Curriculum overview
To earn a Master in International Affairs, students must complete a total of 120 credits over four semesters. The curriculum is composed of five core elements:
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Compulsory courses
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Courses taken under specific specialisation tracks
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Elective courses
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Courses aimed at professional skills (a Capstone project, skills workshops and an internship)
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Master’s thesis
Compulsory Courses
Students are required to take two compulsory methods courses in the first and second semester respectively: Statistical Methods for Social Sciences in the Autumn and Social Inquiry and Qualitative Methods for International Affairs and Development in the Spring.
Students are further required to take two compulsory core courses out of a choice of four during their programme: Applying Organisation Theories to Practice; Gender and International Affairs; Global Governance and Regulation: Actors and Processes; and War.
Each compulsory course is worth 6 credits.
Specialisations
Before the second semester, students choose a specialisation from a choice of three: Global Security; Trade and International Finance; and Environment, Resources and Sustainability. The last track is offered in both the Master in International Affairs (MIA) and the Master in Development Studies (MDEV).
Students are required to complete one core courses in their specialisation for 6 credits (out of a choice of two) and obtain 18 credits of elective courses within the track. If an additional core course is taken within the specialisation, it will count towards the 18 credits of specialisation electives or the free elective credits.
In addition to the specialisation tracks, the Master in International Affairs offers two specialisation clusters consisting of elective courses related to Global Health and Gender. There are no required courses in these clusters.
Students have the option, but are not required, to declare a secondary specialisation in a track offered either in the MIA programme (other than the one selected as a first specialisation), in the MDEV programme (Mobilities, Spaces and Cities; Power, Conflict and Development) or the clusters on Global Health and on Gender. If so, they should obtain 12 credits within the specialisation or cluster during any of the four semesters.
Elective Courses
Students are required to choose electives from a wide range of courses which are either taught in the interdisciplinary programmes, or offered by the five disciplinary departments.
The following courses can count towards the electives requirements of the programme:
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Interdisciplinary (MINT) electives | Courses specific to the MIA and MDEV programmes which are not listed under specialisation tracks
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Any course from the Master in International Affairs (MIA) programme
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Any course from the Master in Development Studies (MDEV) programme | Excluding the compulsory courses
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Disciplinary electives | Courses from the disciplinary departments offered to MDEV students without priority during registration.
Students are required to obtain 24 credits of elective courses.
Professional Skills
Capstone Projects
Capstone projects are applied research seminars worth 9 credits that enable students to work closely with one of the partner institutions of the Graduate Institute, exposing them to real-world international affairs issues, while enabling them to build networks in the Geneva’s world of international organisations. Capstone projects extend over the second and third semesters and are completed by the end of the Autumn semester of the second year.
Professional Skills Workshops
The workshops are interactive teaching modules that put students into real-world professional situations, providing them with the competencies to become effective and ethical skilled decision-makers. Each skills workshop accounts for 3 credits.
Students must take 2 skills workshops in the first year of their programme – one in the Autumn and one in the Spring semester of the first year of their programme.
Internship
Students can request to validate an internship for 3 credits, subject to approval. The internship usually takes place between the second and third semesters of the programme, working with an organisation or company with a mission and activities which are relevant to the curriculum. If they choose not to do so, students are required to obtain an additional 3 credits of elective courses.
Thesis
The final element of the Master in International Affairs is the thesis, which is a piece of independent and original research between 15,000 and 25,000 words carried out under the supervision of a faculty member. Students have to submit their dissertation topic and secure a supervisor by the end of the second semester.
Dissertation Guidelines