phd international relations stanford

Graduate Programs

The division’s three M.A. programs attract students from around the globe, building a strong community of scholars. These one-year, multidisciplinary programs provide intensive study for students interested in deepening their understanding of history, culture and contemporary policy problems. Each center creates a unique program of study leveraging Stanford’s world class faculty in the School of Humanities and Sciences as well as in the professional schools and affiliated institutes on campus.

Joint degree programs with the professional schools are available as are coterminal programs for Stanford undergraduates interested in pursuing graduate degrees. SGS M.A. graduates often pursue careers in government, NGOs and business.

East Asian Studies

The interdisciplinary master's degree in East Asian Studies offered by the Center for East Asian Studies allows students to design an interdisciplinary course of study tailored to their individual intellectual interests and career goals.

Latin American Studies

The interdisciplinary M.A. in Latin American Studies curriculum consists of a core set of courses surveying the history, politics, culture and society, environment and ecology of the region, along with advanced language training.

Russian, East European & Eurasian Studies

The M.A. degree in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies (REEES) provides students with a strong grounding in historical & contemporary processes of change in the Russian Federation, Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia.

Caitlyn Littlepage

M.A. Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies '17 B.A. International Relations '16

"I remember one day in our film class watching Solaris and being struck with the humanity of our field of study. It’s easy to forget when focusing on history and politics that there is a deep undercurrent of culture and art that defines the Eastern European experience as well. Despite ideological obstacles to artistic experimentation and freedom, resilience and creativity won out. This is just as true for the Ukrainian authors of the 19th century and the protestors of today. From that point forward I tried to make it a point to always consider the human factor, rather than allowing myself to focus solely on political trends and rule from the top."

Office: Encina Hall Central, Suite 30 Mail Code: 94305-6045 Phone: (650) 498-2931 Email: [email protected] Web Site: http://internationalrelations.stanford.edu

Courses offered by the Program in International Relations are listed under the subject code INTNLREL on the Stanford Bulletin's ExploreCourses web site.

Mission of the Program in International Relations

The Program in International Relations (IR) offers an interdisciplinary major and minor that studies the interaction of actors in international politics, including states and non-state actors, such as the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, Amnesty International and other NGOs. Topics of study include foreign policy; international conflict and negotiation; war, peace, and international security; terrorism; international trade and economics; human rights, ethics, and humanitarianism; climate change and environmental issues; global health; among others. International relations’ broad scope requires an interdisciplinary approach, drawing upon the fields of political science, economics, history, sociology, data science, law, foreign languages, and other fields. The IR major prepares students for careers in the government, nongovernment, and private sectors, and for admission into graduate programs, including law, international policy, business, political science, economics, and journalism.

Bachelor of Arts in International Relations

International Relations (IR) majors pursue a course of study in world politics that includes classes in political science, economics, history, environmental policy, languages, and other fields. IR majors may focus on a range of issues including international security, international trade and finance, political and economic development, human rights and humanitarian policy, democratization, climate change, global health as well as the politics, history, and cultures of other countries and world regions. All IR majors must spend at least one quarter studying abroad and achieve high proficiency (through second-year college level) in a foreign language. The IR major prepares students for careers in the government, nongovernment, and private sectors, and for admission into graduate programs, including law, international policy, business, political science, economics, and journalism.

Minor in International Relations

The International Relations (IR) minor is an interdisciplinary program focusing on how global, regional, and domestic factors influence relations between actors in the modern state system. IR minors may focus on a range of issues including international security, international trade and finance, political and economic development, human rights and humanitarian policy, democratization, climate change, global health as well as the politics, history, and cultures of other countries and world regions. IR minors are not required to study abroad or show advanced proficiency in a foreign language. 

Honors Program 

The International Relations (IR) honors program offers qualified IR majors the opportunity to conduct an in-depth independent research project under faculty guidance. Such a project requires a high degree of initiative and dedication, significant amounts of time and energy, and demonstrated skills in research and writing.

