The Graduate Institute has signed a memorandum of understanding with the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University to establish a dual degree master programme. Participants in this highly selective programme must be admitted independently by each institution and meet the eligibility criteria of both. Students will spend their first year at the Graduate Institute in Geneva and their second at the Kennedy School. On completing all requirements of both schools, they will obtain two masters degrees in two years, instead of three had the programmes been taken separately.
Full scholarships, covering tuition fees as well as living expenses, will be granted every year to four students (two in each institution) thanks to the generosity of Mr Pierre Keller, former senior associate at Lombard Odier (see below). The Director expresses his sincere gratitude to this long-time friend of the Graduate Institute for supporting the development of our institution and international Geneva.
The dual degree programme enables students to combine either the Master of International Affairs or the Master of Development Studies at the Graduate Institute with the Mid-Career Master of Public Administration at the Kennedy School. It is intended for outstanding professionals with a minimum of seven years professional experience and will allow them to add to a strong education in international relations or development issues, a high-level training in public administration.
The dual focus of the programme will give students the tools they need to pursue a career in national government, international institutions, NGOs or consulting firms, in particular those active in the field of development.
Applications to the programme will be accepted by the Graduate Institute until 15 March 2014. Since admissions at the Kennedy School are currently closed, interested candidates must indicate their intention to apply to the dual programme with Harvard Kennedy School.
Once admitted, students will submit their application to the Kennedy School during their first semester of study in Geneva and, if accepted, will study at Harvard in the 2015-2016 academic year. If not accepted, they will complete their master’s degree at the Graduate Institute.
Pierre Keller
Pierre Keller is a rare combination of diplomat and banker with an in-depth knowledge of academic institutions, in particular in the US and the UK. After completing a doctorate in international relations at Yale, he worked for the Swiss Bank Corporation in New York, then for the Swiss Diplomatic Service before joining Lombard & Odier in 1961, where he was a partner from 1970 to 1995.
Mr Keller shares longstanding ties with the Graduate Institute. He was a member and chairman of FERIS, one of the supporting foundations of the Graduate Institute, and is one of the founders of the International Centre for Monetary and Banking Studies. He was also a member and vice-president of the International Committee of the Red Cross and has played a prominent role in advisory functions for the President of Yale and the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University.
He is currently the chair of the Board of the Europaeum, whose membership includes the Graduate Institute, and a Trusteee of the Weidenfeld Institute for Strategic Dialogue.