Master of Arts in International Relations
Program Director: Lasha Tchantouridzé
Associate Program Director of Academics: Charles Lerche
The Master of Arts in International Relations will have three parts. The first two parts consist of taught seminars; the program will have required seminars followed by electives. After completing the required seminars, students will proceed to the electives. At the end of the program students will take their field exam in the discipline of International Relations.
The field exam will consist of issues from the required seminars, as well as those two seminars elected by a student. Satisfactory completion of the field exam will be required to graduate from the program. The third part of the program will consist of research elements – students will be expected to complete a Master’s research paper (MRP) of approximate length of 10 to 12 thousand words. Students will be encouraged to select their MRP or capstone topic as early as possible, and by the end of Seminar Four they will have advisors assigned. Students will be encouraged to choose their elective seminars according to their research interests. Master’s Research Paper will be a shorter version of MA thesis, with one important difference: students will not be asked to make original contributions to the field of international relations. Although it is not difficult to identify original theses statements in IR, even at Master’s level, fundamental difficulties exist in the field in terms of scholarly rigor and methodology of fully investigating the proposed research questions. Such challenges are common in the discipline at Master’s level and tend to exist even at wealthy schools – the challenges are connected with the limitations that naturally exist for those who study international security and history – it is seldom possible for Master’s students to do substantial field research, especially in the areas of conflict.
Curriculum Map/Plan of Study
Term 1 | ||
World Politics Intl Relations | 6 | |
Term 2 | ||
One concentration course | 6 | |
Term 3 | ||
One concentration course | 6 | |
Term 4 | ||
One elective course | 6 | |
Term 5 | ||
Field Exam | 0 | |
Masters Research Paper I and Masters Research Paper Conclusion and Examination | 9 | |
MIR Residency 1 | 0 | |
Total Cr. | 33 |
1 | Students are required to attend a one-week, on campus Residency Conference in the June following or concurrent with their final course. |
Curriculum Requirements
All students in the Master of Arts in International Relations program are required to complete the following courses in the order prescribed in the curriculum map/plan of study for the degree.
Core Courses for all Concentrations | ||
IR 510 | World Politics Intl Relations | 6 |
IR 555 | Field Exam | 0 |
IR 590 & IR 591 | Masters Research Paper I and Masters Research Paper Conclusion and Examination | 9 |
IR 595 | MIR Residency | 0 |
Total Cr. | 15 |
Concentration Areas
All students in the Master of Arts in International Relations program must select one concentration area of study and will complete 18 credits in the concentration.
International Security Concentration Courses | ||
IR 520 | American Foreign Policy | 6 |
IR 530 | International Security | 6 |
GD 540 | Conflict Avoidance, Prevention & Containment in the International System | 6 |
or GD 541 | The Practice of Diplomacy | |
or GD 550 | Conflict Resolution & Post-Conflict Reconstruction in the International System | |
or GD 560 | Military Intervention & Conflict Management in the International System | |
or GD 561 | Human Rights and Conflict in the International System | |
or GD 562 | International Response to Transnational Terrorism | |
Total Cr. | 18 |
National Security Concentration Courses | ||
IR 520 | American Foreign Policy | 6 |
IR 531 | National Security | 6 |
IR 541 | Intel & Natl Security Policy | 6 |
Total Cr. | 18 |
International Development Concentration Courses | ||
GD 530 | Economics and the International System | 6 |
IR 543 | PoliEconomy of IntDevelopment | 6 |
IR 553 | Capital and international Development | 6 |
Total Cr. | 18 |
Cyber Diplomacy Concentration Courses | ||
GD 520 | Law and the International System | 6 |
Policy Track Seminars | ||
GI 556 | Cyber Crime | 6 |
or GI 557 | Cyber Law | |
GI 566 | Critical Infra. Protection | 6 |
or GI 567 | International Perspectives on Cyberspace | |
Cyber Systems Seminars | ||
GI 554 | Computer Security Incident Response Team Management | 6 |
or GI 562 | Vulnerability Management and Penetration Testing I | |
GI 551 | Computer Forensic Investigations | 6 |
or GI 563 | Vulnerability Management II | |
Total Cr. | 18 |
Regions of the World Concentration Courses | ||
IR 520 | American Foreign Policy | 6 |
IR 530 | International Security | 6 |
IR 549 | Regions of the World | 6 |
Total Cr. | 18 |
One-Week Residency
All degree candidates of the Master of Arts in International Relations are required to attend a one-week Residency Conference on the Norwich University campus, during which they may attend professional presentations, participate in roundtable discussions with faculty, and present papers. The one-week residency is a degree requirement.
Faculty Member | Institution at which highest degree was earned |
---|---|
Lasha Tchatouridze, PhD (Program Director) | Queens University, Canada |
Charles Lerche, PhD (Associate Program Director of Academics) | University of Ibaden, Nigeria |
Hayat Alvi, PhD | Howard University |
Clifford Bates, PhD | Northern Illinois University |
Narain Batra, PhD | Gujarat University, India |
John Becker, PhD | University of Denver |
Najiba Benabess, PhD | University of Wisconsin |
Bond Benton, PhD | University of Vienna, Austria |
James Binney, PhD | University of Kentucky |
Stefan Brooks, PhD | University of Houston |
Rowland Brucken, PhD | Ohio State University |
Anthony Cain, PhD | Ohio State University |
Stanley Carpenter, PhD | Florida State University |
Emily Copeland, PhD | The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy |
Paula Doherty, PhD | Nova Southeastern University |
Robert Farkasch, PhD | York University, Canada |
Hatice Gamze Menali, MA | Norwich University |
Don Harrington, PhD | University of Connecticut |
Michael Jackson, PhD | Brandeis University |
David Jones, PhD | State University of New York at Albany |
William Jong-Ebot, PhD | University of Wisconsin |
Seung-Ho Joo, PhD | Pennsylvania State University |
Angela Kachuyevski, PhD | The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy |
Brian Kupfer, PhD | Claremont Graduate School |
Jonathan Levy, PhD | William Howard Taft Law School |
James Miskel, PhD | State University of New York |
Darryl Mitry, PhD | University of Southern California |
Amit Mukherjee, PhD | Syracuse University |
Eric Nelson, PhD | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign |
Scott Nelson, PhD | Arizona State University |
Robert Pauley, PhD | Old Dominion University |
Timothy Riesen, PhD | Claremont Graduate University |
Eileen Scully, PhD | Georgetown University |
Steven Shirley, PhD | Old Dominion University |
Joel Sokolsky, PhD | Harvard University |
Andrea Talentino, PhD | UCLA |
Eugene Tardie, PhD | Northern Illinois University |
Stephen Twing, PhD | University of South Carolina |
Shelton L. Williams, PhD | John Hopkins University |