Graduate Program in International Affairs
College of Social Sciences and Public Policy
Website: https://coss.fsu.edu/internationalaffairs
Director: Lee K. Metcalf (Social Sciences); Director of Undergraduate Studies: Whitney Bendeck (Social Sciences); Director of International Economic Education: Onsurang Norrbin (Economics); Director of Internships and Professional Development: Na'ama Nagar (Political Science)
International Affairs is an interdepartmental degree program leading to the degrees of Master of Arts (MA) or Master of Science (MS). Courses are to be selected from the participating programs of Anthropology, Economics, Geography, Political Science, History, Law, Modern Languages and Linguistics, Philosophy, Public Administration, Religion, Sociology, and Urban and Regional Planning. Courses from outside the participating departments, for example, the College of Education, may be credited toward the degree as long as the course hours do not exceed ten semester hours. Joint Graduate Pathways are also offered in cooperation with the College of Law and the Department of Urban and Regional Planning.
Most students in the degree program anticipate careers in government, business, international organizations, journalism, or teaching, although the degree program can serve as a stepping stone into more specialized doctoral programs. The program is structured so that it can be individually tailored to a wide variety of career goals. Foreign-policy oriented positions within the United States federal government are only one important possibility. State governments, particularly Florida, are increasingly involved in activities with an international component, creating a demand for those trained to deal with the international environment. Similarly, business firms, even those that do not yet rely extensively on export markets, must deal knowledgeably with international competition and other international economic forces which affect their ability to survive in the marketplace. A large number of international organizations, whether intergovernmental and associated with the United Nations, for example, or private nonprofit organizations, also rely on people who are trained in any one of several traditional disciplines, integrated with an international, interdisciplinary emphasis.
Students in the master's degree program take courses with distinguished faculty members with related interests in any of the ten participating departments and school. Each student's supervisory committee is also made up of faculty from the participating departments and school. These faculty members may share an interest in a particular geographic area, for example, or in a topical specialty such as political and economic development or national security. Applicants can compete for the department's graduate assistantships.
Study Abroad Programs
International affairs students are encouraged to participate in the University's intensive study abroad sessions held each summer. Programs designed for graduate students are available in Dubrovnik, Istanbul, Panama, Prague, and Moscow. The programs are designed to expose students to a wide variety of issues and resources relating to their curriculum in an international setting.
Internships
The Degree Program in International Affairs provides a variety of internship opportunities designed to supplement coursework toward the master's degree. Some internship placements are with agencies and businesses in Florida's capital that work in the international arena. Others are available in Washington D.C. through our partnership with the Washington Center Program. Students can also apply for one of the several internships available in London where we place our students in Parliament, the American Embassy, Amnesty International, NBC, the Associated Press, the British-American Chamber of Commerce, and other significant organizations or in Panama with U.N. regional offices. All internships must be approved in advance by the program director.
Requirements
A candidate is admitted to the degree program by meeting the University's general requirements for graduate admission and by recommendation of the director and executive committee of the degree program. It is recommended that the student have undergraduate preparation in those fields where graduate work is contemplated. A candidate is admitted to the program by meeting the general requirements for graduate study. All applicants must take the verbal and quantitative portions of the Graduate Records Examinations (GRE) or equivalent prior to admission to the program. International students must submit official English proficiency test scores (TOEFL or IELTS) if their native language is not English.
The program is a total of thirty-one (31) credit hours, where students choose between completing a comprehensive exam or thesis route. Students selecting the first option will undergo comprehensive examination on the coursework taken for the degree during their last semester in the program. The choice will depend upon career objectives. Students must have prior approval of the director before selecting the thesis option.
All students are required to take:
- International Affairs Courses: INR 5935r, Special Topics (Colloquium) for one (1) semester hour; INR 5012, Problems of Globalism for three (3) semester hours; and INR 5938, Joint Seminar in International Affairs for three (3) semester hours
- At least nine (9), but no more than eighteen (18), semester hours in one of the participating programs
- Coursework in at least three (3) of the participating programs
- At least six (6) hours focusing on the developing or post-Communist world (i.e., outside of the United States, Canada, Western Europe, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand)
- A written master's comprehensive examination for the course type degree program or six hours of thesis hours and an oral master's thesis defense for the thesis type degree program.
Eight (8) semester hours in the thirty-one (31) hour program may be selected from outside the participating programs with the director's approval.
While students can take undergraduate courses as a graduate student, undergraduate coursework will not be eligible to count toward the thirty-one (31) credit hours. All thirty-one (31) credit hours must be 5000 and above.
