Academic Programs

Masters in International Studies

The Master of Arts in International Studies provides students with the opportunity to become experts in the application of theory to problems affecting the international community. The program is designed to offer a skills education of immediate relevance for working professionals already employed in the area of international affairs or a preparatory education for students who will continue their professional education by entering a PhD, JD or MBA program.

The program emphasizes two concentrations in its curriculum: International Political Economy and Global Culture. The International Political Economy concentration focuses on the unevenness in the distribution of resources among various actors and institutions in the world community. It sees the effort to manage this unevenness as the basis for change in that community. It analyzes problems, policies and solutions in these terms. Political Economy represents a common research paradigm and common background literature among researchers in the social sciences.

The Global Culture concentration, in contrast, is a new and somewhat untested paradigm: Recognizing that we live in a integrated world system, how do local and regional cultures respond to the inflow of new ideas? Art objects, food items, music, clothing, standards of beauty, medical technology, religious images, and traditional social practices of various kinds flow freely across cultural boundaries where their strangeness is reduced through interpretations that are different from those of their creators. There are a variety of consequences to a group's sense of self and community, both in a positive and negative sense, to living in this kind of global community. Global Culture Studies is the term given to scholarship that focuses on this human experience.

The Master of Arts in International Studies is intended to be a small program of 10 to 20 students who move through the course work and thesis colloquia together each year. The students must be proficient in the speaking, reading, and oral comprehension of a modern language other than English.

Who may apply?

The following is a sample of the curriculum for the JD/MA in International Studies program. It is based upon a student being a full-time day student in both programs. Part-time students may earn a combined degree, but it will take longer to complete.

First Year
The student must complete the required first year College of Law coursework, as described on page.

Second Year
The student enrolls in 12 semester hours (4 courses) in the College of Law and 24 quarter hours (6 courses) in the International Studies program. Students must register for Criminal Procedure in the fall of their second year.

Third Year
The student enrolls in 12 semester hours in the College of Law (4 courses) and 16 quarter hours (4 courses) in the International Studies program. Before graduation, College of Law students must pass Legal Profession and successfully complete a Senior Research Seminar in an International Law subject.

Fourth Year
The student enrolls in a total of 24 semester hours (8 courses) in the College of Law.

Because Ireland is an active supporter of the European Community, all of these courses are taught from a European law perspective. This gives the DePaul law students both an international and a comparative perspective of these subjects.

DePaul law students are required to complete the same examinations as UCD students in their courses. At the end of the academic year, a report on each DePaul law student and their final grades are sent to DePaul College of Law. DePaul College of Law will make the final determination whether to grant credit for the courses taken at UCD.

Electives for the Joint Program from the College of Law

A student must select at least five of these courses. Other courses may be added in the future:

• International Criminal Law: Substantive (seminar)
• International Criminal Law: Procedure (seminar)
• International Environmental Law (seminar)
• International and Comparative Aspects of Art and the Law (seminar)
• Public International Law
• Comparative Law
• Law of the European Union
• International Business Transactions
• International Protection of Human Rights
• International Trade Law
• International Organizations

International Studies Core Curriculum

A student must select at least five of these courses. Other courses may be added in the future:

• Pro-seminar in International Studies
• Complex Social Organizations
• Movements, Regimes and Ideologies
• International Communication Theories
• Economics in the International Context
• Seminar in Global Geography

International Studies Core Curriculum

College of Law Courses:
The College of Law offers many International Studies law courses from which the College of Liberal Arts may approve 16 quarter hours toward the combined degree. The program coordinator from the International Studies Program must give final approval before the courses will be accepted for combined credit.

International Studies Courses:
The International Studies Program offers a wide range of courses from which the College of Law may approve 10 semester hours toward the combined degree. A combined degree student may not receive credit for courses in either of the two Colleges that create a redundancy in course work.