Graduate School of Public and International Affairs - Master of Public and International Affairs (MPIA)

The MPIA degree has three majors: Economic and Social Development (ESD), Global and Political Economy (GPE), and Security and Intelligence Studies (SIS).

The Economic and Social Development major involves the application of economics, public management, political science, and sociology to planned change in a number of areas, including agriculture, urban development, industry, public health, non-governmental organizations, education, and social programs. Students in international development, trained to recognize the economic, social, and political environments in which communities develop, gain experience planning, analyzing, appraising, and implementing projects at the local, regional, national, and international levels.

The Global and Political Economy major studies the interaction between economic and political processes in an international order moving toward globalization. Their studies will include courses in international trade; international finance; states and markets; multinational corporations, trade and technology, debt distribution and welfare, protectionism and liberalization.

The Security and Intelligence Studies major considers the meaning of security as it has changed and broadened in recent decades as the range of threats to national and international security has widened to include some that were previously ignored and others that were unimaginable. Students in the Security and Intelligence Studies major will examine the concept of security itself, the evolution of threats to national and international security, including conventional military, nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, as well as forms of terrorism and threats to economic and security and the environment.

Requirements for Masters of Public and International Affairs

The MPIA majors in Economic and Social Development, Global Political Economy, and Security and Intelligence Studies each require a minimum of 48 credits as detailed under each major description below.

Economic and Social Development Major (MPIA/ESD)

For the ESD major, the following curriculum requirements apply:

ESD Skills Courses

Students will choose one three-credit course from among those in the following areas listed below:

Statistics, Econometrics and Research Methods

PIA 2001 Quantitative Methods II

PIA 2003 Research Methods

ECON 1150/60 Applied Economics

Project/Program/Policy Design and Evaluation

PIA 2151 Introduction to Management Science

PIA 2157 Dynamic Optimization for Policymaking

PIA 2560 Project and Program Design

Methods for Management

PIA 2104 Financial Management

PIA 2132 Group Dynamics in Organizations

PIA 2155 Theory of Games: Concepts, Methods, and Applications

BACC 2017 Accounting for Nonprofit Organization

ESD Focus Field Courses

ESD majors are required to complete three courses for nine credits in one of the following focus fields:

Economic Development and Public Policy

Courses in this field focus on the economic analysis of the socio-economic effects of various public policies.

PIA 2115 Environmental Economics and Management

PIA 2116 Topics in Environmental Management

PIA 2302 International Financial Policy

PIA 2319 International Trade

PIA 2322 World Economic Patterns

PIA 2572 Earnings and Employment in the Third World

PIA 2755 Regional Development and Global Economy

PIA 2490 Development, the Environment, and the Economy

Social and Political Dimensions of Development

Courses in this field address the theoretical and conceptual issues in development.

PIA 2193 Gender, Race and Public Policy

PIA 2301 International Political Economy

PIA 2371 North-South Relations and International Economy

PIA 2490 Topics in International Affairs: Women in Development

PIA 2518 Ethics in International Affairs and Development

PIA 2525 Politics of Development

Public and Development Management

This focus field is available to students who plan to manage development programs in government (see MPA Program Course Listings for appropriate courses on managing personnel, budget and finances, the environment, management science, and management information systems).

Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs), Private-Volunteer Organizations (PVOs) and Community Development

See course listings under MPA program descriptions of the Nonprofit and Nongovernmental Organizations minor and the Public and Nonprofit Management major.

PIA 2170 Management of Nonprofit Organizations

PIA 2526 Micro-Politics: Nongovernmental Organizations and Development in a Civil Society

PIA 2520 Agricultural and Rural Development

Development Planning

Students will learn both theory and techniques for analyzing the spatial processes of development, with emphasis in areas such as economic development, housing, transportation, poverty, and community development.

PIA 2188 Economic Development Strategies and Practices

PIA 2322 World Economic Patterns

PIA 2515 Policymaking for Development under Conditionality

PIA 2706 Urban and Regional Methods

Environmental Management and Policy

(See course listing for MPA minor program in Environmental Management and Policy for possible courses.)

Human Resource Management in Development

Students are encouraged to select relevant courses in educational administration and health services administration from the Schools of Education and Public Health, respectively. With the assistance of their faculty advisors, students will select courses that will expose them to the impact of education, health, or population on economic and social indicators in developing countries; to the analytical approaches used by international agencies to design projects and implement policies; and to the various methodological tools used to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of a country's human resources.

