Master of Arts in Diplomacy

Core Curriculum

For the first course of the program, students have the option of choosing from either Theory and the International System (GD510) or The History of Diplomacy in the International System (GD511).

• Theory and the International System

  GD510 6 credit hours

  You will review the basic theories that govern international relations and political science. The course also traces the historical evolution of diplomacy within the international system, providing a sense of its progression and an awareness of the milestones of diplomatic interaction within that system.

• The History of Diplomacy in the International System

  GD511 6 credit hours

  This course provides a comprehensive overview of diplomacy, international relations, and world order in the context of the modern state system from 1648 to the present. The international political environment is introduced through studies in foreign policy decision making, combining history and political science in an analytical framework of historiography and international relations methodology.

• Law and the International System

  GD520 6 credit hours

  You will explore the structure of the international system as defined by its rules and guidelines. The course presents an introduction to international law terminology and its history and theory. Laws surrounding conflict, war, war crimes, and the rising areas of international law, environmental law, and laws concerning humanitarian intervention will be explored. Of special interest will be laws pertaining to human rights.

• Economics and the International System

  GD530 6 credit hours

  You will explore the international economic system, examine the impact of modernization within the system, and investigate the controversy over the concept of globalization and the debate of free trade versus protectionism. You will become familiar with the international financial network and its institutions. Special attention will be given to Third World development issues and the concept of economics as a tool of diplomacy and military power.

Choose a Concentration in Diplomacy

After completing the core curriculum, you will choose a concentration that fits your career and professional goals.

International Commerce

Develop knowledge, competencies, and tools to deal with international populations including the public, government, media, online, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

Seminar Four:
Global Commerce and the International System (GD544)

Seminar Five:
Cross-Cultural Management in the International System (GD554)

Elective Options for Seminar Six:
Global Corporate Diplomacy (GD564)
Diplomacy and Communication (GD567)

• Global Commerce and the International System

  GD544 6 credit hours

  This course focuses on internal and external environmental conditions affecting commerce in a global environment. You will evaluate the role of private-sector commerce in the international system and explore the impact of economics, law, politics, and culture on multinational commerce endeavors. You will also analyze country-specific data and internal organizational factors that influence managerial decision making in multinational organizations. You will gain an understanding of the global commerce environment and enhance your ability to function effectively across borders.

• Cross-Cultural Management in the International System

  GD554 6 credit hours

  This course focuses on fundamental topics in human resources management as they pertain to globally active corporate, nonprofit, and governmental organizations. You will build skills in managing intercultural human resources differences; selecting, evaluating, and compensating employees in international assignments; training and developing expatriate employees; dealing with culture shock; and the effects of repatriation. You will be asked to apply the concepts of conflict management, resolution, and avoidance to specific work situations.

• Global Corporate Diplomacy

  GD564 6 credit hours

  The course addresses the dependence of international commerce upon public goodwill, the development of which is the function of corporate diplomacy. You will develop the knowledge, competencies, and tools for implementing strategic communications in order to deal effectively with international constituencies, including the government, the news media, the Internet, and NGOs. Special emphasis will be given to developing and applying analytical skills to shape public opinion, build corporate reputation, and deal with crisis in a cross-cultural environment.

• Diplomacy and Communication

  GD567 6 credit hours

  This course examines the role of communication in diplomatic endeavors. The historical influence of communication is considered along with the evolving theoretical basis that has informed diplomatic communication. In addition to examining the role communication has played throughout the history of diplomacy, key challenges related diplomatic communication will be considered. These include cultural challenges, the evolving nature of communication technology, the movement towards transparency, and the development of public diplomacy.

International Terrorism

The concentration covers many crucial aspects of international terrorism, and national and transnational efforts to defeat it. 

Elective Options for Seminar Four:
Terrorism: Introduction and State-Sponsored Terrorism (GD542)
International Security (GD546)

Seminar Five:
International Terrorisim by Non-State Actors (GD552)

Elective Options for Seminar Six:
International Response to Transnational Terrorism (GD562)
Diplomacy and Communications (GD567)
Diplomacy in Practice (GD541)

• Terrorism: Introduction and State-Sponsored Terrorism

  GD542 6 credit hours

  This course examines how states have used terrorism as a tool in managing their international relations and evaluates actions that the international community has taken to deter state-sponsored terrorism. Case studies will complement theory and allow for comparative analyses of various actions taken by the international community and the results achieved to date.

