Overview | Qualifications | Cost | Fall 2023 Courses
Resources | Testimonials | Calendar | MIP in DC Brochure
The Master of International Policy (MIP) educates those who have already begun their careers in the fields of international affairs and national security. Students admitted to the program will have at least four years of professional experience in those fields, broadly understood. The degree is offered in residence at the Bush School Washington, DC (with an option of taking up to 6 credit hours online).
Overview
The Master of International Policy program is a 30-credit-hour program with no capstone project requirement.
Curriculum:
Students will take courses from the National Security and Diplomacy (NSD) track. The curriculum consists of two required courses (6 credit hours) in both the theory and practice of international politics and in fundamentals of the global economy. Additional elective courses are chosen from the NSD track, with the option to concentrate in specific subject areas as the curriculum develops.
- The curriculum consists of two required courses:
- INTA 606—The Theory and Practice of International Politics (3 credit hours)
- INTA 608—Fundamentals of Global Economy (3 credit hours)
- Students take five courses (15 credit hours) in the National Security and Diplomacy track.
- The remaining three courses (9 credit hours) are electives.
The full degree can be completed either on a part-time basis or, if a student desires, over the course of a year. To complete the program as a fulltime student in a year, the student will take a regular four-course load in the fall and spring semesters and two courses via distance learning from the Bush School’s Office of Extended Education in the summer.
For information on application procedures, please contact our Admissions Office at bushschooDC@tamu.
Qualifications
A bachelor’s degree and a minimum of four years of professional experience in the field of international affairs, broadly understood, are required. (Such experience does NOT include educational experiences like semester abroad or undergraduate internships.)
Cost
The Bush School of Government and Public Service is committed to supporting graduate students as they pursue careers in public service. The Bush School DC offers an affordable fixed rate tuition:
- Estimated yearly cost: $1,300 per credit hour (3-credit-hour course = $3,900)
Academic Resources
Career Services:
Students will have access to dedicated one-on-one career counseling with our Director of Enrollment Management, Career and Student Services.
Writing Resources:
The Bush School DC provides writing services to help students with academic and professional writing. Appointments can be in person or online.
Bush School DC Library:
The Bush School DC provides an in-house librarian to help students with any research needs. In addition to our collection of library resources, students have access to Texas A&M’s vast digital and library collections.
Fall 2023 Courses
The following is a tentative schedule for classes in Fall semester 2023. Students will register for classes through the Texas A&M “Howdy” portal.
All classes meet in Bush School DC location – 1620 L Street, NW.
Monday
Day: Monday | Instructor: Pino | Time: 6:30-9:10pm
Syllabus: Fall 2023
Course Description: Key questions that we will seek to answer will include: Why did the Arab Spring protests that swept the Middle East in 2011 calling for sweeping change end in region-wide conflict, failed states, and increased repression? What impact has turmoil and violence in the Middle East had on US interests and US policy toward the region? How do Middle Eastern states view the US role and presence? What are the key factors—including the role and policies of the United States–that will shape the future of the region? We will attempt to answer these questions by taking an in depth look at the causes and consequences of the Arab Spring, the impact on specific countries, and the role of regional and outside actors in the various conflicts that the Arab uprisings have spawned. The course also examines the evolution of US policy since the Arab uprisings and the future US role in a time of great uncertainty. Finally, the instructor will draw on his experience as the National Intelligence Offer for the Near East at the National intelligence Council to discuss the role that US intelligence plays in informing policymakers.
Day: Monday | Instructor: Lemon | Time: 6:30-9:10pm
Syllabus: Fall 2023
This course aims to provide students with the conceptual and critical tools to understand and analyze the origins, institutions, and policy challenges of contemporary American foreign policy. In assessing the transition away from the post-9/11 focus on non-state actors, irregular warfare, and counterterrorism towards a “return” to great power or strategic competition and the challenges posed by adversary states, we will evaluate how American policymakers and institutions have addressed core questions about American statecraft since the founding of the Republic.
Day: Monday | Instructor: Kelly | Time: 6:30-9:10pm
Syllabus: Fall 2023
Course Description: This course is a graduate level introduction to US policy toward Latin America—past, present, and future. The analytical framework and factual content that this course provides will serve as a basis for students’ specific individual research projects dealing with political, economic and social issues in the region and will provide a forum to think, learn, and talk about Latin America in relation to US policy. We will explore the foundations of US policy in the region as a basis for our investigation of current issues.
