Named one of the top graduate international affairs programs by the Foreign Policy Association, the Julien J. Studley Graduate Programs in International Affairs (SGPIA) are distinctive in the New School tradition: critical, iconoclastic, engaged, and practical. The problems of the 21st century are urgent and global in scale, requiring new approaches to address them. SGPIA is singular in preparing students for careers that confront established hierarchies, epistemologies, ontologies, and institutions that reproduce power structures based on race, class, caste, and gender.
reframing international affairs for the 21st century
SGPIA students learn how to undertake this important work in a wide array of sectors and organizations, including governments, the United Nations, and non-governmental organizations based in the Global South. They engage with topics including security, development, human rights, humanitarian action, environmental justice, diplomacy, urban affairs, media, and technology with the aim of building a more just and inclusive world.
Moreover, SGPIA’s location in the heart of New York City—a center of diplomacy, business, art, and social justice activism—offers the program and its students a unique position from which to gain perspective and experience. Our diverse faculty of research scholars, public intellectuals, and professionals from around the world encourage students to think rigorously about complex international problems and explore creative new solutions aimed at fostering a more just world. In addition to the program’s unique orientation, students also benefit from field-based learning, small classes, and flexible study options.
“ To change the world, start with changing the perspective. In the Studley Graduate Programs in International Affairs, students and faculty explore new thinking to address the urgent crises of exclusion, inequality, displacement, authoritarianism, environmental destruction, and more.”
—Sakiko Fukuda-Parr, Professor of International Affairs
Dynamic Approaches to Global Issues
International Affairs students at The New School are encouraged to challenge conventional frameworks and develop new approaches to global problems. Through field-based learning and research opportunities with diverse external partners, students learn to integrate theory, policy, and practice—preparing for professional careers or further academic research as global leaders. Students benefit from university-wide resources and learning opportunities including:
• Research and fellowship opportunities offered through the university’s Observatory on Latin America, India China Institute, Vera List Center for Art and Politics, Zolberg Institute on Migration and Mobility, and Impact Entrepreneurship Initiative
• Courses in disciplines including social research, design, media, writing, environmental studies, and public policy offered by The New School for Social Research, Parsons School of Design, and the Schools of Public Engagement
• Extracurricular research opportunities available through the Global Urban Futures Project, Equity for Children, Engage Media Lab, and the New Context, the student journal of the International Affairs programs
Diverse Global Career Paths
Students in the International Affairs graduate programs come from diverse academic backgrounds, including the social sciences, economics, humanities, and media studies. While many arrive with a plan, others explore and define their career paths in the course of the program. After graduation, they pursue careers in a range of fields in locations around the world.
Our alumni community includes more than 1,700 graduates from over 90 countries who work in national governments, multilateral institutions, non-governmental organizations, media, and the private sector. Recent graduates hold positions at the International Rescue Committee, UN Women, UNICEF, CARE International, MSNBC, Save the Children, and Habitat for Humanity and in the government of Kuwait and the city of Buenos Aires. Many alumni work in small civil society organizations, such as the Huairou Commission, which advocates for women’s rights, and institutions such as the Heron Foundation, which finances impact investing. Others pursue positions with entrepreneurial consultancies.
Master of Arts
Our 42-credit Master of Arts (MA) is a transdisciplinary program that provides students with the theoretical frameworks, tools, and skills they need for professional practice and critical policy analysis in international affairs
Concentrations
Students specialize in one of five concentrations:
• Cities and Social Justice
• Conflict and Security
• Development and Global Justice
Curriculum
• Governance and Rights
• Media and Culture
The MA program combines core courses with a wide range of electives and opportunities for social research and hands-on experience.
Four core courses (12 credits)
Four concentration courses (foundation course and three electives) (12 credits)
Four additional electives (12 credits) Capstone Project (6 credits)
Students can take their first 18 credits online.
Master of Science
Our innovative 30-credit Master of Science (MS) degree is self-designed and modular, allowing early- to mid-career professionals to tailor their graduate studies to their interests and career goals.