• International Security

  GD546 6 credit hours

  This course surveys some of the major debates and topics in international security. It is designed to give students an understanding of the most important substantive areas in the field of international security and to connect it with academic research on security‐related issues to policy. The course will examine both traditional understandings of and approaches to international security. New actors and issues considered relevant since the end of the Cold War will be discussed. The tension between the relative importance of traditional approaches to security, interstate relations, and the relevance or impact of less immediate but important influences such as human security and climate change will also be examined.

• International Terrorism by Non-State Actors

  GD552 6 credit hours

  This course examines the phenomenon of transnational terrorism by non-state actors. Ideology, psychology, and strategies of major transnational groups are addressed to provide an understanding of their long-term goals and operations. You will examine the relationship of terrorist groups, WMD proliferation, and organized crime, as well as possible future trends in terrorist operations. Case studies of key groups will provide comparative analysis.

• International Response to Transnational Terrorism

  GD562 6 credit hours

  This course surveys the strategies and policies that have been deployed by states to combat transnational terrorism. You will examine the development of international law as a tool against terrorism, diplomatic and multilateral approaches in dealing with cross-border issues, and government policies designed to improve internal and multinational coordination and cooperation. Differences and commonalities among states in their approaches to terrorism are highlighted in order to examine best practices.

• Diplomacy and Communication

  GD567 6 credit hours

  This course examines the role of communication in diplomatic endeavors. The historical influence of communication is considered along with the evolving theoretical basis that has informed diplomatic communication. In addition to examining the role communication has played throughout the history of diplomacy, key challenges related diplomatic communication will be considered. These include cultural challenges, the evolving nature of communication technology, the movement towards transparency, and the development of public diplomacy.

• Diplomacy in Practice

  GD541 6 credit hours

  The seminar provides an understanding of the methods, institutions and practices that allow nations to translate foreign policy objectives and strategies into practical actions and how practitioners adjust and refine foreign policy in response to the events that influence outcomes.

  The course is based on a practitioner’s perspective on diplomacy. The emphasis is on foreign policy practices and structures of the U.S., but it has broad applicability to the study of the diplomatic practice of other nations that operate in an analogous domestic political environment of a separation of powers, relative openness, and the freedom of expression.

International Conflict Management

Address the multiple schools of debate concerning the causes of international conflict and war and assess conflict in all its forms.

Seminar Four:
Conflict Avoidance, Prevention and Containment in the International System (GD540)

Seminar Five:
Conflict Resolution and Post-Conflict Reconstruction in the International System (GD550)

Elective Options for Seminar Six:
Military Intervention and Conflict Management in the International System (GD560)
Human Rights and Conflict in the International System (GD561)
Diplomacy and Communication (GD567)
Diplomacy in Practice (GD541)

• Conflict Avoidance, Prevention and Containment in the International System

  GD540 6 credit hours

  This course addresses the multiple schools of debate concerning the causes of conflict and war. You will investigate the increasingly controversial area of peacekeeping and peacemaking, and examine transnational forces, including NGOs, that use diplomacy as a tool to avoid conflict in the international system. The concept of multilateral peace enforcement will be reviewed in order to examine best practices.

• Conflict Resolution and Post-Conflict Reconstruction in the International System

  GD550 6 credit hours

  You will examine the do’s and don’ts of negotiating peace, its hazards, unexpected consequences, and lessons learned. Topics include the increasingly important area of recovery from atrocities through trials, truth commissions, and amnesty. You will also explore post-conflict governing, reestablishing the rule of law, the dominance of civil society, and the institutions of governance, as well as the politics and cultural impact of rebuilding, including the economic and financial costs.

• Military Intervention and Conflict Management in the International System

  GD560 6 credit hours

  You will examine conflict in all its forms, including aspects of covert operations, psychological warfare, special operations, and limited warfare. The course also explores multinational coalitions and conflicts and the renewed emphasis on terrorism, including the use of chemical, biological, and nuclear agents. You will review special cases of civil war and collapsed state conflicts. You will also investigate the impacts of modern warfare, most notably on the environment.

