Master of International Affairs (MIA)
Master of International Affairs
Curriculum | View By Semester | Tracks | Concentrations | Courses | Admissions 🗗
MIA Requirements
The MIA degree program requires two years (four semesters) of full time study and completion of 48 credit hours. Students must take five core courses (15 credit hours) as well as three courses (9 credit hours) in each of two concentrations. During the summer between their first and second years, students must complete an internship or a language immersion experience. In their final semester, students will work on a capstone project alongside a faculty member and a group of peers.
Core Courses
All students are required to take the following four core courses (12 credit hours), which will help them acquire foundational knowledge and critical skills for international public service:
- BUSH 631: Quantitative Analysis I.
- INTA 606: International Politics in Theory and Practice.
- INTA 608: Global Economy.
- INTA 670: Capstone.
Students are also required to take a fifth core course, determined by which track they choose to pursue while at the Bush School:
Students in the national security and diplomacy track must take:
- INTA 605: American Foreign Policy
Students in the international development and economic policy track must take:
- BUSH 635: Quantitative Analysis II
Choosing a Track and Concentration
MIA students must select a track (either National Security and Diplomacy or International Development and Economic Policy) and a minimum of two concentrations that will enable them to focus their studies on areas of interest. One concentration must come from within their track. The other may be chosen from any MIA or Master of Public Service and Administration (MPSA) concentration, or students may choose to create their own concentration.
Free Elective Courses
The curriculum as described above creates a degree plan consisting of five core courses (15 credit hours) and two concentrations of three courses each (six courses; 18 credit hours). To complement the program of study thus constructed, every MIA student selects four additional courses that maximize their professional development. These courses can be any course offered in the Bush School (either in the Department of International Affairs or in the Department of Public Service and Administration) or any graduate course offered elsewhere in the university. A student may also use these “free electives” to create a third concentration.
Team Capstone for Client
The final component of the MIA degree at the Bush School is a capstone seminar (3 credit hours) in the student’s second year. During the capstone, each student is a member of a small team working under the supervision of a faculty member on a problem of interest to a client, usually a government agency or a nongovernmental organization. The capstone replaces a traditional thesis in order to provide students with the opportunity to apply their knowledge and skills in a real-world situation.
Language Requirement
A foreign language background is not required for admission into the program. To graduate, however, a student must successfully pass a foreign language exam administered in accordance with the ratings of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. The student must demonstrate a minimal proficiency in speaking and comprehension at the established rating of “intermediate low.”
Internship or Language Immersion
During the summer term between the two years of study, a student is required to either participate in an internship related to the student’s international career plans or enroll in an intensive foreign language and cultural study. Internships in the U.S. or abroad provide practical experience in an organization or agency engaged in the conduct of some dimension of world affairs. Students who require more preparation to successfully complete the foreign language test requirement or who wish to improve their language skills may substitute enrollment in an approved immersion program in place of the internship.
