International Affairs, MA (Boston)

School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs

We live in an increasingly interconnected global environment where people, goods, ideas, and conflicts traverse borders with rising frequency. Leaders in the activist, policy, and academic spheres must learn not only how to critically analyze these phenomena but also to envisage harnessing their constructive potential. The Master of Arts in International Affairs is an interdisciplinary graduate program dedicated to preparing tomorrow’s global citizens.

A holistic approach to enhancing our understanding of the world must span the limits of any one academic field and embrace cross-disciplinary analytical competencies. Spanning several social sciences and humanities, our courses are taught by leading scholars who research democratization, gender, globalization, ethnic conflict and cooperation, human rights and international law, international relations, social activism, social justice, and many other topics. Through its core courses, its two thematic emphases—globalization, development, and social justice and international public policy—as well as global, policy, and methodological electives, this graduate program allows students to pursue a variety of themes.

The master's program offers an optional cooperative education experience (“co-op”) to eligible students. Cooperative education is central to both the Northeastern experience and to the College of Social Sciences and Humanities experiential liberal arts framework. Northeastern’s signature co-op ecosystem provides qualified master's students with six-month work experiences in businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies in Boston and across the United States. Graduate students take their work from campus learning spaces, apply their knowledge outside of the classroom, and then bring knowledge and skills gained in community learning spaces back to our campus learning spaces during the cocurricular experiential integration course.

Please review the tuition and fee page as credit costs differ depending on the College in which the course is located.

Sustainability and Climate Change Policy Concentration

This graduate concentration is available to students in the Master of International Affairs (MIAF) program in the College of Social Sciences and Humanities. It is designed to enable MIAF students to develop deeper insights into the policy dimensions of these intertwined but conceptually distinct realms of inquiry and action, and in both domestic and international domains. The concentration is comprised of three courses.

CSSH Graduate Programs General Regulations

Academic Standing/Progress 

Students in the program are monitored for academic progress. Those students whose grade-point average (GPA) falls below a 3.000 are notified by and meet with the director of academic programs. They are counseled that if their GPA does not rise to a 3.000 or higher, they run the risk of not graduating and are advised on strategies for improvement. 

Complete all courses and requirements listed below unless otherwise indicated.

Core Requirements

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Political Economy
Complete 8 semester hours from the following:		8
POLS 7387	Global Governance
PPUA 5268	International Environmental Policy
SOCL 7221	Globalization, Development, and Social Justice
Social Science Methods
Complete 4 semester hours from the following:		4
ECON 5110	Microeconomic Theory
ECON 5120	Macroeconomic Theory
ECON 7251	International Finance
INSH 6300	Research Methods in the Social Sciences
INSH 6500	Statistical Analysis
INSH 6302	Qualitative Methods
Public Policy
Complete 4 semester hours from the following:		4
PPUA 6502	Economic Analysis for Policy and Planning
PPUA 6506	Techniques of Policy Analysis
PPUA 6507	Institutional Leadership and the Public Manager
PPUA 6509	Techniques of Program Evaluation
PPUA 6551	Nonprofit Organizations and Social Change

Concentrations or Electives Option

A concentration is not required. Students may complete electives option in lieu of a concentration.

• Sustainability and Climate Change Policy
• Electives

Optional Co-op Experience

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Four-month co-ops require registration at 1 SH for one term. Longer co-ops require registration at 1 SH per term for two consecutive terms.		1-2
PPUA 6964 and INSH 6864	Co-op Work Experience and Experiential Integration

Program Credit/GPA Requirements

36 total semester hours required (37-38 with optional co-op)
Minimum 3.000 GPA required

Sustainability and Climate Change Policy Concentration

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Complete 12 semester hours from the following course list:		12
ENVR 6150	Food Security and Sustainability
LPSC 7312	Cities, Sustainability, and Climate Change
PPUA 5100	Climate and Development
PPUA 5231	Transportation Policy
PPUA 5234	Land Use and Urban Growth Policy
PPUA 5238	Climate Change and Global Urbanization
PPUA 5249	Sustainable Urban Coastal Policy
PPUA 5260	Ecological Economics
PPUA 5261	Dynamic Modeling for Environmental Decision Making
PPUA 5264	Energy Democracy and Climate Justice: Technology, Policy, and Social Change
PPUA 5268	International Environmental Policy
PPUA 5270	Food Systems and Public Policy
PPUA 6101	Environmental Science and Policy Seminar 1
Complete 8 semester hours of elective courses from the list below:		8

Electives Option

Selected in consultation with faculty advisor.

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Complete 20 semester hours from the following list of courses:		20
INTL 7990	Thesis
LPSC 5000 to LPSC 7999
PPUA 5000 to PPUA 7999
CRIM 5000 to CRIM 7999 (by advisement only)
ECON 5000 to ECON 7999 (by advisement only)
ENGL 5000 to ENGL 7999 (by advisement only)
HIST 5000 to HIST 7999 (by advisement only)
POLS 5000 to POLS 7999 (by advisement only)
SOCL 5000 to SOCL 7999 (by advisement only)