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Degree Programs: Master of International Public Affairs
Globalization presents challenges that demand a new perspective on governance. An increasingly global economy is shaping a new business-government relationship, blunting the regulatory capacity of governments and introducing greater complexity to the design of public policies to promote important social goals. At the same time, critical policy problemssuch as environmental degradation, spread of deadly viruses, and financial market instability increasingly require strategies of global governance that coordinate across nations the actions of governments, businesses, and non-governmental agencies. In short, globalization has stretched the boundaries of public affairs, analytically and managerially. More than ever, the major and the mundane issues of governance link governments with players outside the public sector and beyond domestic borders.
Through rigorous professional training across several disciplines, the Master of International Public Affairs (MIPA) degree program prepares students from the United States and around the world to engage in governance in ways that meet the challenges of globalization. MIPA graduates work in government at home and abroad, in businesses involved in the global economy, in non-governmental agencies with an international focus, in consulting firms analyzing implications of international policies, and in many other areas.
MIPA Curriculum
The MIPA degree program, usually completed in two years of study, is organized around a curriculum of 42 credits made up of five core courses and nine electives, at least three of which are MIPA policy electives. On the foundation of required courses and MIPA policy electives, taught by the La Follette School faculty, the program provides students with great flexibility to pursue their intellectual interests and career goals by selecting from a wide range of courses offered in the many strong departments, schools, and centers across the university to build expertise in specialized focus fields.
Focus fields are represented in clusters of courses, which may include an internship, connected by their relevance to a coherent theme. Policy focus fields develop knowledge in major substantive areas of international public affairs, typically building on MIPA policy electives. Regional focus fields develop broad expertise in a geographic region and may include language courses. The flexibility of the MIPA program permits students to complete either a single focus field of five or more courses or two focus fields of at least three courses each.
Core courses
Five required courses are the foundation of the MIPA degree program.
- International Governance provides the broad substantive framework
for the study of public affairs in the context of globalization. It identifies
and explores major international policy issues and policy context, with an analytical
emphasis on domestic and international public, private, and non-governmental
influences in governance.
- Quantitative Tools for Public Policy Analysis, Macroeconomic Policy and
International Financial Regulation, and Microeconomic Policy Analysis
develop competence in important analytic tools for the study of international
public affairs. Students learn how to assess policy responses to macroeconomic
events, evaluate implications of policies for efficiency and equity, and employ
basic statistical methods to interpret and present quantitative data relevant
to policy considerations.
- Workshop in Public Affairs, International Issues, the MIPA capstone course, gives students practical experience working in teams and applying the conceptual and analytical tools acquired during three semesters of coursework to real-world international issues clients face in the public, private, and non-governmental sectors. Workshop clients have included the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris, the British Embassy in Washington, D.C., the International Land Coalition in Rome, and a non-governmental university in Bangladesh.
MIPA students are also strongly encouraged to build proficiency beyond the core analytical requirements by completing at least one of the following: Quantitative Methods for Policy Policy, Public Program Evaluation, and Cost-Benefit Analysis.
MIPA Policy Electives
MIPA policy electives, taught by the La Follette School faculty, exemplify and develop the theme of governance to meet the challenges of globalization through a specific policy focus. MIPA policy electives also serve as core courses for policy focus fields. All MIPA students complete at least three MIPA policy electives from the list below.
- International Business and Government
- Trade, Competition, and Governance in a Global Economy
- Political Economy of Corruption and Good Governance
- Globalization, Technological Change, and Regulatory Harmonization
- Global Environmental Governance
- Labor in the Global Economy
- Governing Work and Welfare in the European Union
- Government Finance in Developing Countries
- Public Policy Implications of Aging Societies
Focus fields
Students build on MIPA policy electives and select from other courses offered across the university to develop one or two policy focus fields. Alternatively, they can select from courses offered in the university area studies programs to develop a regional focus field, or they can develop a policy focus field and a regional focus field.Policy Focus Fields
MIPA students may choose from among policy focus fields that represent substantive areas of international public affairs. They also may develop an interest outside of these areas, such as international public management. Each policy focus field includes in its curriculum a MIPA policy elective as a required core course. The fields are:
- Business and Government
- Trade and Finance
- Social, Labor, and Employment Policy
- Development
- Energy and Environmental Policy
Regional Focus Fields
Regional focus fields develop broad expertise in a geographic region by clustering together courses, including language courses, across several disciplines, typically emphasizing courses in the social sciences. In building regional focus fields, MIPA students take advantage of the university's strong area studies centers, which include:
- African Studies
- East Asian Studies
- European Studies
- Latin American, Caribbean, and Iberian Studies
- Middle Eastern Studies
- Russian, East European, and Central Asian Studies
- South Asian Studies
- Southeast Asian Studies
Internships
Students are encouraged to strengthen their career preparedness and broaden their placement opportunities by taking up suitable internships in government agencies, international organizations or offices of non-governmental organizations in Madison, elsewhere in Wisconsin, in Washington, D.C., Chicago, New York City and other major centers in the United States or in other countries. Upon approval by the career development coordinator and associate director, students may earn up to three academic credit toward their degree requirements.