Master of Science in Foreign Service

Concentrations

Each MSFS student chooses one of the following fields of concentration. The requirements of each concentration include one three-credit "workshop" taken in the fall of the second year and five other courses specified by the particular concentration.

Please note that concentration requirements and options change from year to year. Below is information for the 2006-07 academic year.

• Foreign Policy and International Security
  
• International Conflict Management
  
• International Development
  
• Global Commerce and Finance
• International Business-Government Relations
• Self-Designed and Regional & Comparative Studies

Foreign Policy and International Security

Coordinator: Prof. Casimir Yost

The Foreign Policy and International Security concentration is designed to develop expertise and facility in foreign policy formulation, its execution, and the interaction between formulation and execution. Students pursue studies in the foreign policy-making process and diplomatic practice, develop an in-depth understanding of the international and intercultural environment in which diplomacy is conducted, and acquire a broad exposure to the full range of contemporary foreign policy issues. The Concentration has a distinct orientation toward public service. As it relates to this concentration, public service includes diplomatic, defense, and intelligence-related service in national governments and/or international organizations.

The Foreign Policy and International Security Concentration prepares students for careers with governments, international organizations, policy research institutes, international media, and private industry involved in foreign affairs, intelligence, security, and defense. It is an excellent option for students entering the diplomatic service or international organizations. Students are encouraged to acquire relevant internship experience(s) that will contribute to their academic and professional success.

Courses developed for the Concentration in Foreign Policy and International Security are designed to provide students with a working knowledge of the following:

• economic, political, legal, and historical aspects of international diplomacy and foreign policy
• making theoretical, functional, topical and regional approaches to international diplomacy and foreign policy making
• the collection and analysis of information, development of policy options, and decision making on a wide range of foreign policy issues, including security, economic, and transnational issues
• the advocacy of positions through the development of written and oral communications skills

Students in the Concentration are required to take one of three workshops (The Practice of Diplomacy; Force and Diplomacy; Managing International Interventions). All students in the Concentration will take five qualifying electives, with at least one from each of two fields: Foreign Policy Decision Making and Major Issues in Foreign Policy. Other Concentration electives may be drawn from the fields of Foreign Policy Instruments and Organizations, and US and Comparative Foreign Policy.

All students in this Concentration will have some exposure to international security issues from the workshops and concentration requirements. Some may wish to specialize in international security studies by selecting relevant elective courses, including many offered in the Security Studies Program. Most students also develop a regional or functional foreign policy specialty as a result of other elective course work, internships, special projects, and outside study.

International Conflict Management

Coordinator: Prof. Chester A. Crocker

The Concentration in International Conflict Management is designed to develop knowledge about the causes of international conflict and approaches/techniques for managing and resolving it. Students will become familiar with circumstances and triggers leading to violent conflict as well as with strategies pursued by warring parties and third party interveners for conflict management and peace building in the post-conflict phase.

The Concentration is oriented toward students interested in career opportunities in the public sector (including intergovernmental institutions) as well as a wide-range of advocacy and research groups and non-governmental organizations working in zones of conflict. Issues related to conflict prevention, mediation, managing war-to-peace transitions, military intervention to manage conflict, and capacity building in the security and governance field are central concerns of international affairs professionals in both the public and non-official sectors. Students interested in topics ranging from arms trafficking and proliferation to human rights, refugee assistance and internal displacement, and global governance may be interested in this Concentration.

The Concentration will encompass a range of policy-oriented offerings examining intervention strategies by third parties at various points in the conflict life cycle. Students are expected to acquire familiarity with the analytic tools and concepts for evaluating the challenge of intra- and interstate conflict and developing appropriate responses. They are expected to acquire practical knowledge of strategies and techniques of negotiation, mediation, and peace-building.

Courses developed for the Concentration in International Conflict Management are designed to provide students with a working knowledge of the following:

• Conflict analysis and conflict response options at points in conflict life cycle (prevention, coercive diplomacy, post-conflict reconstruction, peace-building)
• Political tools and techniques: negotiation, mediation Coercive tools: sanctions, military intervention including humanitarian intervention and peace operations 
• The roles of various institutional players and organizations in conflict management (to cover the US and other major states, the UN, NATO and other alliances and regional security organizations, NGOs, and special purpose entities such as the ICC) 
• The potential role of confidence-building measures and normative and legal regimes related to conflict dynamics (e.g., the Proliferation Security Initiative, the Kimberley process on conflict diamonds)

Students entering this Concentration should take a core course in the Conflict Analysis sub-field in the spring semester of their first year. Four other elective courses should be distributed among two other sub-fields: Actors and Institutions, and Techniques and Tradecraft. Most qualifying courses for this Concentration will be listed on Blackboard for each academic year. Other relevant courses may be found in the Security Studies or GSFS regional studies programs, or among offerings by the Government Department or Law Center. Students should read instructors? syllabi carefully because elective courses can cross over between these three sub-fields. Students will also take a workshop (usually Management of International Intervention, or Force and Diplomacy) in the fall semester of their second year.

