CEU’s School of Public Policy is to launch a new Master of Arts program in International Public Affairs. A two-year program, the MA in International Public Affairs will commence in September 2020 and will be based in Vienna.
The MA is an interdisciplinary degree with an international focus, intended for students preparing for careers in international organizations, NGOs, public administration, or related fields such as journalism and academia.
The overarching aim of the program is to provide students with a solid conceptual grounding in international dimensions of public affairs in readiness for their future roles as policy-makers, advisors, and analysts in government, international organizations and non-governmental organizations or in journalism, thinks tanks and academia.
“This is the first time CEU is going to offer a truly interdepartmental program, with five different departments working together in close cooperation” says Nick Sitter, professor at CEU’s School of Public Policy. The five departments that are taking part in teaching in the MIPA program are the School of Public Policy, the Department of Economics and Business, the Department of International Relations, the Department of Political Science and the Department of History.
In the first term students take a set of compulsory classes to gain a solid grounding in all four main program areas: international relations; politics; public policy; and economics. Upon completing the core areas, students can choose to specialize in either Democracy & Rule of Law or Policy & Governance.
“This differs from other public policy programs as, while policy-oriented, the program provides students with a deep grounding in economics, international relations and political science” explains Nick Sitter. “Most public policy schools serve national governments or are oriented towards institutions such as the EU or the UN. Our new MIPA program stands apart from others through a strong third-sector focus.”
MIPA is intended as an exclusive program with a small class size - 20 students in the first year. With the focus on seminar teaching, the program will have a strong research component.
The new MA plans to closely cooperate with partner institutions in Vienna: universities, public and private organizations and the third sector. The program will play an important part in CEU’s expanding cooperation with European universities, such as CIVICA, The European University of Social Sciences.
The MA in International Public Affairs is open to students with good undergraduate degrees in social sciences, humanities, law and related subjects. The program is registered by the New York State Education Department and accredited in Austria.
