Nicholas Barber (MA International Affairs ’09) was working on an
HIV/AIDS Project in Lesotho, Africa, when he decided to return to
school. He knew he wanted to study International Affairs but wasn’t sure
if he wanted pursue a Master’s degree or a Ph.D. Because of its
flexible options, The New School’s Julien J. Studley Graduate Programs in International Affairs was the perfect fit.
“I was particularly attracted to
the International Affairs program’s thesis and practicum options, which
allowed me the flexibility to choose whether I wanted to pursue a Ph.D.
later on,” Barber says. “I was also drawn to The New School because it
was based in New York City, and I could interact with the city's range
of international NGOs, intergovernmental institutions, global companies,
and, specifically, the UN System.”
While studying at The New School, Barber gained a critical and
theoretical perspective on international problems. He immersed himself
in field-based learning through the International Field Program (IFP)
where he traveled to Brazil to work with Viva Favela, a Rio de
Janeiro-based NGO. Barber used the valuable, hands-on experience working
in media production and editing in Brazil as the basis of his thesis,
which focused on participatory video. Following his time at The New
School, Barber went on to pursue a Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology at
McGill University.
Barber currently works as a Policy Analyst with the G7 Task Team at
Environment and Climate Change Canada. Working within the International
Affairs branch, he is responsible for delivering on Canada’s agenda on
climate change, oceans, and clean energy during its 2018 G7 Presidency.