Contacts
Admissions: Emily Rutherford, Associate Director of Admissions 315-443-2319 maxenroll@syr.edu
Advising: Emily Alber Chase, Associate Director of Student Services, Public Administration and International Affairs 315-443-4000 paia@syr.edu
Michael Williams, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Director of MAIR Program, mjwill14@syr.edu
Program Description
The interdisciplinary Master of Arts in International Relations (MAIR) degree combines the Maxwell School’s long-standing engagement on contemporary world problems with scholarly and practical approaches to addressing them.
The degree incorporates academic study and professional field training to prepare students for positions in the public, non-profit, and private sectors. Students complete 40 credits of course work offered by the Maxwell School’s social science departments over either a year and a half or two years.
MAIR Degree Overview
Featuring a global student body, the MAIR degree provides rigorous academic and professional training for positions in the public, non-profit, and private sectors.
The degree incorporates coursework drawn from across the social science departments of the Maxwell School.
This interdisciplinary curriculum builds on the research conducted in its internationally-focused research centers, such as the Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration, the Institute for Security Policy and Law, and the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs and its seven regionally focused centers.
Students may also take courses in other colleges at the University, particularly the College of Law, the Whitman School of Management, the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, and the School of Information Studies, as well as the State University of New York’s New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF).
The MAIR degree requires 40 credits of coursework. All students complete a core curriculum of five courses, to ensure proficiency in international relations theory, economics, management, program and research evaluation, and statistics.
Elective courses offer an understanding of the pressing challenges present in the international system. These course options include the Maxwell School’s internationally-focused social science electives or other internationally-focused graduate-level coursework at Syracuse University.
Students pair academic study with practice in the discipline through a required professional internship experience. This internship experience is conducted in Washington, D.C. or overseas through a multitude of Global Program offerings hosted by the Maxwell School or other Syracuse University international partnerships.
Core Requirements (15 Credits)
Management
MAIR students are trained to lead staff and manage programs in the international system. The following courses allow them to develop these skills in the non-governmental, government, and international organization sectors.
Course List | Code | Title | Credits |
| 3 |
| Challenges of International Management and Leadership | |
| NGO Management in Developing and Transitioning Countries | |
Statistics (3 Credits)
MAIR students are trained in applying statistical analysis to identify policy changes and assess responses, through the choice of one of the following courses.
Course List | Code | Title | Credits |
| 3 |
| Economic Statistics | |
| Quantitative Skills in International Relations | |
| Introduction to Statistics | |
| Introduction to Quantitative Political Analysis | |
| Linear Statistical Models I: Regression Models | |
Economics (3 Credits)
MAIR students are trained in the application of macro- and microeconomic principles for the analysis of international economic policy, through the choice of one of the following courses.
Course List | Code | Title | Credits |
| 3 |
| Survey Microeconomic Theory | |
| Economic Principles for International Affairs | |
| Economics for Public Decisions | |
International Relations (3 Credits)
MAIR students apply international relations theories to explain the emergence of events and to develop policies to address international problems.
Course List | Code | Title | Credits |
| PAI 710 | International Actors and Issues | 3 |
Research Methodology (3 Credits)
MAIR students are equipped to effectively use international relations research through the use of appropriate social science research methods to evaluate policies from a data-driven perspective. Students choose which one of the following courses is a best fit for their career preparation.
Course List | Code | Title | Credits |
| 3 |
| Ethnographic Techniques | |
| Research Design for IR Practitioners | |
| Quantitative Analysis | |
| Public Relations Research | |
Professional Skills
MAIR students develop their professional skills through an internship and, the international relations capstone seminar.
Professional Internship
The internship requirement for the international relations degree requires 250 hours of service time over a minimum of twelve weeks during the fall and spring semesters or 250 hours of service time over a minimum of seven weeks during the summer semester.
The internship may be taken not-for-credit or for credit to be applied towards the MAIR degree.
Internships can be conducted in the United States and around the world.
International Relations Capstone Seminar
Course List | Code | Title | Credits |
| PAI 706 | International Relations Capstone | 1 |
Career Tracks
Each MAIR student must complete 12 credits of coursework in one of the following five career tracks.
- Conflict Resolution
- Data Analysis for International Affairs
- International Development
- International Political Economy
- International Service
- Regional Concentrations
- Security Studies