Day: Monday | Instructor: Laurienti | Time: 6:30-9:10pm
Syllabus: Fall 2023
Course Description: This course will provide a deep dive into three issues that are among the most prominent in shaping interactions across Africa today: conflict, demographics, and development. Exercises around practitioner experiences will be at the core of classroom interactions. The course will be divided into thirds, with each section dedicated to one of the three issue areas, but the course will include some overlap between the areas, particularly demographics, which is a key driver of the other two course themes.
Day: Monday | Instructor: Shim | Time: 6:30-9:10pm
Syllabus: Fall 2023
Course Description: This course addresses emerging political economy questions related to the resurgence of geoeconomic competition and the potential end of the liberal economic order. As key states in the global economic system shift from market to security logics in assessing the benefits and costs of economic openness, the institutional rules and norms that structured economic exchange have begun to change. We will study how East Asian states use economic tools to achieve its political objectives and how geography can be linked to political economic imperatives and trends at the global level.
Tuesday
Day: Tuesday | Instructor: Weber | Time: 6:30-9:10pm
Syllabus: Fall 2023
Course Description: This course provides an in-depth analysis of the politics, institutions, and security dynamics of Europe, including the history, evolution, and current state of the European Union (EU) and NATO as supranational entities.
Day: Tuesday | Instructor: Lemon | Time: 6:30-9:10pm
Syllabus: Fall 2023
Course Description: This course examines the interplay between people, regimes and power, a field called comparative politics. In this course, we will examine how political institutions, actors, and processes arise, operate and change around the world and how they affect society, culture, and the economy. Using the comparative method, which seeks to understand the similarities and differences between these systems, we can examine complex and fundamental issues.
Day: Tuesday | Instructor: Shynkaruk | Time: 6:30-9:10pm
Syllabus: Spring 2023
Course Description: This course provides students with an introduction to the study of international relations. The purpose of this course is to systematically study international interactions across borders between actors with different interests and ideas, such as states, non-governmental organizations, multinational corporations and international organizations. In this course we will explore topics, encounter puzzles, examine theories, and evaluate evidence to try to gain a greater understanding of world politics.
Day: Tuesday | Instructor: Carr | Time: 6:30-9:10pm
Syllabus: Fall 2023
Course Description: This is course introduces students to the interpretation and application of social science research methods and critical thinking. This course emphasizes the comparison of alternative philosophies of research, ways of formulating questions/hypotheses, research plans, and analysis procedures. Students evaluate existing studies and investigate a range of research approaches.
Day: Tuesday | Instructor: Gentile | Time: 6:30-9:10pm
Syllabus: Fall 2022
Course Description: Rising in the post WWII era and honed to effect during the Cold War, Defense Intelligence became the indispensable component of warfighting anchoring our National Defense. Defense intelligence has evolved and matured to a diverse and multifaceted enterprise responsible for supporting a wide range of activities from national policy decision making, through Combatant Commander joint and combined operations, to provisioning relevant intelligence and capability directly impacting tactical combat operations.
Wednesday
Day: Wednesday | Instructor: Gause | Time: 6:30-9:10pm
Syllabus: Fall 2023
Course Description: Oil has been described as the most important commodity in the world. It might also be the most political. This course will examine three important issues in the political economy of global oil.
Day: Wednesday | Instructor: Ross | Time: 6:30-9:10pm
Syllabus: Fall 2023
Course Description: “National Security Investigations and Operations” is a three-hour graduate course designed to give students an in-depth understanding of federal counterintelligence, and counterterrorism investigations and operations. It introduces students to the jurisdictions of federal law enforcement agencies and the roles and responsibilities of Special Agents. The course employs a practicum approach, utilizing classroom instruction, followed by exercises intended to allow the student to experience all facets of a simulated investigation.
Day: Wednesday | Instructor: Weber | Time: 6:30-9:10pm
Syllabus: Spring 2022
Course Description: This survey course on Russian politics and statecraft addresses enduring questions on a huge, critical, yet poorly understood country. We will evaluate Russia’s patterns of cooperation and confrontation with other great powers, Russia’s role in Eurasia, the tension between the state and the market, and a political culture that combines strong formal laws yet very weak political institutions.
Day: Wednesday | Instructor: Shim | Time: 6:30-9:10pm
Syllabus: Fall 2022
Course Description: This course is designed to familiarize students with International Political Economy (IPE). IPE considers the flows of production, distribution, and consumption across national borders, recognizing that not just national governments play a role, but individual actors and international institutions must also be taken into account. In this class, you will study how politics influence global economy and vice versa, where at least one of the variables is international.