• Human Rights and Conflict in the International System

  GD561 6 credit hours

  In this course, you will probe the complicated connections between the protection and enforcement of human rights norms and the roots, unfolding, and termination of armed conflict. Borrowing from the fields of peace building, conflict resolution, diplomacy, and law, the course builds upon the themes of conflict prevention and post-conflict reconstruction developed in previous courses. You will explore how human rights abuses increase the likelihood of violent conflict and how a respect for the political, civil, economic, and social claims of individuals may repair and restore affected societies.

• Diplomacy and Communication

  GD567 6 credit hours

  This course examines the role of communication in diplomatic endeavors. The historical influence of communication is considered along with the evolving theoretical basis that has informed diplomatic communication. In addition to examining the role communication has played throughout the history of diplomacy, key challenges related diplomatic communication will be considered. These include cultural challenges, the evolving nature of communication technology, the movement towards transparency, and the development of public diplomacy.

• Diplomacy in Practice

  GD541 6 credit hours

  The seminar provides an understanding of the methods, institutions and practices that allow nations to translate foreign policy objectives and strategies into practical actions and how practitioners adjust and refine foreign policy in response to the events that influence outcomes.

  The course is based on a practitioner’s perspective on diplomacy. The emphasis is on foreign policy practices and structures of the U.S., but it has broad applicability to the study of the diplomatic practice of other nations that operate in an analogous domestic political environment of a separation of powers, relative openness, and the freedom of expression.

Cyber Diplomacy Concentration

Study today’s fundamental issues, debates, and events in international relations pertinent to the world of cyberspace.

The cyberdiplomacy coursework will be taught from the curriculum in the Master of Science in Cybersecurity program. Courses are cross-listed with the Master of Arts in International Relations program.

• Elective Option for 3rd Course

  Elective - Cyber Diplomacy 6 credit hours

  Students in the concentration can choose to take one of the following electives as their third course; alternatively, students will be enrolled in IR 531 National Security by default. Courses and course descriptions are cross-listed with the Master of Science in Cybersecurity program.

  • IR 531 National Security
  • GI 556 Cyber Crime
  • GI 557 Cyber Law
  • GI 554 Computer Security Incident Response Team Management
  • GI 551 Computer Forensic Investigations
  • GI 512 Foundations and Historical Underpinnings of Information Assurance
  • GI 522 Information Assurance Technology
  • GI 532 Human Factors and Managing Risk
  • GI 542 Information Assurance Management and Analytics
• Elective Option for 4th Course

  Elective - Cyber Diplomacy 6 credit hours

  Students in the concentration will choose to take one of the following electives as their fourth course; alternatively, students will be enrolled in GI 567 International Perspectives on Cyberspace by default. Courses and course descriptions are cross-listed with the Master of Science in Cybersecurity program.

  • GI 567 International Perspectives on Cyberspace
  • GI 556 Cyber Crime
  • GI 557 Cyber Law
  • GI 554 Computer Security Incident Response Team Management
  • GI 551 Computer Forensic Investigations
  • GI 512 Foundations and Historical Underpinnings of Information Assurance
  • GI 522 Information Assurance Technology
  • GI 532 Human Factors and Managing Risk
  • GI 542 Information Assurance Management and Analytics
• Cyber Diplomacy

  GD568 6 credit hours

  This course provides students the opportunity to synthesize learning from all previous seminars and to apply the concepts and principles relevant to the work or career goals of each student. Each student researches and prepares a written capstone project that offers a practical or theoretical solution to challenges or issues of contemporary international importance and relevance in cyber diplomacy. The final outcome of the seminar for each student is a paper suitable for publication in a professional or an academic journal. Students are required to exhibit in-depth critical thinking, analysis, and effective writing skills. Course assignments maximize the exchange of student suggestions and comments on the various stages of the capstone project, to include but not limited to topic section, thesis, resources and supporting information.

Comprehensive Exam

A comprehensive exam is a requirement of the diplomacy program and is part of the graduation requirement. The exam will cover material from the entire program in a series of essay questions and is administered during the student's final course.

Optional Thesis Track

The thesis track is available for students who wish to have the traditional thesis experience with faculty mentorship and a culminating research paper, which is often the basis for a future publication. Outside of the degree completion requirements, students can choose to add this thesis after all six courses are completed. Pending program director approval for candidacy acceptance, your thesis will have a formal board of examination, supervision, and research process. Students who successfully defend a thesis may be exempt from the Comprehensive Exam requirement.

The thesis track is split into four 3-credit seminars: GD570, GD751, GD572, and GD573.