All students must satisfy the foreign language requirement for the MA degree, even if they choose to graduate with a MS degree. Proficiency in a modern foreign language will be demonstrated by either: 1) passage of a Graduate Reading Knowledge Exam administered by the Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics at Florida State University (GER 5069, ITA 5069, POR 5069, RUS 5069, SPN 5069); 2) completion of twelve semester hours of college level coursework in a foreign language with an average grade of at least 3.0 ("B"); or 3) four years of a single language in high school; 4) if first language is not English: TOEFL or IELTS.
Up to six semester hours of language study beyond the initial twelve semester hours may be counted toward the degree requirements when taken under the appropriate graduate level numberings, as long as those courses represent work over and above that required to fulfill the foreign language requirement.
Required Core Courses
INR 5012 Problems of Globalism (3)
INR 5935r Special Topics (1–3) [Colloquium]
INR 5938 Joint Seminar in International Affairs (3)
Recommended Courses
Note: Descriptions of the following courses can be found under the departmental listings. In addition to the courses listed below, special topics courses may be approved by the program director in any particular term. These courses appear on the term course lists and are available at the International Studies Canvas Organization site as well as the program office in 211 Bellamy.
Anthropology
ANG 5115 Seminar in Archaeology (3) [Environment and Climate in Human]
ANG 5134 Nautical Archaeology of the Americas (3)
ANG 5137 Nautical Archaeology: Global View (3)
ANG 5172 Historic Archaeology (3)
ANG 5240 Anthropology of Religion (3)
ANG 5242 Symbol and Ritual (3)
ANG 5266 Economic Anthropology (3)
ANG 5275 Human Conflict: Theory and Resolution (3)
ANG 5309 Conquest of the Americas (3)
ANG 5352 Peoples and Cultures of Africa (3)
ANG 5426 Kinship and Social Organizations (3)
ANG 5471 Technology and Social Change (3)
ANG 5478 Cultural Evolution (3)
ANG 5491 Seminar in Social Anthropology (3) [Anthropology of Disaster]
ANG 5737 Medical Anthropology (3)
Economics
ECO 5005 Economic Principles for International Affairs (3)
ECO 5208 Global Macroeconomics (3)*
ECO 5305 History of Economic Thought (3)
ECO 5706 Seminar in International Trade Theory and Policy (3)
ECO 5707 International Trade (3)*
ECO 5715 International Finance (3)*
ECO 5716 Seminar in Theory and Policy of International Finance (3)
ECP 5115 Seminar in Economics of Population (3)
ECS 5005 Seminar in Comparative Economic Systems (3)
ECS 5015 Economic Development: Theory and Problems (3)
*Consult with instructor and see course description for required prerequisite coursework
Geography
GEA 5195r Advanced Area Studies (3). (Various regions)
GEO 5305 Biogeography (3)
GEO 5358 Environmental Conflict and Economic Development (3)
GEO 5406 Black Geographies (3)
GEO 5417 Race and Place (3)
GEO 5425 Cultural Geography (3)
GEO 5453 Global Health (3)
GEO 5472 Political Geography (3)
GEO 5704 Transport Geography (3)
History
AMH 5278 United States Since 1945 (3)
AMH 5518 Twentieth-Century United States Foreign Relations (3)
ASH 5266 Central Asia Since the Mongols (3)
EUH 5246 WWI: Europe, 1900–1918 (3)
EUH 5285 Europe Since 1945 (3)
EUH 5338 History of East Central Europe, 1815 to the Present (3)
EUH 5365 The Balkans Since 1700 (3)
EUH 5457 The Age of the French Revolution, 1715–1795 (3)
EUH 5458 Napoleonic Europe, 1795–1815 (3)
EUH 5467 Weimer and Nazi Germany (3)
EUH 5578 19th-Century Russia (3)
EUH 5579 20th-Century Russia (3)
HIS 5256 War and the Nation State (3)
HIS 5265 War and Society In the Age of Revolution (3)
LAH 5475 History of the Caribbean (3)
LAH 5749 Social Revolutionary Movements in Latin America (3)
WOH 5246 World War II (3)
Philosophy
PHH 5405r Modern Philosophy (3)
PHH 5505r 19th Century Philosophy (3)
PHH 5609r Contemporary Philosophy (3)
PHI 6425r Philosophy of Social Sciences (3)
PHI 6607r Ethics (3)
PHM 6205r Social and Political Philosophy (3)
Political Science
CPO 5127 Seminar in Comparative Government and Politics: Great Britain (3)
CPO 5407 Seminar in Comparative Government and Politics: The Middle East (3)
CPO 5740 Comparative Political Economy (3)
CPO 5934 Selected Topics (3)
INR 5036 International Political Economy (3)
INR 5088 International Conflict (3)
INR 5934 Selected Topics (3)
Public Administration
PAD 5079 Unmanned Aircraft Systems in Emergency Management (3)
PAD 5106 Public Organizations (3)
PAD 5173 Nongovernmental Organizations (3)
PAD 5208 Budget and Finance in Non-Profit Organizations (3)
PAD 5310 Disaster Management Planning for Urban Poor Communities (3)