In their junior year, students should consult with prospective honors advisors, choose the courses that provide academic background in their areas of inquiry, and demonstrate an ability to conduct independent research. Students can also select to complete an Interdisciplinary honors thesis with other programs on campus.

Prerequisites for participation include a 3.5 grade point average (GPA), a strong overall academic record, good academic standing, successful experience in writing a research paper, and submission of an acceptable thesis proposal.  Students should submit their honors thesis proposal late in Winter Quarter of the junior year; please check with the IR office for the exact deadline. Students are required to enroll in course International Relations Honors Field Research, in Spring Quarter of their junior year and should consider participating in Bing Honors College . In their senior year, honors students must enroll in course International Relations Honors Seminar in Autumn Quarter, course  IR Honors Thesis Writing in Winter Quarter, and in research units through course Senior Thesis each quarter of their senior year (Autumn, Winter, and Spring) with their faculty advisor. Honors students present a formal defense of their theses in mid-May. Students must receive at least a grade of ‘B+’ in order to graduate with honors in International Relations.

Coterminal Programs in Related Fields

It is possible for students majoring in International Relations to work simultaneously for a coterminal master’s degree in a number of related fields. Coterminal students should consult advisers in both departments or programs to ensure that they fulfill the degree requirements in both fields. For information on the M.A. program in International Policy, see the International Policy section of this bulletin. University requirements for the coterminal M.A. are described in the Coterminal Master's Degrees section of this bulletin. See also the Registrar's Coterminal Degree Programs pages.

Director:  Kenneth Schultz (Political Science). 

Faculty Executive Committee:  Judith L. Goldstein (Political Science), Norman Naimark (History), Steven Press (History), Kenneth Schultz (Political Science), Kathryn Stoner (Freeman Spogli Institute), Michael Tomz (Political Science). 

Affiliated Faculty:  Lisa Blaydes (Political Science), Gordon Chang (History), David Cohen (Classics), Larry J. Diamond (Hoover Institution), Amir Eshel (German Studies), James Fearon (Political Science), Zephyr Frank (History), Francis Fukuyama (Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Political Science), Lawrence H. Goulder (Economics), Anna Grzymala-Busse (Political Science), Stephen H. Haber (Political Science), Daniel Ho (Stanford Law School, Political Science), David J. Holloway (History, Political Science), Colin Kahl (Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies), Stephen D. Krasner (Political Science), Beatriz Magaloni (Political Science), Michael McFaul (Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Political Science), Robert McGinn (Management Science and Engineering), Brett McGurk (Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies), H.R. McMaster (Hoover Institution), Rosamond Naylor (Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies), Jean C. Oi (Political Science), Richard Roberts (History), Condoleezza Rice (Political Science, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies), Jonathan Rodden (Political Science), Scott Sagan (Political Science), Debra M. Satz (Philosophy), Andrew Walder (Sociology), Amir Weiner (History), Jeremy Weinstein (Political Science), Paul Wise (Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies), Amy Zegart (Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Political Science).

Other Affiliation:  Kevin Arrigo (Earth System Science), Chonira Aturupane (Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies), (Karen Biestman (Native American Cultural Center), Jasmina Bojic (International Relations), Marshall Burke (Earth System Science, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies), Robert Crews (History), Christophe Crombez (Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies), Thomas Fingar (Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies), Erica Gould (International Relations), Kathleen Janus (Freeman Spogli Institute for Program on Social Entrepreneurship, International Relations), Katherine Jolluck (History),  Anjini Kochar (Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research), Martin W. Lewis (History), Pawel Lutomski (International Relations), Abbas Milani (Hoover Institution, Iranian Studies), Alice Lyman Miller (Hoover Institution), Thomas O'Keefe (International Relations), Bertrand Patenaude (International Relations),  Robert Rakove (International Relations), Scott Rozelle (Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies), Margaret Sena (El Centro Chicano), Beth Van Schaack (Stanford Law School), Stephen Stedman (Political Science), Harold Trinkunas (Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies), Gil-Li Vardi (International Relations, History)

Graduate Advising

For a statement of University policy on graduate advising, see the  Graduate Advising  section of this bulletin.

