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Students pursuing the Master of International Affairs will study national and international public policy and its underlying principles in a global context.

A multidisciplinary and integrated curriculum allows students to specialize in International Nongovernmental Organizations, Western Hemisphere Affairs, Trade Policy and Global Economic Governance, or a Special Concentration in which students will have the opportunity to design, in concert with a faculty advisor, a special concentration tailored to his or her particular interest and career ambitions.

The program offers a rigorous, multidisciplinary academic understanding and analysis of global governance and policy in the international setting. It introduces students to skills essential for the analytical study of public policy and for the assessment of the main issues in governance currently facing international policy-makers. It equips students with the theoretical tools and empirical evidence necessary for an in-depth understanding of policy-making within the general theories of public policy, comparative public policy and governance, international public administration, social and public policy in international and cross-national contexts. It also provides the intellectual and practical capabilities to pursue high-level tasks in the fields of political planning and political management in the public and private sector at the national, international and supranational level.

Students also receive advanced training in key techniques of policy analysis, budgeting, assessment of political culture, global communication strategies, regionally specific issues and comparative methods. The program offers opportunities for study in a variety of substantial social and public policy areas (e.g. welfare and social security, international development, housing, migration, health), across a range of national, regional (Latin America, Asia, Africa, and the European Union) and global settings. While our concentration in Western Hemisphere Affairs will focus on that region, the MIA program is committed to analyzing problems in a global context. The Marxe School has relationships with educational institutions in Europe, Latin America and Asia and students will have the opportunity to do internships or study abroad.

Core                                       (27 credits)
Budgeting and Financial Analysis I3 credits
Research and Analysis I3 credits
Research and Analysis II3 credits
Policy Analysis3 credits
Comparative Public Policy and Administration3 credits

International Institutions and Global Governance

3 credits

Global Economic Governance: Pacts, Actors, and Regimes

3 credits
International Economics3 credits
Global Communication3 credits


Specialization and Elective Courses          (12 credits) 

Students are required to complete 12 credits toward electives. Students must choose to specialize in one of the four specific specializations

Specialization in International Nongovernmental Organizations

Specialization Information (unofficial)

Baruch has one of the nation's largest and most distinguished professional nonprofit education degrees, as well as executive certificate and research programs focused on the sector. New York City is home to one of the world's largest concentrations of internationally focused nongovernmental organizations.

This concentration examines questions fundamental to the emergence and conduct of civil society at the national and international level: how political and social participation is mediated by INGOs, how the relationship between governments and INGOs emerges in different historical, legal, and cultural contexts, how INGOs can collaborate across national boundaries, and INGO management can improve sensitivity to local self-determination. As the number of domestically and internationally focused INGOs quickly expands throughout the world (e.g. in Brazil, Turkey and China) this focus will provide Baruch graduates with relevant expertise in policy impact and practical management. Concentration in this area will prepare students for careers at international institutions such as the United Nations, the World Bank and the IMF, local, national, and international issue-focused INGOs, as well as at corporate foundations, and businesses committed to promoting development through international public-private partnerships.

Students who wish to concentrate their MIA studies in international nongovernmental organizations must take 12 credits (four courses), 3 of which (one course) is required.

Mandatory Courses in International Nongovernmental Organizations  (3 credits)
International Nonprofit Organizations3 credits
Elective Courses in International Nongovernmental Organizations  (6 credits; select two from the following)

Government Contracting

3 credits
Public and Nonprofit Management I3 credits
Introduction to the Nonprofit Sector3 credits
Administration of the Nonprofit Sector and Voluntary Agencies3 credits
Fund Raising and Grants Administration in Nonprofit and Voluntary Organizations3 credits
Budgeting and Finance for Nonprofits3 credits

Emergency Preparedness, Response and Recovery

3 credits
Introduction to Philanthropy3 credits
Religion, Nonprofits, Politics, and Policy3 credits
Development Administration3 credits
Selected Topics in Public Affairs3 credits
Selected Topics in Nonprofit Management3 credits
Western Hemisphere Affairs: Past, Present, and Future3 credits
Diaspora, Migration, and Transnational Life in the Western Hemisphere and Beyond3 credits
Selected Topics in Public Policy3 credits
Globalization and Technology3 credits
Emerging Markets and the International Business Environment3 credits
Global Firms, Cultures, and Governments3 credits
Free Electives

Students must complete 3 additional elective credits of their choice. The one additional course may be from the list above, approved electives from the other specializations, the general Marxe catalog, or the WSAS or ZSB graduate catalogs with permission of an advisor.

Specialization in Western Hemisphere Affairs

The western hemisphere is home to the world's largest developed economy, one of the fastest emerging economies, one of its most vital trading blocs, and some of the most vigorous and complicated migration patterns anywhere on the planet. While there are several university centers that address the hemisphere as a whole, there are no degree programs in a policy school offering a concentration that considers all of North, Central and South America.

Specific topics of study in this concentration include migration, remission flows, trade policy and economic cooperation, regional planning, intra-hemispheric security, energy production/policy, and fostering closer relations among institutions of higher education throughout the hemisphere. The program draws on Baruch's considerable strengths in migration studies and Latin American studies, the Master program in Higher Education Administration and CUNY's Bildner Center in Western Hemisphere Affairs.

