Concentrations
Students concentrate in a sub-specialization within the international affairs field. A concentration is declared after the completion of 18 credit hours by completion of the Declaration of Concentration form during registration with the student's advisor. Students must take the respective concentration "Foundation" course and at least three electives that count toward the respective concentration. An updated list of concentrations and approved courses is available each semester from the GPIA office.
Concentrations are offered in:
The Cities and Urbanization concentration has a focus on the respatialization of economy and community, cities as incubators for new forms of social life, urbanization as the context of new challenges for environmental and economic management and poverty reduction.
This concentration is designed for students who wish to develop a professional or academic interest in the areas of conflict, conflict prevention, and security. The course offerings, the selection of speakers, the research of associated faculty, and the practical work by students conducted in the concentration reflect a number of core beliefs. We share a sense that the fields of conflict and security are changing quickly; that it is crucial to explore the relationship of conflict and security to other areas such as socioeconomic development, social welfare, and humanitarianism; and that emerging professionals in this area must combine both conceptual understanding and practical tools.
This concentration is designed for students who wish to develop a professional or academic interest in the global challenges of development, inequality and poverty. The concentration focuses on concepts, measurement tools, and policies alternatives. The course offerings, the research of associated faculty, and the work of students reflect a number of core motivations. We share a commitment to development as a process that is fundamentally about improving human well being, and securing greater social justice. We believe that the challenges of economic growth, social development, political freedoms, cultural diversity and security are inter-related and that the analysis of development requires an inter-discimplinary approach. Courses offered address issues such as economic globalization, human rights and development ethics, gender, sustainability, human security, and social policy.
Government and Rights focuses on the relation between order, freedom, and responsibility in the global political and legal context. Governance is the ensemble of practices and institutions concerned with the formal ordering of society. This includes local and national government, international organizations, and civil society. Rights refers to claims by individuals and groups for specific entitlements that invoke obligations. The concentration explores how governance structures secure, maintain, or constrain rights, and how rights claims serve to construct, create, and challenge practices of government. Within the concentration there is currently a special focus on human rights, international law and refugee issues, and migration.
The GPIA Media & Culture in International Development (MCID) concentration explores theory and practice in the intersection of politics, economics, press and entertainment, public and state policy, and international and domestic cultural conditions. In particular, MCID focuses on the fascinating and complex relationship between media and democracy around the world. MCID pays equal consideration to the role of state and private institutions, with attention to their positive and negative influences on the media in both democratic and non-democratic societies.