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Program Overview
Program Overview - Fall
2005 Entrants
Syracuse University awards the degree of Master
of Arts in International Relations upon completion of graduate course work
totaling 39 credits with a grade point average of "B" (3.0) or better. In most
cases, 39 credits equate to 13 courses.
Required Courses:
Theories of International Relations (PSC 651)
Survey of Microeconomics for International Relations (ECN 601-2)
Introduction to Quantitative Methods (PSC 693)
Career Tracks and
Regional
Concentrations
You must complete both a career track
(topical concentration) and a regional concentration of three or more courses each.
Career tracks include: Global Markets, Global Security, Intercultural Communication and
Negotiation, Global Development Policy, International Environmental Policy,
International Law and Organization, Foreign Policy, Transnational Organizations and Leadership, and Global Information
Policy. Regional concentrations include Europe, Asia, and Latin America. It is also
possible to create a regional concentration in world geographies not adequately
covered through regular Maxwell coursework, i.e. the Middle East and Africa.
Students may enroll in graduate courses offered by various departments to
fulfill these requirements. Some topical seminars may allow you to write a
research paper dealing with a problem or policy of some region, such as ethnic
conflict in Bosnia. In such a case, in consultation with the Associate Director
of Graduate Studies, the course may be counted towards a concentration in
Europe.
Several courses may fit in more than one single concentration category. For
instance, Seminar on U.S.-East Asian Trade might fit a career track in Global
Markets as well as a regional concentration
in East Asia. However, you cannot count a single course as part of two
concentrations. The
Maxwell-Washington Summer Practicum may, under
appropriate conditions, help fulfill either the career track or the regional
concentration. Depending upon the work that you do in the internship, three
credits of the six-credit experience can count in either your career track or
geographic concentration. The key here is the nature of the internship itself.
If you wish to count part of the internship towards a concentration, you will
need to consult with the Associate Director of Graduate Studies prior to
undertaking the internship.
Language Requirement
Competence
in a second language is especially important to success in a career in
international affairs. In addition to the topical and the regional
concentration, you must demonstrate a working knowledge of a second language. As
a graduation requirement, students must demonstrate competence in a second
language, at least at a level which is achieved after completing two years of
formal, university-level language instruction in the language. International
students whose native language is not English can count English as their second
language.
Competence in a second
language can be demonstrated in several ways. You may present a college or
university transcript showing completion of study in the language at the level
of the fourth semester of instruction. You may sit for a short test (which is
ordinarily used to place undergraduates) administered by the Department of
Foreign Languages and Literature at Syracuse University. For certification of
competence in languages which are not offered at Syracuse University, the
department above, in conjunction with the International Relations Program, will
find an examiner.
The Master's Paper
A
non-credit requirement for the M.A. degree in International Relations is the
completion of a significant research or a policy paper on a topic of interest
pertaining to the theory or practice of international relations. Typically, the
MA paper is an extension or enhancement of a paper written for a completed
course. The program expects that your M.A. paper will reach a standard higher
than a very good seminar paper. The most likely avenue for you is to broaden a
completed paper or that two related papers be combined for the fulfillment of
the M.A. paper requirement.
While we do not want to
impose rigid length requirements, it is difficult to compose a paper with
sufficient scholarly grounding or rigorous argumentation in less than 30 pages.
We expect that the M.A. paper will be of a quality and form, if appropriate, to
permit its publication in a relevant scholarly or policy journal. You should
envision the paper as the culmination of your studies in International Relations
at the Maxwell School, and prepare it with the intention of advancing your
planned career or further studies.
Length of Study
The M.A. can
be earned in 16 months: four courses in the first fall semester, four courses in
the first spring semester, two courses in the summer session, and three courses
in the second fall semester. Students who have a research or a teaching
assistantship may choose to take three classes a semester while working up to 15
hours a week. This reduces their rate of progress and generally requires them to
study an additional semester.
Those international
students who require concomitant study of English composition will also need
longer to complete the program. And those students who are simultaneously
pursuing two graduate degrees will require longer, the amount of extra time
depending on the specifics of each joint degree program.
Outside Credits
Credit for courses taken at another institution at the graduate level of
instruction, in which the grade of "B" or better was earned, can be counted
toward the requirements for the M.A. in International Relations. Each course
must deal in an integral way with some aspect of international affairs which is
otherwise relevant to your program of study here. A maximum of 9 credits
(usually equivalent to three courses) may be taken outside of the Maxwell School
and applied to the M.A. in International Relations. This policy includes credits
transferred from another university, as well as courses taken at other Colleges
of Syracuse University (such as Law and Management) or SUNY-ESF. Students
completing one of the joint degree programs may not transfer in any outside
credits.
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