International Relations

The interdisciplinary Master of Arts in International Relations (MAIR) degree combines the Maxwell School’s long-standing engagement with contemporary world problems with scholarly and practical approaches to addressing them. The degree incorporates an academic study and professional field training to prepare students to address pressing international challenges from positions in the public, non-profit, and private sectors. Over their 16-month period of study, students complete 40 credits of course work offered by the Maxwell School’s social science departments.

The degree incorporates academic study and professional field training to prepare students to address pressing international challenges from positions in the public, non-profit, and private sectors. Over their 16-month period of study, students complete 40 credits of coursework offered by the Maxwell School’s social science departments.

MAIR Degree Overview

Featuring a global student body, the MAIR degree provides [DVS1] rigorous academic and professional training for positions in the public, non-profit, and private sectors.

The degree emphasizes an interdisciplinary curriculum drawn from across the social science departments of the Maxwell School. It builds on the research conducted in its internationally-focused research centers, such as the Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration, the Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism, and the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs and its seven regionally focused centers. Students may also take courses in other colleges at the University, particularly the College of Law, the Whitman School of Management, the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, and the School of Information Studies, as well as the State University of New York’s New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF).

The MAIR degree requires 40 credits of coursework. All students complete a core curriculum of five courses, to ensure proficiency in international relations theory, economics, management, program and research evaluation, and statistics. By the end of their studies, students will also show significant cultural and linguistic competencies by demonstrating proficiency in a second, modern foreign language

Students choose one interdisciplinary signature course, which serves as the foundation for a career track specialization in an international relations sub-field. These tracks consist of 12 credits of coursework in one of the following areas: peace, security, and conflict, international development, governance and diplomacy, and international trade, as well as a wide variety of area studies of Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East.

Elective courses offer an understanding of the pressing challenges present in the international system. These course options include the Maxwell School’s internationally-focused social science electives or other internationally-focused graduate-level coursework at Syracuse University.

Students pair academic study with practice in the discipline through a required professional internship experience. This internship experience is conducted in Washington, D.C. or overseas through a multitude of Global Program offerings hosted by the Maxwell School or other Syracuse University international partnerships.