International Development

Coordinator: Prof. Michael Morfit

The International Development Concentration prepares professionals to work in a multifaceted, constantly evolving field. This Concentration provides students an opportunity to focus on both the ends and means of the development process. The Concentration combines grounding in the fundamentals with opportunities to specialize and to gain practical, hands-on experience. Courses provide students with working knowledge of the theory, policy debates, and practice of development at the macro- and micro-levels and will enable them to develop competencies in research, analytical, organizational, and managerial skills.

Many graduates pursue careers with bilateral development agencies, multilateral and/or international organizations, foundations, development consulting firms, private voluntary organizations, non-governmental organizations, and corporations. Students are encouraged to acquire relevant internship experience(s) that will contribute to their academic and professional success.

The International Development Concentration offers courses that take a multidisciplinary approach to subjects such as human and economic development, humanitarian response, governance, human rights, conflict resolution, and the interactions among them. Courses focus on human well-being and on poverty reduction and equitable economic growth; human security; the protection of political and civil rights; and the attainment of economic, social, and cultural rights. Study of these issues considers the roles of all actors in the development process, including the public and private sectors, civil society, and communities.

Courses developed for the Concentration in International Development are designed to provide students with a working knowledge of the following:

• Fundamentals of the key frameworks that guide international development policy and practice and their application in real-world situations. 
• Development economics and its application in real-world situations. 
• The policies and practices of key actors, including relevant multilateral and bilateral organizations; national and local governments; community-based, national, and international nonprofits; other civil society organizations and institutions; and global, national, and local business. 
• The concepts, debates, trends, and fundamentals of practice in international development subfields such as: 1) human, social, economic, and sustainable development; 2) democracy, governance, and human rights; and 3) conflict management, peace building, and humanitarian response. 
• Fundamentals of planning, implementing, and using the results of project monitoring and evaluation for management, accountability, and learning purposes.
  

To complete the International Development Concentration, a student must successfully complete a total of six approved courses. Required courses include a gateway course on Ideas in Development: From Theory to Practice and one of several courses on Development Economics. Also required is a second-year Workshop, generally either Managing Development or Managing Humanitarian Response. The other three courses may be drawn from among a list of qualifying electives for this Concentration, available each academic year on Blackboard.

Global Commerce and Finance

Coordinator: Prof. Ross Harrison

The goal of the Global Commerce and Finance (GCF) Concentration is to equip students with the core skills and knowledge required of business and finance practitioners in the global economy. The Concentration covers knowledge and operational skills in finance and accounting, trade and investment, business strategy and operations, international marketing, and business-government relations.

The GCF Concentration is designed for students whose professional interests are in the private sector, public sector agencies and institutions that interact with the private sector, and government-to-government commercial policy. Graduates pursue private or public sector careers in international business and banking, consulting, development banking, regulatory agencies, commercial foreign service agencies, and government departments and ministries. Students are encouraged to acquire relevant internship experience(s) that will contribute to their academic and professional success.

Courses developed for the Concentration in Global Commerce and Finance are designed to provide students with a working knowledge of the following:

• Business math and quantitative analysis
• Financial modeling 
• Financial statement analysis
• Business valuation
• Commercial, economic, political and sovereign risk analysis
• Industry and company strategic analysis
• Negotiation, communication, and business-related research
  

Through the GCF Concentration, students are exposed to topics such as corporate governance, industry structural analysis, capital markets, cross-border investment, regulation, business model definition, and international economic and commercial institutions. Several offerings include content relevant to emerging market business environments. Within the Concentration, students are able to develop a focus on such topics as: corporate finance, international trade, risk management, and international business strategy.

