Field-Based Learning

Our International Field Program (IFP) provides a platform for emerging practitioners and researchers to gain experience while following a rigorous course of study. The IFP combines extensive pre-departure preparation with in-country seminars, professional internships, project work, and opportunities for independent research with faculty supervision. Students may work with community-based organizations, NGOs, international organizations, and national or local governments. Projects may focus on urban and community development, post-conflict state building, human rights advocacy, citizen journalism, long-term monitoring and evaluation, or other themes. Since its inception in 2002, the IFP has sent more than 1,000 students to 29 countries, from Argentina and Uganda to Lebanon and China.

The United Nations Summer Study (UNSS) program puts graduate students on the ground in the United Nations and in New York City. Unlike other UN study programs, UNSS takes you beyond a narrow focus on security and diplomacy to investigate development, human rights, humanitarian action, peacebuilding, and environmental issues. UNSS coursework prepares you to understand and engage with contemporary issues, policies, and debates in international affairs. UNSS internships and practicums, not found in any other UN summer program, enable you to gain hands-on experience in the UN system. Practicum placements include UN agencies, NGOs, civil society groups, and research institutes that work with the UN.

In the Practicum in International Affairs—one of the final capstone project options for MA and MS students—a team of students works for a client organization conducting research, program or project design, or monitoring and evaluation; building communication platforms; or engaging in a number of other activities. Clients have included UN agencies, major international NGOs such as Transparency International, community-based organizations in the United States and abroad, social enterprises, and more. Through the practicum, students develop the analytical and applied skills necessary to become well-rounded professionals prepared to address challenging social problems, whether they work in the public, private, or nonprofit sector.

International Affairs Studios are new opportunities designed to place collaboration and engaged learning at the center of the MA and MS learning experience. Studios integrate on-campus courses with field-based experiences abroad during the winter and summer breaks, giving students the opportunity to expand their research beyond the semester and outside of the classroom.

We currently offer Studios on urban issues in Cuba, migration in southern Europe, and international aid around the world, with others in development.

Students pursuing an MA or MS in International Affairs can take advantage of the incomparable range of organizations working on international issues in New York City. The extraordinary range of international NGOs, intergovernmental institutions, global companies, and government agencies provides unique opportunities for internships. Internships are a powerful complement to the International Affairs curriculum: they provide opportunities to apply theory to organizational practices, can be the sources of practicum or thesis projects, and for many students lead to employment after receiving a degree.

For more information about internship options, contact Phil Akre, associate director of academic programs, at [email protected].