Day: Wednesday | Instructor: Peterlin | Time: 6:30-9:10pm
Syllabus: Fall 2023
Course Description: The course focuses primarily on the institutions and process by which the President and the executive branch determine (and execute) the diplomatic priorities of the nation and addresses the roles of Congress and the Courts. We’ll discuss some domestic policy examples, as they illustrate the pressures on the institutions in our constitutional republic. Students will engage both analytical frameworks and examples, as they investigate how the policy-making process varies across different issue areas, and whether that variability raises concerns.
Thursday
Day: Thursday | Instructor: Ross | Time: 6:30-9:10pm
Syllabus: Spring 2023
Course Description: This three-hour graduate course is a survey of intelligence community structure, operations, tradecraft, and objectives, with a particular emphasis on how intelligence has contributed and continues to contribute to national security. All intelligence community mission areas will be examined in detail, including collection (human, signals, and imagery), covert action, liaison, analysis, and counterintelligence.
Day: Thursday | Instructor: Mattis | Time: 6:30-9:10pm
Syllabus: Fall 2023
Course Description: This course is an intensive reading and research course in Chinese strategic thought from the Warring States period (403-221 BC) to 21st Century China. Much of the secondary literature on Chinese strategic thought argues there are key continuities in approaches to war and peace that cut across time and historical context. For the past two decades there has been a renewed attention to Sun Zi both inside the Chinese military professional education system and out.
Day: Thursday | Instructor: Daly | Time: 6:30-9:10pm
Syllabus: Spring 2023
Course Description: This course will examine the fundamentals of understanding the threat posed by terrorism, the basics of counterterrorism, and look at several key issues important to the study of terrorism. The approach of this course is multi-disciplinary, examining terrorism through the lens of political science, history, law, economics, criminology, and religious studies. The course is designed to provide a basis for understanding the phenomenon of terrorism, and to set it into an appropriate context in relation to other critical issues facing a globalized society.
Day: Thursday | Instructor: Kanin | Time: 6:30-9:10pm
Syllabus: Fall 2022
Course Description: This course will examine the theory, practice, institutions, and non-governmental actors involved national security interests and decision-making. It will consider US relations with allies and adversaries, and approaches to crises and conflict-prone regions.
Day: Thursday | Instructor: Shynkaruk | Time: 6:30-9:10pm
Syllabus: Fall 2023
Course Description: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 brought the East European region back into the spotlight of global politics and a new security reality raising the specter of a new Cold War. This course will review East European states’ history and political culture, state- and nation-building experiences, and the role of identities in shaping their geopolitical futures. We will look into case studies of the different trajectories of post-communist transformations in interplay with their domestic and international politics. The course will explore Russia’s evolving confrontation with other great powers over its privileged role in the region.
Testimonials
“Dr. Weber’s International Relations Theory course was the most challenging, rewarding, and important class I’ve ever taken. He helped me understand how the real world works, and how to look beyond the headlines and interpret current events.”
ALEXANDRA RUSSO
Project Engineer at Leidos
“America faces serious national security challenges every day. As a student at The Bush School, my professors and course work gave me the knowledge and skills I needed to take my career to the next level, meet those challenges directly and make a real difference from Day 1.”
CODY CAZARES
Senior Advisor for Congressman Michael T. McCaul
“Our students are inspirational! They choose this School and University because they want to serve their fellow citizens. They’re serious about tackling the most pressing issues facing the world today. I’ve met graduates of the Bush School all over the globe; they’re making a difference each and every day. President George H. W. Bush’s vision of preparing principled leaders for service to their community, their nation, and their world is alive and well. The Master of International Policy program will advance that vision even further!”
MARK WELSH
Dean, Bush School of Government and Public Service
Former Chief of Staff, United States Air Force
“Our students have a stellar opportunity to pursue higher education in the very heart of our nation’s capital, with a wealth of resources, along with the power and reach of a robust network of alumni to welcome students into the “Aggie” family. Carrying the name of George H.W. Bush, our nation’s 41st president, Bush School students understand and appreciate the noble calling of public service. Our faculty are real world practitioners helping prepare students to advance their careers.”
JAY SILVERIA
Executive Director
Academic Calendar
The following changes to the Texas A&M University’s 2022-23 Academic Calendar will apply to Bush School DC. They are occasioned by different holidays in the District of Columbia that will require the closing of the teaching site.