The modular structure makes it possible for students to combine skills and knowledge drawn from courses in international affairs as well as programs in social research, design, and media. The MS can be pursued on a full-time or part-time basis. To apply, students must have at least three years of professional experience in the international arena. Returned Peace Corps volunteers with two years of service may be considered.
Module Combinations
The MS curriculum allows students to focus on subject and skill areas that further professional development in their chosen field. Each student selects one of the Subject modules and one of the Critical Tools and Analysis modules. Students can also design custom modules in consultation with advisors.
Combinations include:
• Humanitarianism + Monitoring and Evaluation
• Media and Advocacy + Media Production
• Cities and Sustainable Development + Geographic Information Systems
Curriculum
• Gender in International Affairs + Policy Analysis
• Migration and Refugees + Community Engagement and Participation
The MS program combines core courses with a wide range of electives and opportunities for social research and hands-on experience. The curriculum consists of:
Two core courses (6 credits)
Subject module (9 credits)
Critical Tools and Analysis module (6 credits)
Elective (3 credits)
Capstone Project (6 credits)
With permission from and in consultation with the program’s associate director, students can take their first 18 credits online.
Field-Based Learning
International Field Program
The International Field Program (IFP) enables students to spend nine summer weeks working and conducting research with community-based organizations, NGOs, and government agencies around the world. They gain hands-on experience abroad while following a rigorous course of study combining in-country seminars, professional internships, and independent research with faculty supervision. Since 2001, there have been IFP sites in more than 30 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Europe, with new sites frequently being added.
United Nations Summer Study Program
The UN Summer Study Program puts students on the ground in the UN and in New York City. This seven-week program goes beyond conventional security and diplomacy issues to investigate development, human rights, humanitarian action, peacebuilding, and environmental issues. Coursework enables students to understand and engage with contemporary global governance, while practicums provide hands-on experience in UN consultancy work.
Graduate Minors
In keeping with our commitment to interdisciplinary scholarship and collaboration, The New School offers structured study pathways called graduate minors. Minors immerse students in disciplines outside of their primary field, expose them to alternative modes of research and practice, and broaden their skills and career options.
newschool.edu/graduate-minors
Financial Aid and Funding
Our comprehensive financial aid program provides competitive merit-based scholarships and need-based aid for those who qualify. All applicants, including international students, are considered for merit aid. We also participate in government grant, loan, and work-study programs as well as programs for veterans of the U.S. armed services.
Additionally, SGPIA offers special funding opportunities including the Public Engagement Fellows Program and the Impact Entrepreneurship Fellowship. The New School also proudly recognizes returning Peace Corps volunteers, former Americorps/Teach for America participants, Charles Rangel Fellows, Thomas R. Pickering Fellows, and Donald R. Payne Fellows and partners with numerous organizations such as Fulbright and the Organization of American States to provide funding for graduate study in the master degree programs in International Affairs.
For more information on financing your education, visit newschool.edu/student-financial-services and email questions to sfs@newschool.edu.
“Our program helps you learn how to bend the arc of the moral universe toward justice and find a career path that enables you to realize this in practice.”
Peter J. Hoffman
WE ARE THE NEW SCHOOL
Since its founding in 1919, The New School has been a center of independent thought, dialogue, and action. We are a community that applies integrative approaches to global problems and leads the systemic change needed to make the world more equitable, more sustainable, and better designed for all. Today our university is made up of colleges offering courses in art and design, music and performance, the liberal arts and social sciences, management, media, and more.
Get in touch and take the next step
Contact our team, learn about admission requirements, attend an admission event, or make an appointment.
Contact the program
212.229.5150 x2 or 800.292.3040 x2 admission@newschool.edu
For important information including accreditation, student rights, campus safety statistics, and tuition and fees, visit newschool.edu/your-right-to-know. Published 2024 by The New School. The New School is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. Photo credits: Michelle Gevint, Matthew Mathews, Jacob Arthur Pritchard, Michael Kirby Smith.
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