basic, broad-based, interdisciplinary training in international affairs. This includes graduate-level course work in economics, statistics, interstate relations and management. Students must also demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language. Students are required to take a year-long course in international economics, two international politics courses (Conceptual Foundations of International Politics and one course in interstate relations), and one-semester courses in statistics, management and financial management. Conceptual Foundations, Economics, Statistics, and Professional Development must be taken during the first year. Other core requirements can be distributed throughout a student’s program of study.
Conceptual Foundations of International Politics
Designed to help students think theoretically and analytically about leading issues in international affairs by introducing them to social science methods and scholarship, and by exposing them to the uses of such concepts in practice, through examination of contemporary problems and relations between nation states. Introduces central concepts and approaches from a variety of social science perspectives, particularly comparative politics and international relations used to explain, analyze and evaluate international politics and economics.
Economic Analysis
A year-long course designed to teach students the ideas and skills underlying economic analysis and policymaking and their application to issues and problems in international affairs. Taking an integrated approach to economics, the course introduces students to both the microeconomic foundations of economic thought and the macroeconomic issues facing nations. The International Finance and Economic Policy Concentration and the International Energy Management and Policy Track, within the Energy and Environment Concentration, require that students successfully complete this course to satisfy their core economics requirement.
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Economics
A year-long course designed to teach students the basic knowledge and skills underlying economic analysis and policymaking. Taking an integrated approach to economics, the course introduces students to both the microeconomic foundations of economic thought and the macroeconomic issues facing nations.
Quantitative Analysis
Familiarizes students with some of the basic statistical techniques used in policy analysis, so that they will be equipped to be intelligent consumers and producers of analyses. This course covers basic statistical concepts, such as the organization of data and measures of central tendency and dispersion, as well as more advanced techniques of inferential statistics and multivariate regression. It is strongly recommended that students complete this course in the fall semester of their first year; in all cases, it must be completed before the end of the first year. Some policy concentrations require or recommend a second statistics course in addition to the core requirement of economics described above.
Public and Non-Profit Management
An introduction to basic concepts in organizational management.
Financial Management
A set of course options designed to provide students with skills in financial management, including but not limited to courses on budgeting, accounting, and the economics of finance.
Capstone Workshop
Skills in policy analysis, political analysis, institutional analysis and public management applied to “real-world” client-driven projects. Faculty advisors guide teams of 6 students in this intensive, capstone experience.
Professional Development
The Professional Development class is a major part of SIPA's effort to heighten awareness and involvement of students in their own career plan. The mandatory 0.5-credit course is offered by the Office of Career Services and teaches substantive knowledge related to their concentration and skills needed to compete effectively in the international and public affairs job markets. Students are introduced to leaders in their policy concentration. Topics such as resumes, cover letters, job search tactics, successful interviewing, networking and salary negotiation are covered in the course.
Internship
Students are required to complete at least one internship during their period of study. Students are required to earn at least 1.5 points for their internship, with the credit allocation depending on the number of hours completed in the internship. For more information about the internship requirement, please review the Office of Career Services Frequently Asked Questions for Current Students' page.