PAD 5376 Introduction to Terrorism: Preparedness and Response (3)
PAD 5377 Advanced Topics Terrorism (3)[requires prerequisite course PAD 5376]
PAD 5389 Disasters: From Shock to Recovery (3)
PAD 5397 Foundations of Emergency Management (3)
PAD 5398 Emergency Management Programs, Planning, and Policy (3)
PAD 5475 Women, Disasters, and Conflict (3)
PAD 5835 International and Comparative Disaster Management (3)
PAD 5836 International and Comparative Administration (3)
PAD 5837 International Terrorism Policy (3)
PAD 5839 International Conflict and Terrorism (3)
PAD 5849 U.S. Intelligence Policy (3)
PAD 5885 Advanced Intelligence Analysis (3)
PAD 5895 Homeland Security: Policy and Practice (3)
PAD 5896 U.S. Intelligence Analysis and Communication (3)
PAD 5898 Global Security and Fusion (3)
Religion
RLG 5195r Seminar: Religion and Culture (3)
RLG 5305r Seminar: History of Religions (3)
RLG 5332 Modern Hinduism (3)
RLG 5354r Special Topics In Asian Religion (3)
RLG 5562 Modern Roman Catholicism (3)
RLG 5616 Modern Judaism (3)
RLG 6176r Seminar: Ethics and Politics (3)*
*Students in international affairs should get permission of the instructor before registering for this course.
Sociology
SYA 5018 Classical Social Theory (3)
SYD 5046 International Population Dynamics (3)
SYD 5105 Population Theory (3)
SYD 5135 Techniques of Population Analysis (3)
SYD 5215 Health and Survival (3)
SYD 5225 Fertility (3)
SYO 5306 Political Sociology (3)
SYO 5335 Sociology of Political Economy (3)
Urban and Regional Planning
URP 5272 Urban and Regional Information Systems (3)
URP 5355 International Transportation Planning (3)
URP 5405 River Basin Planning and Management (3)
URP 5424 Sustainable Development Planning in the Americas (3)
URP 5526 Healthy Cities, Healthy Communities (3)
URP 5544 Gender and Development (3)
URP 5610 Introduction to Development Planning (3)
URP 5611 Strategies for Urban and Regional Development in Less Developed Countries (3)
URP 5615 Infrastructure and Housing in Less Developed Countries (3)
URP 5616 Project Planning in Developing Countries (3)
URP 5847 Growth and Development of Cities (3)
URP 5939 Special Topics in Urban and Regional Planning (3) [Economic Development Practicum]
Definition of Prefixes
INR—International Relations
INS—International Studies
Graduate Courses
INR 5012. Problems of Globalism (3). This is a core course for all international affairs graduate students providing background for a theoretical and practical understanding of globalization and the international organizations that are significant actors in this process.
INR 5906r. Directed Individual Study (1–6). (S/U grade only). Subject varies with each student. May be repeated to a maximum of twelve semester hours.
INR 5910r. Supervised Research (1–3). (S/U grade only). May be repeated to a maximum of five credit hours. Department approval required for more than three semester hours to apply to the master's degree. Subject varies with each student.
INR 5935r. Special Topics (1–3). (S/U grade only). Topics vary. May be repeated to a maximum of twelve semester hours as topics change.
INR 5936r. Special Topics in International Affairs (1–3). Topics vary. May be repeated to a maximum of eighteen semester hours.
INR 5938. Joint Seminar in International Affairs (3). Provides a core course for all majors in the interdepartmental master's program in international affairs. It is an introduction to references and research tools in international relations; disciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches, and basic concepts in the field.
INR 5971r. Thesis (1–6). (S/U grade only). Topic varies with student. A minimum of six semester hours of credit is required.
INR 8966r. Master's Comprehensive Examination (0). (P/F grade only.)
INR 8976r. Master's Thesis Defense (0). (P/F grade only.)
INS 5906r. Directed Individual Study (1–6). The subject varies for each student. May be repeated to a maximum of twelve semester hours.
INS 5935. International Dialogue Seminar (3). This multi-disciplinary, graduate seminar is intended for students interested in acquiring the skills to become effective leaders in diverse cultural and organizational settings. Students from the U.S. and other nations share and integrate their personal and professional perspectives through class discussions, exercises and projects.
INS 5942r. International Affairs Internship (3-6). (S/U grade only.) This course is designed for students to gain real world experience through on-the-job practice. Interns can expect to gain valuable work experience, develop professional skills, cultivate valuable contacts and investigate career options. The course allows students to receive academic credit for internship placement in approved agencies and organizations.