A Global Commerce and Finance concentrator must successfully complete a total of six courses, one-half of which are required. A course on Corporate and Institutional Finance must be taken in the spring of the first year. (If scheduling dictates, a substitute course on Business Accounting and Finance may be approved by the Concentration Coordinator. Students with prior academic preparation or work experience may petition for a waiver based on recent documented academic or professional training courses and/or demonstrated mastery on a proficiency exam.) Also required is an advanced Finance course, chosen from among several qualifying offerings, and one of three second-year Workshops: Global Finance; Strategy and Management Problem Solving; or International Business-Government Relations. The Global Finance Workshop may qualify as meeting the advanced Finance course requirement.

MSFS students may seek to enroll in courses offered by other graduate programs, including the Business School, where course availability is governed by a cooperative agreement. However, many Business School courses are half-semester, 1.5 credit classes that must be ?paired? with a second 1.5 credit course in the same semester to complete the student?s registration. Courses outside the MSFS program offered in satisfaction of the advanced finance requirement must be approved in advance by the Concentration Coordinator.

International Business - Government Relations

Coordinator: Prof. Ross Harrison

The goal of the International Business Government Relations (IBGR) Concentration is to equip students with the skills and knowledge required for policy analysis, policy advocacy, and public issue management. Courses in this Concentration examine policy-making processes and institutions at the national and international level, and policy and regulatory topics such as trade and investment, financial markets, environment, intellectual property, and energy.

This Concentration is designed for students whose professional interests are in the areas of analysis, formulation, and implementation of public policies related to international business. The Concentration prepares students seeking careers in the government relations profession, general business management and finance, international regulatory and policy coordination agencies, government agencies focused on commercial policy, development banks and agencies, and non-governmental organizations. Students are encouraged to acquire relevant internship experience(s) that will contribute to their academic and professional success.

Courses developed for the Concentration in International Business Government Relations are designed to provide students with a working knowledge of the following:

• Accounting, corporate finance, and business math 
• Commercial, economic, and political risk analysis 
• Corporate governance and business ethics 
• Macroeconomics and exchange rate policy 
• Public sector finance: accounting, budget process, tax policy, debt management 
• Regulation of financial markets, environment/resources, and intellectual property

Through the IBGR Concentration, students are exposed to the following relationships between government and business: regulator/regulatee, procurer/vendor, taxing authority/taxpayer, investor/capital user, advocate/national champion, infrastructure and service provider/private sector user.

Although few concentrators will become finance specialists, courses in financial accounting and corporate finance are required. These required courses help address the need for government relations professionals to communicate with business managers in the language of finance and link government policy to financial and business impacts on the firm. The Concentration also sponsors a course on public finance that addresses the appropriation/budget allocation process in the U.S. and other jurisdictions as well as methods by which government finances itself, i.e. taxation and debt.

To complete this Concentration, a student must pass a total of qualifying six courses, of which three are required. The required courses include a foundation course on International Business-Government Relations in the Global Economy; an introductory course on accounting and finance (either Corporate and Institutional Finance or Business, Accounting and Finance); and a second-year Workshop on International Business-Government Relations. Three elective courses may be chosen from an extensive list of qualifying courses covering policy fields (e.g. energy policy, trade policy) and policy formulation processes of governments, as posted each academic year for this Concentration on Blackboard.

The foundation course for this Concentration must be taken in the spring of the first year in order to be prepared for the concentration workshop. Students unable to register for this course in sequence must seek approval from the Concentration Coordinator for an alternative arrangement. Students with prior academic preparation or work experience may seek a waiver from the accounting and finance course requirement. Waiver petitions will be considered based on recent documented academic or professional training courses and/or demonstrated mastery on a proficiency exam.

Self-Designed and Regional & Comparative Studies

Students interested in designing their own concentration must propose a study plan comprised of five clearly-related courses plus a relevant workshop. This concentration is developed with the advice of a faculty member and approved by the MSFS Director. Some students may wish to develop a multi-disciplinary specialization in a particular region. They may choose a comparative and/or regional focus and develop a historical background in their area as well as an understanding of the economic, political, and socio-cultural issues in the region. Regional specializations require appropriate language skills (language classes do not count toward the MSFS degree). The proposal should (1) clearly describe the goal and coherence of the course of study, and (2) outline, semester by semester, a set of courses that will achieve the student?s goal. (This plan needs to be flexible enough to accommodate uncertainties regarding course schedules.) Regardless of the definition and configuration of the concentration, it must include exposure to those functional areas essential for professional success.