Overview
School of International Relations and Pacific Studies at University of California, San Diego, Offers Four Degree Options
The School of International Relations and Pacific Studies (IR/PS) is the only professional school of international relations at University of California, San Diego. It is also the only such program in the United States focused on the Pacific region of Asia and the Americas, and was recently ranked in the Top Ten for foreign affairs by "Foreign Policy" magazine. The school's innovative curriculum integrates the strengths of the traditional professional school programs of business management, international affairs, and public policy. Courses offered at IR/PS are designed to foster interdisciplinary understanding with special attention to the Pacific region.
IR/PS offers four different degree programs: the two-year professional Master of Pacific International Affairs (MPIA), the one-year Executive Master of Advanced Studies-International Affairs (MAS-IA), the Bachelor of Arts/Master of International Affairs (BA/MIA), and a joint-Ph.D. in political science and international affairs in collaboration with the UC San Diego political science department.
The Master of Pacific International Affairs Program Blends Regional Focus with Career Concentration
The MPIA is a two-year program that provides professional training for internationally minded individuals pursuing careers in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. Students are able to choose career tracks in the fields of international management, international politics, international economics, public policy, nonprofit management and international development, and international environmental policy. In addition to choosing a career concentration, students acquire expertise in the language and society of one of the following: China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, or Latin America. Finally, students choose from a variety of elective courses in order to suit their personal and professional needs.
A One-Year Master's Program Allows Professionals to Gain Advanced Training With a Regional Focus
The MAS-IA is a one year, full-time program designed for mid-career executives and professionals who seek specialized and advanced training in the field of international affairs. It is designed to complement their professional experience by offering advanced education and training to prepare them to assume leadership positions in their fields. In addition to taking two classes specially designed for the MAS-IA, students also take classes from one of three career tracks: international security, international political economy, or international public policy. Students also take classes about their chosen focus of China, Japan, Korea, Latin America, or Southeast Asia.
Select Undergraduates Make an Integrated Transition to the Master of International Affairs Program
The BA/MIA is a combined five-year program offered with the International Studies Program at UC San Diego. It is only open to UC San Diego undergraduates in select majors within the International Studies Program. The program retains and builds upon the interdisciplinary core of the existing international studies Bachelor of Arts degree by incorporating graduate-level courses during the student's fourth year, and adds to it the professional training of IR/PS in the fifth year.
Ph.D. Program in Conjunction With UC San Diego Pairs Students and Faculty For the Pursuit of Research
The joint-Ph.D. program offers interdisciplinary academic education to a very small number of elite students pursuing international careers requiring advanced research capabilities in economics and political science within the international arena. Students are able to work with faculty members at both IR/PS and the political science department while pursuing their research interests in political science and international affairs.
Global Leadership Institute Certificates Allow Professionals to Advance Their Knowledge and Careers
In addition to degree-granting programs, IR/PS also offers a certificate program, the Global Leadership Institute (GLI), which is designed for working professionals seeking to expand their international knowledge and experience within their field, as well as enhance their professional development in public and private finance, international economics, public policy and program evaluation, management, marketing, accounting, nonprofit management, quantitative methods, econometrics, long-range strategic planning, and international affairs. GLI fellows take regularly scheduled IR/PS classes along with classes designed specifically for fellows.
Part of the University of California System, IR/PS Reaps the Benefits of a Prestigious University Setting
IR/PS is located at UC San Diego in La Jolla, California. UC San Diego is part of the ten-campus University of California System and is recognized as one of the top teaching and research institutions in the United States. The University has a total enrollment of approximately 30,000 students. Its graduate and professional students are drawn from the upper ranks of the nation's finest colleges and universities and from institutions of comparable standing throughout the world.
Graduates of IR/PS Programs Go on to Fill Top Positions in the Private, Public, and Nonprofit Sectors
IR/PS has firmly established itself as a leader in training professionals to compete in the global arena. MP/IA program graduates have gone on to rewarding positions in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors in Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and other parts of Asia as well as in the United States, Mexico, South America, and Europe. They have skills in finance, marketing, management, foreign languages and culture, and trade and public policy. Program graduates are employed in government, international trade, nonprofit organizations, media/telecommunications, manufacturing/high technology, financial services, and consulting.