Graduates will aspire to careers in government, INGOs, international institutions, and private industry.

Students will develop in depth knowledge of the politics, economics and culture of our integrating hemisphere, preparing them for vital roles in government, foundations, international businesses, INGOs and international and regional financial and political institutions.

Students who wish to concentrate their MIA studies in western hemisphere affairs must take 12 credits (four courses), 3 of which (one course) is required.

Mandatory Courses in Western Hemisphere Affairs  (3 credits)

Western Hemisphere Affairs: Past, Present, and Future

3 credits
Elective Courses in Western Hemisphere Affairs   (6 credits; select two from the following)

Media, Politics, and Public Culture

3 credits
Organization Theory3 credits
Religion, Nonprofits, Politics, and Policy3 credits
Selected Topics in Public Affairs3 credits
Selected Topics in Nonprofit Management3 credits

Diaspora, Migration, and Transnational Life in the Western Hemisphere and Beyond

3 credits
Security in the Western Hemisphere: A Multi-Dimensional Approach3 credits
Trade Policy3 credits
International Political Economy3 credits

International Development

3 credits
Selected Topics in Public Policy3 credits

Globalization and Technology

3 credits

Emerging Markets and the International Business Environment

3 credits

Global Firms, Cultures, and Governments

3 credits
International Trade and Investment Law3 credits
Global Advertising and Marketing Communications3 credits
Internet Marketing and Global Business3 credits
Free Electives

Students must complete 3 additional elective credits of their choice. The one additional course may be from the list above, approved electives from the other specializations, the general Marxe catalog, or the WSAS or ZSB graduate catalogs with permission of an advisor.

Specialization in Trade Policy and Global Economic Governance

Integration in a globalizing economy can be a path to economic success. But for many countries the political adjustment has not been easy and the promises of equity have yet to follow. The challenges of managing trade, once the exclusive province of national governments, are an increasing and necessary interest of state and local governments as well. Trade can be nurtured, sometimes by governments, and more often by NGOs, to deliver a wider distribution of benefits, access for non-traditional participants, as well as more protection for the planet.

Students seeking to concentrate in this program will learn about the nuts and bolts of international trade and commerce, drawing on the Marxe School's resources as well as the resources of our sister school, the Zicklin School of Business, which is the largest collegiate business school in the nation with over 12,000 students.

Students will study the treaty relationships, including the history of efforts to develop free trade agreements, and government policies that shape trading environments -- and either advance or hinder related goals such as public health, environmental regulation, worker safety, and family integrity. They will examine tools such as micro-finance, insourcing, crowd funding and other approaches to ensuring wide access to the opportunities and benefits of trade. Potential employers for graduates from this concentration would include INGOs, the US government, international businesses, local governments seeking economic opportunity abroad, ports and regional transportation consortia, power companies, among others.

Students who wish to concentrate their MIA studies in trade policy and global economic governance must take 12 credits (four courses), 6 of which (two courses) are required.

Mandatory Courses in Trade Policy and Global Economic Governance      (6 credits)

Trade Policy

3 credits
International Development3 credits
Elective Courses in Trade Policy and Global Economic Governance         (6 credits; select two from the following)

Media, Politics and Public Culture

3 credits
Organization Theory3 credits
Development Administration3 credits
Selected Topics in Public Affairs3 credits
Selected Topics in Nonprofit Management3 credits
Western Hemisphere Affairs: Past, Present, and Future3 credits
Diaspora, Migration, and Transnational Life in the Western Hemisphere and Beyond3 credits
International Political Economy3 credits
International Regulatory Policy3 credits
Selected Topics in Public Policy3 credits
Globalization and Technology3 credits
Emerging Markets and the International Business Environment3 credits
Global Firms, Cultures, and Governments3 credits
International Trade and Investment Law3 credits
Global Advertising and Marketing Communications3 credits

Internet Marketing and Global Business

3 credits

 Special Concentration

The special concentration affords the opportunity to explore and combine subfields without sacrificing the rigorous core and the technical skills that it conveys. In concert with a faculty advisor, students will be able to design a program of study tailored to his or her interests and career ambitions.

Examples could include migrations and diasporas, hemispheric security, hemispheric marketing, and other topics. A faculty advisor will ensure that the electives cohere intellectually and professionally and that the special concentration comprises classes that will be offered during the student's projected terms to ensure timely completion, tailored to a student's interest and career ambitions.

Students who wish to do their MIA studies in the special concentration must take 12 credits (four approved courses).

Approved Electives in Special Concentration    (12 credits)
Approved Electives

Chosen with advisor’s approval from the list of required courses or approved electives from the other specializations, the general Marxe catalog, or the Zicklin School of Business or Weissman School of Arts and Sciences graduate catalogs.

12 credits

Internship                                         (3 credits)

Public Affairs Internship
(required of students with less than two years experience working with international agencies, governments, nonprofits or, in some cases, business. May be taken in NY, Washington or overseas.)
3 credits

Capstone                                           (3 credits)

Public Affairs Capstone Seminar3 credits
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