Graduate School of International Relations and
Pacific Studies
Graduate School of International Relations
and Pacific Studies (IR/PS) Courses, Curricula and Program of Instruction
The Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies
(IR/PS), at the University of California, San Diego was created
by the Board of Regents in 1986 as the University of Californias
first professional school of international affairs. The schools
regional focus is on the Pacific Rim, which extends from the southernmost
tip of Latin America northward, across the United States and Canada,
down through the Soviet Union, Japan, China, Korea, the Philippines,
Australia, New Zealand, and the other nations of Oceania.
The schools programs have been developed in response to
the increasing participation of the United States in global economic
and political affairs. The United States wields less economic and
political influence than it did in the immediate postwar years;
at the same time, American industries face increasing competitive
pressures in domestic and international markets. As a result, professionals
who can understand and work in an internationalized environment
are needed in both the public and private sectors. Moreover, while
the United States once looked primarily to Europe as the site of
its major commercial, financial, and strategic interests, the United
States now has large stakes in the Pacific Basin, a likely source
of both our greatest national challenges and possibilities in the
next decades. These changes create both a need and an opportunity:
a need for new programs of training and research in international
affairs and an opportunity for a new school of international affairs
and management to develop a distinctive, modern program that links
professional training with international competence and gives greater
prominence to the Pacific Basin.
The schools primary objectives are to prepare students with
an interest in the Pacific Rim countries for positions of leadership
in business, government, journalism, diplomacy, public service,
and other fields; to serve as a center of excellence for research
on economic, political, social, technological, and security issues
confronting those nations; and to promote dialogue on Pacific region
issues of common concern.
- The degree programs provide students with professional training
for careers in international affairs and management, including
jobs in industry, government, international organizations, foundations,
schools, and research institutes. Whatever their specific goals,
students receive a broad training across professional areas so
that those headed for the government have a grasp of decisions
in the private sector and those planning business careers acquire
a grasp of decision-making in public organizations. A program
combining applied social science and professional subjects with
courses on Pacific region countries provides students with both
general skills and particular knowledge of the history, culture,
language, and contemporary situations of those countries.
- The school serves as a center for research on issues of common
concern to the nations of the Pacific Rim. Since the Pacific Rim
countries have become important foci of economic and security
relations, the need for information and research centered on this
dynamic region has become urgent. The diversity of national experiences
represented by the Pacific region countries suggests a research
agenda that includes comparisons of different approaches to economic
management, foreign relations, policymaking, and development.
- As part of the University of California, the school plays an
important role in developing public awareness and understanding
of the Pacific region. Programs of public outreach contribute
to the information available to citizens and specialized groups
about international issues that affect their lives.
Degree Programs
The degrees offered by the school include a professional Master
of Pacific International Affairs (M.P.I.A.), a Ph.D. in Political
Science and International Affairs offered jointly with the Department
of Political Science, and a Ph.D. in Economics and International
Affairs offered jointly with the Department of Economics. Training
emphasizes international relations, economics and management, international
technology management, policy, knowledge of specific countries or
regions, analytical and research skills, and foreign language.
Mid-career and other executive certificate programs are also offered
by IR/PS. In particular, the International Career Associates Program
(ICAP) is designed for working professionals seeking additional
study in international management, international relations, and
comparative public policy. Participants in the program spend an
academic year at IR/PS beginning in mid-September and ending in
mid-June. Under the auspices of the program, associates have the
opportunity to further internationalize their knowledge and experience
as well as enhance their professional development in such areas
as finance, accounting, quantitative methods, econometrics, and
long-range strategic planning. The program of study is tailored
to individual interests under the guidance of the programs
director and faculty advisers.
The M.P.I.A. program is distinctive in several respects. The program:
- Exposes students to the perspectives of both private business
and public policymaking.
- Offers specialized training in economics, management, international
relations, and political analysis and integrates the languages,
history, and cultures of the Pacific region into the curriculum.
- Creates a laboratory for comparative analysis of economic management,
foreign relations, policymaking, and development in the diverse
countries of the Pacific region.
- Offers language skills training necessary for international
affairs professionals specializing in Pacific Rim countries.
The Ph.D. in International Affairs is offered only in conjunction
with either the Ph.D. in political science or the Ph.D in economics.
These Ph.D. programs are designed for students who seek a rigorous
training in a discipline (either economics or political science)
along with a specialization in a specific policy area and regional
expertise. Ph.D. students will be required to demonstrate knowledge
of a foreign language linked to their regional specialization.
The masters and Ph.D. programs are distinct and separate.
There is little overlap in the structure or requirements of the
two programs because their objectives are very different. The masters
program provides professional training for graduates who will pursue
international careers in business, government, journalism, and other
fields. The Ph.D. programs offer an academic education to a small
number of students who will pursue international careers requiring
advanced research capabilities in universities, corporations, government
agencies, consulting firms, or other research organizations.
The masters and Ph.D. programs do share a common intellectual
framework. Both the professional masters curriculum and the
academic Ph.D. curriculum are designed to bring the theories, methods,
and insights of various disciplines together to analyze policy issues
of the Pacific region and to blend the perspectives of public policy
makers and private managers. The same faculty teach and advise students
in both the masters and Ph.D. programs.
The Faculty
The school has attracted an interdisciplinary faculty from such
fields as economics, management sciences, international relations,
comparative politics, public policy, and linguistics. The various
programs draw upon and contribute to research which focuses on the
regions of the Pacific Rim and on major issues that affect the region.
The school places special emphasis on research in and teaching
of topics of particular importance to the program. These topics
currently include:
- The Pacific Rim as system, including the interaction of the
countries and regions within it (e.g., Latin American-Japanese
economic relations, U.S. relations with both East Asia and Latin
America, and the placement of the Pacific in the global system
of international relations, both contemporary and historical).
- Studies in international economics, management, and finance,
including such subject areas as international competition, comparative
industrial organizations, international trade and development,
industrial relations, technological innovation, international
financial structures, policies, institutions, and historical patterns
of development.
- Comparison of the trajectories of socioeconomic development
among the countries of Asia and Latin America, including the exploration
of differences and similarities in state-society relations, culture,
entrepreneurship, linkage to the global economy, and geopolitical
position.
- Comparative analysis of patterns of policymaking in the countries
of the Pacific region to understand how different governmental
structures, economic systems, and social group interests shape
the policy process and influence policy choices in such areas
as budget allocation, regulation of industry, and foreign trade.
For further information, contact the Office of Admissions, Graduate
School of International Relations and Pacific Studies, UCSD, 9500
Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0520. (858) 534-5914, email: irps-apply@ucsd.edu,
Web site: http://www-irps.ucsd.edu.
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