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Core Curriculum
The purpose of the required 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, regional studies, international policy analysis and management. Students must also demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language. Structured to cover a broad range of relevant disciplines, the curriculum offers maximum flexibility. Students are required to take Conceptual Foundations of International Affairs (U6800) and a year-long course in international economics. In all other core areas, they can choose from a range of courses to fulfill degree requirements. Conceptual Foundations of International Affairs, International 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 (INAFU6800)
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. 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 challenges in international affairs.
Economic Analysis for International Affairs (INAFU4600 & INAFU4601)
A year-long course designed to teach students the basic ideas and skills underlying economic analysis and policymaking and their application to issues and problems in development, human rights and the environment. Taking an integrated approach to economics, the course introduces students to both the microeconomic foundations of economic thought and the macroeconomic issues facing nations.
Many concentrations at SIPA require that students choose this course in satisfying their core economics requirement.
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Economics for International Affairs (INAFU4595 & INAFU4596)
A year-long course designed to teach students the basic 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.
Statistics and Quantitative Analysis for International Affairs (INAFU4320)
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 functional concentrations require or recommend a statistics course in addition to the core requirement of economics described above.
International Policy Analysis and Management
This requirement consists of a course that provides tools for analyzing public policy problems or managing organizations that implement public policy.
- Management for International Affairs (Lawrence)
- Public Management (Ting or Eimicke)
- Managing the UN System (Salomons)
- Decision Models and Management (Riccio)
- Operations Management (Riccio)
See the online course directory for a complete listing of courses that satisfy this requirement.
Interstate Relations
This requirement consists of courses that describe and analyze the interactions between sovereign states and the management of relations between and among these nations. Some of the courses most frequently used to satisfy this requirement include:
- World Peace through World Law (Doyle)
- U.S. Foreign and Economic Trade Policy (Janow)
- Chinese Foreign Policy (Nathan)
- United Nations: Challenges & Alternatives (Luck)
- Managing the UN System (Salomons)
- International Law (Sapiro)
- International Human Rights (Danchin)
- Ethical Issues in International Affairs (Colonomos)
- International Relations of the Environment (Downie)
- Geopolitics of Energy (Hegburg, Schreier)
- U.S. Role in World Affairs (Sestanovich)
- Contemporary Diplomacy (Sestanovich)
- Theory of International Political Economy (Lukauskas, Pinto)
See the online course directory for a complete listing of courses that satisfy this requirement.
Regional Context
This requirement consists of two courses that describe and analyze the political, economic, social and historical context of policymaking in a single region of the world. These courses are typically offered by Columbia’s regional institutes:
- Oil, Finance and Politics in the Arabian Gulf
- Financial Markets of the Arabian Gulf
- Politics of the Middle East and North Africa
- Political Islam
- Persian Gulf in the Twentieth Century
- Conflict Resolution—Middle East
- Modern Afghanistan: History, Culture, Politics
- Economic / Social Geography—Central Asia
- Chinese Politics
- Chinese Foreign Policy
- China's New Marketplace
- Economic Organization and Development of China
- Business & Financial Markets in East Asia
- Modern Southeast Asia
- India, South Asia and U.S. Foreign Policy
- International Politics of South Asia
- Political Identity, Civil Wars, State Reform in Africa
- International Conflict Resolution: Africa
- Development in Africa
- Human Rights in Africa
- Privatization in E. Europe & Former Soviet Union
- Transition Issues in East-Central Europe, Post-Soviet States and Reforming Asian Economies
- Politics and Society in Post-revolutionary East Central Europe
- The Legacy of Russia
- Politics of EU Enlargement
- EU & the Challenges of the Twenty-first Century
- History & Political Development-European Union
- The Transatlantic Economy
- U.S. Foreign and Economic Trade Policy
- U.S. Foreign Policy in the Persian Gulf
- U.S. Role in World Affairs
- American Exceptionalism and the Prospects for International Law and Organization
- Conventional Force Planning & U.S. Defense Policy
- Central Issues of American Foreign Policy
- U.S. & Latin American Relations
- Financial Issues in Latin America
- Political, Social & Economic Development in Brazil
- Issues in Latin American Policy Debates
See the online course directory for a complete listing of courses that satisfy this requirement.
Professional Development (SIPA U4040)
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 one credit course is offered by the Office of Career Services and teaches skills needed to compete effectively in the international and public affairs job markets.
Topics such as resumes, cover letters, job search tactics, successful interviewing, networking and salary negotiation are covered in the course.
Internship (SIPA U9013)
Students are required to complete at least one internship during their period of study. Students who wish to receive academic credit for an internship may do so, with 3 or 6 credits awarded 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.
Please make sure to include the hyperlink on the last sentence of the internship description.