DAVID M. VAN SLYKE, Dean
Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University
JOHN J. HAMRE, CEO and President
Center for Strategic and International Studies

 

Professionals in the Washington, D.C., area with at least seven years of experience can now earn their master’s degree from a top-ranked school while contributing ideas on major policy issues and working side by side with scholars at a leading D.C. think tank. In an innovative joint partnership between Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), professionals who work in the global policy arena will be able to enroll in a graduate program taught by Maxwell faculty and CSIS scholars in the heart of Washington, D.C.: the Executive Master’s in International Relations in D.C. (EMIR in DC).

“We wanted to create a unique learning experience for professionals that would be different from conventional executive master’s degree programs,” says David M. Van Slyke, dean of the Maxwell School. “No other advanced IR degree program can match the breadth and depth of Maxwell’s interdisciplinary research combined with CSIS’s mastery of the practical and policy applications.”

Students will be able to complete the new program in as little as 18 months part-time, taking evening courses, short-term seminars, and workshops, all at CSIS headquarters. The program will also feature guest lecturers drawn from the senior ranks of public, private, and international organizations.

“The complexity of today’s global environment demands an interdisciplinary and practical understanding of the threats and challenges facing the international community. We want to create a space where innovative ideas can surface and where the next generation of leaders can start to contribute meaningful policy ideas,” says John J. Hamre, CSIS CEO and president.

Working directly with CSIS policy experts, students in the EMIR in DC program will complete a rigorous capstone project aimed at addressing an international policy challenge. They will graduate with a degree from the Maxwell School, the nation’s #1-ranked school for graduate education in public affairs.

Students will also work with CSIS’s award-winning production studio to develop a multimedia product that showcases their research findings and policy recommendations, while they develop new skills in data analysis, visualization, and presentation.

Classes are set to begin in 2018. Students may elect to enter the EMIR in DC program in the spring, summer, or fall term. The program will offer five specializations: global security and intelligence; foreign policy; global markets; global development; and public diplomacy.

Van Slyke notes that the Maxwell School offers a broad, interdisciplinary approach to the complexity of public policy issues worldwide, and access to a global network of scholars and alumni practitioners. “We have 30,000 alumni in 144 countries serving in the public, private, and NGO sectors,” he says. “Of our 160 tenured and tenure-track faculty, nearly 100 conduct research outside North America.”

This meshes well with CSIS’s full-time staff of 220 analysts and researchers, who focus on policy initiatives involving defense and security; regional study (Africa, Americas, Arctic, Asia, Europe, Middle East, and Russia and Eurasia); and transnational challenges ranging from energy and trade to global development and economic integration.

“What we’ve done in joining with CSIS is to combine the strengths of our teaching on campus with the practical applications of a leading global think tank. It’s what a lot of working professionals are looking for,” says Van Slyke.

Graduate Degree Program Options:

• Executive Master’s in International Relations in D.C. (EMIR in DC)
Offered in Washington, D.C., in partnership with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)

• Master of Arts, International Relations (MAIR); Master of Public Administration (MPA); Executive Master’s in International Relations (EMIR); Executive MPA (EMPA); and joint degrees
Available on campus at Syracuse University

• Online EMPA

Visit the Request Info page to receive information from the schools.