Global Political Economy Major

For the Global Political Economy major leading to the Master of Public and International Affairs, students are required to complete a minimum of 48 credits:

PIA 2005 Macroeconomics (prerequisite: PIA 2008: Economics for Public Affairs, or waiver)

PIA 23XX Global Political Economy: Theories and Public Policy

PIA 2303 Security and Intelligence Studies: Theories and Public Policy

PIA 20XX Global Governance: Theory and Public Policy (required)

PIA 23xx Nationality, Nation-States, and International Politics (required)

PIA 23xx Professional Skills Workshops (four non-credit sessions)

Four additional courses required from the following:

Security and Intelligence Studies Major

For the Security and Intelligence Studies major leading to the Master of Public and International Affairs, students are required to complete a minimum of 48 credits:

School-wide Requirements	12 cr.
MPIA/SIS Core Courses	9 cr.

PIA 2005 Macroeconomics (required, prerequisite: PIA 2008: Economics for Public Affairs or waiver)

PIA 23xx Global Political Economy: Theories and Public Policy

PIA 2303 Security and Intelligence Studies: Theories and Public Policy

PIA 20xx Global Governance: Theory and Public Policy (required)

PIA 23xx Nationality, Nation-States, and International Politics (required)

PIA 23xx Professional Skills Workshops (four non-credit sessions)

Four additional courses required from the following:

MPIA Program Course Listings

PIA 2001 Quantitative Methods II

PIA 2003 Research Methods

PIA 2004 Microeconomics for Public Management and Policy (prerequisite: PIA 2008 or waiver)

PIA 2005 Macroeconomics (prerequisite: PIA 2008 or waiver)

PIA 2007 Quantitative Methods I

PIA 2008 Economics for Public Affairs

PIA 2009 Policy Analysis (prerequisite: PIA 2007: Quantitative Methods I)

PIA 2090 Foreign Study

PIA 2095 Computer Competency

PIA 2096 Capstone Seminar

PIA 2097 Independent Study

PIA 2098 Internship

PIA 2099 Thesis

PIA 23xx Nationality, Nation-States, and International Politics

PIA 23xx Global Governance

PIA 23xx Global Political Economy: Theories and Public Policy

PIA 23xx Security and Intelligence Studies: Theories and Public Policy

PIA 23xx International Trade: Theories and Issues

PIA 23xx International Finance: Theories and Issues

PIA 23xx MNCs, Trade, and Technology

PIA 23xx Trade in Services

PIA 23xx States and Markets

PIA 23xx Protectionism and Liberalization

PIA 23xx Debt, Distribution, and Welfare

PIA 23xx Globalization: Theories and Critiques

PIA 23xx Topics and Global Political Economy

PIA 23xx Non-Military Approaches to International Security

PIA 23xx Transnational Organized Crime and International Security

PIA 23xx Intelligence Analysis

PIA 23xx Peacemaking and Peacekeeping

PIA 23xx Current Issues in U.S. Security Policy

PIA 23xx The Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction

PIA 23xx Terrorism

PIA 23xx Computer Crime, Information Warfare, and Information Security

PIA 23xx Criminal Intelligence Analysis

PIA 23xx Topics in Regional Security

PIA 23xx Topics in International Security

PIA 2300 Working in International Affairs

PIA 2301 International Political Economy

PIA 2302 International Financial Policy

PIA 2303 National and International Security Policy

PIA 2305 Foreign Policy and Diplomacy

PIA 2314 Multinational Corporations and Political Risk Analysis

PIA 2316 Intercultural Communication

PIA 2319 International Trade

PIA 2321 Political Economy of International Trade

PIA 2322 World Economic Patterns

PIA 2336 Role of Strategic Intelligence in International Security Studies

PIA 2337 U.S. Security Policy in Asia

PIA 2341 Alternative Approaches to National Security

PIA 2344 Problems in International Security

PIA 2358 International Affairs Regional Foreign Policy Workshop

PIA 2363 International History

PIA 2364 Comparative Foreign Policy

PIA 2365 Transnational Organized Crime and International Security

PIA 2368 Multinational Regionalism

PIA 2371 North-South Relations and International Economy

PIA 2376 Transatlantic Relations

PIA 2377 U.S. and the Atlantic Alliance

PIA 2490 Topics in International Affairs

PIA 2490 Topics in International Affairs: Development, the Environment, and the Economy

PIA 2501 Issues in Development Management and Policy

PIA 2510 Economic Development and Policy Choices

PIA 2515 Policymaking under Conditionality

PIA 2518 Ethics in International Affairs and Development

PIA 2520 Agricultural and Rural Development

PIA 2522 Politics of Global Resources

PIA 2524 Financing Nongovernmental Organizations for Development

PIA 2525 Politics of Development

PIA 2526 Micropolitics: Nongovernmental Organizations and Development in a Civil Society

PIA 2560 Project and Program Design

PIA 2561 Project Planning and Design

PIA 2572 Earnings and Employment in the Third World

PIA 2573 Latin American Development Seminar

PIA 2574 African Development Seminar

PIA 2575 Seminar in Southeast Asian Development

PIA 2583 Economic Development