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University of Pittsburgh    
2024-2025 Graduate & Professional Studies Catalog 
    
 
  Jul 06, 2024
 
2024-2025 Graduate & Professional Studies Catalog

Public and International Affairs, MPIA


From the halls of the United Nations to the streets of war-torn conflict zones, the modern international system is in a state of rapid flux that demands versatile, well-educated professionals. The MPIA degree is a multidisciplinary program designed to prepare students for careers of influence in the international arena - as government policymakers, diplomats, intelligence officials, global business leaders, nonprofit managers, and policy researchers. The program emphasizes practical skills and knowledge necessary to participate in the world policy process and shape its future. The MPIA curriculum includes traditional courses on world history, economics, and international relations theory, along with practical courses on intelligence collection and analysis, diplomacy, and international finance. It also includes one of the country’s only graduate specializations in Human Security - a unique field that focuses on the security of civilian populations and human rights.

Required Courses: 18 credits


Along with the Required MPIA courses, all students must complete a 300-hour internship with approval from GSPIA career services.

Human Security Concentration: 12 credits


Because the globalization process has made the world seem exponentially smaller, threats from tsunamis, earthquakes, disease and starvation are arriving faster and in more dramatic fashion than ever before. One of the most innovative, forward-thinking disciplines in international affairs today, the human security major covers a wide swath of issues critical to the safety of people worldwide.

GSPIA’s program, one of the first of its kind in the United States, emphasizes the development of peacekeeping and peace-building skills. Students study threats to individuals from nongovernmental, nonmilitary sources. Examples of threats include civil wars, international migration and crime, global climate changes and natural disasters. We teach students to focus on the human condition as a planet, resulting in a new generation of leaders able to guide our global community through some of the most perilous times is has ever experienced.

 

PIA 2xxx  Approved HS Concentration Course

PIA 2xxx  Approved HS Concentration Course

PIA 2xxx  Approved HS Concentration Course

PIA 2xxx  Approved HS Concentration Course

International Political Economy Concentration: 12 credits


From the Euro to the yen, today’s global economy operates in a climate of change. The international global political economy (IPE) major teaches students to understand globalization and the role the state plays, as well as market strategies for corporations and their corporate identities. Courses target competencies in finance, economics, international trade and development. Specific topics range from the work of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to political climates in post-Communist states and the role of women in developing countries.

GSPIA IPE students are idealistic, curious about the world and eager to put their vision into practice. Recent IPE graduates include a treasury expert with the Republic of Turkey, a project manager specialist for the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Mission in Moscow, a presidential management fellow with the U.S. Department of Commerce, and a United Nations Fulbright Fellow with the Department of Social and Economic Affairs.

 

PIA 2xxx  Approved IPE Concentration Course

PIA 2xxx  Approved IPE Concentration Course

PIA 2xxx  Approved IPE Concentration Course

PIA 2xxx  Approved IPE Concentration Course
 
 

Security and Intelligence Studies Concentration: 12 credits


The post-9/11 world has brought remarkable change to national and international security. Issues of strategy, weapons systems, national defense and the role of government are being redefined every day. GSPIA’s major in security & intelligence studies (SIS) approaches issues within an international context and covers a variety of topics including transnational organized crime, terrorism, weapons of mass destruction and competition for natural resources.

SIS students are interested in the use of technology, investigation and discovery and often have a desire to travel internationally. Our program prepares students for careers in the security or intelligence fields with various think tanks or intelligence agencies, such as the FBI or CIA.

PIA 2xxx  Approved SIS Concentration Course

PIA 2xxx  Approved SIS Concentration Course

PIA 2xxx  Approved SIS Concentration Course

PIA 2xxx  Approved SIS Concentration Course

48 Credits


Elective/Minor Courses: 18 credits


MPIA Joint Degrees


Students pursing an MPIA degree have the option for the following Joint Degrees:

MPIA/JD  

MPIA/MBA  

MPIA/MIS  

MPIA/MPH 

MPIA/MSW  



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