ATLANTIS Transatlantic Degree Program in International Security and development policy
nATURE OF pROGRAM
The Atlantis Transatlantic Degree Program in International Security and Development Policy is intended to prepare students to work effectively with security and development practitioners from Europe and the United States and to develop future practitioners who have a mutual understanding of European and American security and development paradigms. This program is two years in length and results in two master’s degrees—one from a university in the United States and one from a university in Europe. It involves post-graduate work at three universities—the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in the US, the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin, and the International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University in The Hague.
Students spend the first year of the program in the US at the Maxwell School earning either a Master’s of International Relations (MAIR) or a Master’s of Public Administration (MPA) degree. In addition to core requirements, students participate in a Workshop on Security and Development Policy in the EU and US and complete a summer internship providing them with practical experience with regard to the making of security and development policy. The second year of the program is spent in Europe. Students spend the first semester of Year 2 in the Hertie School of Governance’s Master’s of Public Policy (MPP) program and their second semester in Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University (ISS)'s Master’s of Development Studies (MDS) program. During this second year they develop and complete a master’s thesis on a topic related to either security or development under the supervision of faculty from all three universities. Four different degree tracks are available to students in the program. They can receive the MPA and MDS degrees, the MPA and MPP degrees, the MAIR and MDS degrees, OR the MAIR and MPP degrees.
Students go through the degree program as a cohort. Stipends are available for 6 EU and 6 US students in each cohort that are intended to cover the costs of living and travel while in the other continent. The stipends are supported by grants from the European Commission and the US Department of Education. Students pay tuition and fees at the institution they are attending at the time. Because of differences in tuition costs between the EU countries and the US, rates have been negotiated to make such costs roughly equivalent. The language of instruction at the three institutions is English; however, German language courses are available at Syracuse University and in Berlin.
US students interested in this two-degree program should fill out the on-line application form available through Syracuse University that can be found here. Be sure to indicate on the form which degree you are applying to complete in the first year at the Maxwell School – the MPA or the MAIR. In addition to what is required through the on-line application form, students should attach a statement of interest in the Atlantis program indicating why they view this degree program as important to their education and career goals as well as which degree they intend to complete in Europe – the MPP or the MDS. In addition to submitting this statement of interest on-line, applicants should send a copy to hkarakas@maxwell.syr.edu. The deadline for these applications is February 1. EU students interested in the Atlantis Transatlantic Degree Program should go to the Hertie School website at http://www.hertie-school.org/degree-programmes-executive-education/mpp/study-abroad/atlantis-dual-degree-in-international-security-and-development-policy/ and follow the instructions indicated. Applications are due February 1.