International Affairs (MA/MS)

The New School is a progressive university in New York City where scholars, artists, and designers come together to challenge convention and create positive change. Founded in 1919, the university consists of Parsons School of Design, Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts, the College of Performing Arts, The New School for Social Research, and numerous renowned graduate programs. The New School’s rigorous, multidimensional approach to education gives students the academic freedom to shape their unique, individual paths of study for a complex and rapidly changing world.

About

The field of international affairs is changing. Our approaches in and outside of the classroom must change as well. Gain the theoretical and practical tools you need to engage with the most pressing challenges of the 21st century.

Named one of the top international affairs programs by the Foreign Policy Association, the Studley Graduate Programs in International Affairs is distinctive in the New School tradition: critical, engaged, and truly global.

The SGPIA Difference

International Affairs at The New School stands out from conventional programs for its unique blend of pedagogical and scholarly commitments:

• A critical and global perspective on international problems
• Engaged, field-based learning through our International Field Programs, our Practicum in International Affairs, and other offerings
• Multidisciplinary social research drawing on the traditions of The New School for Social Research
• Small classes, accessible faculty, and a flexible curriculum that allows students to tailor their studies to their interests and goals

World-class faculty

International Affairs faculty are leading scholars from around the world, with backgrounds ranging from anthropology, sociology, and political science to media and economics. The program also draws on the wide range of leading experts and professionals in New York, who bring to the classroom recent international experience with a range of issues and professional fields.

FIield-based learning

The Studley Graduate Programs in International Affairs is committed to immersive, long-term, field-based learning. In addition to providing a range of opportunities for internships and practicums, the program offers two intensive summer programs that are open to students in the MA and MS programs, as well as students from other New School programs and other universities:

• Our signature International Field Program , with research and internship opportunities at sites around the world
• The seven-week United Nations Summer Study , an immersive program based at UN headquarters

Connecting to New York

International Affairs students at The New School take full advantage of New York City's incomparable resources in the international affairs field. The city's extraordinary range of international NGOs, intergovernmental institutions, and global companies—from the United Nations to Human Rights Watch to major media organizations—provide unique opportunities for student research, internships, and practicums. Our practice-based coursework connects students with these organizations through projects that launch student careers, and SGPIA faculty members working in these organizations provide students with direct access to the most pressing contemporary issues in the field.

Program highlights

• In the MA degree: select a concentration in Cities and Urbanization, Conflict and Security, Development and Global Justice, Governance, and Rights, or Media and Culture.
• In the MS degree: customize your advanced curriculum by choosing from 15+ modules in specific subjects, tools, and analytical methods.
• Address global problems using innovative tools such as geographic information systems, media research and advocacy, and participatory design and assessment.
• Get the option to spend nine weeks studying and researching abroad through our one-of-a-kind International Field Program.
• Access major international organizations in the heart of NYC, including the opportunity to join the immersive seven-week UN Summer Program.

About us

Discover a new kind of university in New York City, one where scholars, artists, and designers come together to challenge convention and create positive change. Our university takes full advantage of its location in one of the most vibrant and diverse cities in the world. Our colleges include Parsons School of Design, Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts, the College of Performing Arts, The New School for Social Research, the Schools of Public Engagement, and Parsons Paris.

Since our founding in 1919, The New School has redrawn and redefined the boundaries of intellectual and creative thought as a preeminent academic center. Our rigorous, multidimensional approach to education dissolves walls between disciplines and helps nurture progressive minds. At our university, students have the academic freedom to shape their unique, individual paths for a complex and rapidly changing world.

With leading-edge faculty and world-renowned alumni, we are committed to developing students who will have an impact on the world and solve the most pressing social issues of our time.

Mission & Vision

The New School’s future will be shaped by the core values that have defined our past: academic freedom, tolerance, and experimentation.

Mission

The New School prepares students to understand, contribute to, and succeed in a rapidly changing society, thus making the world a better and juster place. We will ensure that our students develop both the skills that a sound education provides and the competencies essential for success and leadership in the emerging creative economy. We will also lead in generating practical and theoretical knowledge that enables people to better understand our world and improve conditions for local and global communities.

Vision

We are and will be a university where design and social research drive approaches to studying issues of our time, such as democracy, urbanization, technological change, economic empowerment, sustainability, migration, and globalization. We will be the preeminent intellectual and creative center for effective engagement in a world that increasingly demands better-designed objects, communication, systems, and organizations to meet social needs.

Our vision aligns with shifts in the global economy, society, and environment, which animates our mission and our values:

• Creativity, innovation, and a desire to challenge the status quo will affect what and how we teach and the intellectual ambitions of the university itself.
• Social engagement should orient students' academic experiences to help them become critically engaged citizens, dedicated to solving problems and contributing to the public good.
• The New School must embrace these principles and innovate to address shifts in the global economy, society, and environment that require individuals to grapple with complex problems, pursue more fluid and flexible career pathways, and collaboratively create change.

Educational Approach

We will fulfill our mission by extending The New School's legacy as a nontraditional university and community, nimble and responsive to change, that:

• Focuses on and engages with critical contemporary issues
• Prioritizes humanity and culture in designing systems and environments to improve the human condition, an approach that draws on design thinking and the liberal, creative, and performing arts
• Places collaborative, project-based learning at the center of the educational experience
• Takes full advantage of our New York City location and connectivity to global urban centers

University leadership

The future of The New School will be shaped by the core values that have defined our past: academic freedom, tolerance, and experimentation. Our leadership team brings this mission to life.

With a commitment to providing excellent service to students and advancing a rigorous academic environment, the leaders of our university ensure that we adapt and respond to contemporary issues, create a more inclusive community, and foster creativity and collaboration among students.