American University, School of International Service

A Diversity of Education, Experiences Develops Agile Professionals

The most valuable skill for navigating an unpredictable global landscape is not specialization, but what Shannon Hader, dean of American University’s School of International Service (SIS), calls “agility of thought.” At SIS, this is fostered by a pioneering approach to the structure of its departments and curriculum, which are both interdisciplinary and intersectional. This combination allows students to develop expertise in a topic while understanding its interplay with different disciplines.

“SIS has always put a premium on this ability to pivot and move between and across sectors,” explains Hader. “We teach on issues and skills, not on sectors. So if you want to be a climate scientist and policy analyst, you should be able to understand what working in that area would look like from inside the government, from an activist organization, or from the private sector. That agility of thought also gives you an agility of sectoral access over a career.”

From an intersectional standpoint, the curriculum is structured so that students studying migration, for example, also understand how this field intersects with others, such as global security and human health. Hader explains, “You have to have a working knowledge of that intersection around your topic if you’re really going to be an expert and a problem-solver.”

SIS students have the opportunity to select topics and regions to develop independent research and expertise. This exercise is about cultivating deep knowledge, but beyond that, it also teaches skills that graduates can utilize throughout their career. “It’s developing a practice that is really important in whatever job role you’re going into,” Hader explains. “A lot of employers recognize that, having gone through the exercise of diving deep and becoming an expert, gives you a substance for other topics.”

Applied experience, another pillar of an SIS graduate education, takes many forms, including international practicums, collaboration on faculty research, courses where students produce professional products for client organizations, and strategic partnerships, like SIS’s newly formalized collaboration with the Organization for American States.

SIS’s holistic approach — combining an interdisciplinary and intersectional education with hands-on experience — cultivates a generative mindset that enables graduates to build new solutions for the future. “We need and want our students to leave us with strengths in pivoting and adapting,” Hader says. “It’s not just that you’ll adapt to change — you’ll be part of architecting it.”

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A Lifelong Community and Career Network

SIS’s dedicated career office provides lifelong access to specialized resources for globally oriented careers, including mentorship and job opportunities through SIS’s worldwide alumni network of more than 25,000. Students who engage with career services see results: 87 percent of May 2024 graduates secured employment or continued education within six months. “Your SIS alumni community, your SIS career center, your SIS faculty should always be a trusted community for you to explore,” Dean Hader explains.

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American University, School of International Service
american.edu/sis
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202-885-1646