Political Science

PhD Admissions

Interested in applying? Please see our frequently asked questions for prospective PhD students.

Undergraduate Program

Our workshops provide a forum to discuss the main themes of research in the field today. We feature presentations by graduate students, Stanford faculty, and faculty from other leading institutions.

Awards, Research, and Media Mentions

Diversity Statement & Resources

Dedicated to understanding and teaching politics.

Stanford Political Science students balance quantitative and qualitative methods as they engage with issues in political behavior, public policies, governance systems, and institutional design. Our department offers a breadth of courses taught by leading experts in domestic and international politics.

Learn More About Us

Job Market Candidates

Undergraduate Major

The mission of the undergraduate program in Political Science is to provide students with a solid grasp of the American political system and other political systems within the context of global forces, international conflicts, social movements, ideological systems and diversity.

There are no workshops currently scheduled.

Publications

Philanthropy in Democratic Societies: History, Institutions, Values

Rob Reich , Chiara Cordelli, Lucy Bernholz

Zouping Revisited: Adaptive Governance in a Chinese County

Jean C. Oi , Steven Goldstein

Online Panel Research: A Data Quality Perspective

Mario Callegaro, Reg Baker, Jelke Bethlehem, Anja S. Göritz,  Jon A. Krosnick , Paul J. Lavrakas

International and National Security Policy

In a world where problems cross borders and disciplines, where threats that were previously thought to be independent are found to be interconnected, where distinctions between what is domestic policy and what is foreign policy are becoming more and more tenuous, students need training and perspective to break down disciplinary silos. They need the tools and dexterity to work across issue areas and in diverse policy arenas. They need to see connections that others miss, and be able to describe and explain those connections so that others will then see them too. The concentration in International Policy Studies aims to train the next generation of policy leaders who will go on to influence policy making in trade, foreign affairs, security, economic development and the environment.

Note that the courses below are not an exhaustive list; students may select other courses for their concentration with the approval of their faculty advisor. 

Affiliated Faculty

James Fearon

Francis Fukuyama

Judith L. Goldstein

Kenneth Schultz

Allen S. Weiner

Gateway & Elective Courses

Academics and Research

African and African American Studies Department*

The Department of African and African American Studies provide students with an interdisciplinary introduction to the study of African, African American, and African descended people all over the world as a central component of American and world culture. The major offers a choice of three tracks: African American Studies, African Studies, and Global Black Diaspora Studies. Students will also participate in community engaged learning opportunities and language study. 

*Note: Students will be able to declare majors and minors in the new Department of African and African American Studies starting Sept. 1, 2024. 

African and African American Studies Program*

African and African American Studies (AAAS) provides an interdisciplinary approach to the study of peoples of African descent within societies worldwide. Courses promote research across departmental boundaries, allowing students to explore the intersections of gender, class, race, religion, and other dynamics.

The first ethnic studies program developed at a private institution in the United States, AAAS has established a network of scholars who bridge such fields as anthropology, art, economics, feminist studies, history, linguistics, and literature. It is closely associated with Stanford’s Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity and many other centers on campus that support social progress though the expansion of knowledge.

View highlights of the AAAS program's undergraduate offerings.

Explore careers of undergraduate AAAS alumni.

*Note: Students can declare the AAAS interdisciplinary program major and minor through Aug. 31, 2024 (the AAAS IDP remains in H&S but will no longer accept new majors and minors after Sept. 1). Students will be able to declare a major or minor in the Department of African and African American Studies beginning Sept. 1.

American Studies

The interdisciplinary program in American Studies promotes a broad understanding of U.S. culture and society. It connects scholars of English literature, performance studies, education, sociology, and many other disciplines whose work examines the past and present of the United States and also shapes how the nation imagines its future.

Students design their own course of study while investigating the many dimensions of U.S. life—race, gender, technology, religion, and mass media, for example. Because the program spans many disciplines, students benefit from access to faculty in economics, history, music, and other departments. American Studies offers endless opportunities to apply the full range of Stanford’s resources to the project of understanding the U.S. in a global context.

