Academic Programs

The Jackson School offers seven majors and 16 minors (as well as a Tri-Campus minor in Human Rights) in international studies at the undergraduate level, as well as 10 Master’s level programs and a Ph.D. Program.


International Studies (General) Major and Minor

Students passing papersThe International Studies Program combines social sciences and humanities to examine international problems and change. Using a diverse, multidisciplinary approach, the program encourages undergraduate students to look at our increasingly interdependent world in order to learn how to study it and understand its politics, societies, economies, and cultures.

 


International Studies (Master of Arts)

Professor Lucero lecturingThis interdisciplinary graduate curriculum draws on both area studies and other disciplines in molding a new approach to the study of international affairs. This program is intended to help students approach a profession with a better understanding of how to relate it to an increasingly interdependent world. The MAIS emphasizes inquiry-based, critical analytic and writing skills that public and private employers demand.

 


Ph.D. Program

The Ph.D. Program combines a new cross-disciplinary approach with intensive area studies. The goal of the program is to advance problem focused graduate education in international studies in the face of contemporary global and local challenges. It seeks to integrate the renowned area-based capabilities of its existing graduate programs with leading-edge scholarship and practice in the field of international studies. This new and innovative program is aimed at those scholars and practitioners who want to develop deep knowledge of areas in the context of specific contemporary global themes, policy challenges, and real-world problems. It combines an intensive research tutorial system with specific coursework to allow doctoral candidates to finish in 3-4 years.