Anthropology

Stanford’s Department of Anthropology focuses on the study of human beings and societies through the examination of social, historical, ecological, and biological change across time. Known for its innovative approaches, the department focuses on the full span of human history and full range of human societies and cultures, including those in marginalized parts of the world.

Students are encouraged to integrate theory and research methods as they explore a range of related subfields that include archaeology, ecology, evolution, linguistics, medical anthropology, political economy, and science and technology. Areas of faculty and student research include questions of social, cultural, and biological diversity and issues of power, identity, and inequality.

View highlights of the anthropology department's undergraduate offerings.

Applied Physics

The Department of Applied Physics focuses on solving technological and scientific challenges through the lens of physics. The department has a long tradition of building tools, from solid-state lasers to the atomic force microscope, with many advances becoming foundational in new fields of research and industries. Applied Physics has four main research areas: nano science and quantum engineering, lasers and particle accelerators, condensed matter physics, and experimental and theoretical biophysics.

Through collaboration and joint appointments with electrical engineering, biology, chemistry, and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, faculty and graduate students work on innovative concepts in foundational and applied physics that advance the boundaries of science.

Archaeology

Drawing methods and ideas from the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, archaeology introduces students to robust, multifaceted analyses of material culture and human societies. Coursework intersects with history, biology, earth systems, classics, anthropology, and other disciplines.

Stanford archaeology advances innovative research across the globe. The Archaeology Center on campus supports interdisciplinary collaboration as a venue where Stanford faculty and visiting scholars work to make the experiences of people, from the ancient past to the modern era, accessible in new ways. Students can apply what they learn in the classroom by participating in summer field schools in Europe, South America, and California.

Art and Art History

The Department of Art and Art History at Stanford encompasses the history of art, the practice of art in the studio, and film and media studies. Courses investigate the historical development of images and media and their influence on society, as well as their relationship to other disciplines such as literature and music.

Critical thinking and technical skills learned in the classroom inform the creation of artwork in studios, labs, screening rooms, and galleries on campus. Between lecture series, symposia, gallery exhibits, film screenings, and design presentations, the department participates in more than 60 events a year.

View highlights of the art and art history department's undergraduate offerings.

Explore careers of undergraduate art and art history alumni.

Asian American Studies

Center for comparative studies in race and ethnicity (ccsre).

Asian American Studies (AAS) is dedicated to understanding Asian peoples in the U.S. from contemporary and historical points of view. With a broad range of interests and expertise, faculty in AAS take an interdisciplinary approach to studying the complex, diverse, and ever-changing cultures that constitute the Asian American experience.

Undergraduates at Stanford may earn a major or minor in Asian American Studies by taking courses in many departments, including history, English, anthropology, and music. The program is a home for students exploring every dimension of Asian American life from art and literature to social and cultural history to politics and policy. It provides an excellent foundation for appreciating complexity within a diverse, interdependent world.

Stanford’s top-ranked Department of Biology encompasses many sub-disciplines ranging from molecular biology to ecology. Through a core set of courses and specialized electives, undergraduate students study and analyze the building blocks of life, from molecules and cells to organisms and ecosystems. 

Undergraduates and graduate students work with renowned faculty specializing in ecology, plant and animal physiology, population biology, genetics, immunology, neurobiology, cell and developmental biology, molecular biology, and biochemistry. In addition to working in labs on campus, students can pursue research at Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains and at Hopkins Marine Station in Pacific Grove on the Monterey Peninsula (which is part of the Doerr School of Sustainability).

View highlights of the biology department's undergraduate offerings.

Graduate joint degree offered: MD/PhD

The Stanford Biophysics Program is an interdisciplinary, interdepartmental graduate training program that leads to a doctoral degree. It brings together faculty from more than a dozen departments in the Schools of Humanities and Sciences, Medicine, and Engineering, as well as the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory. Research in Biophysics applies the principles of chemistry and physics to solving biological problems with the help of the latest methodologies, such as computational biology and molecular analysis.

The program trains students to approach biological problems quantitatively. With the benefit of advanced coursework and exceptional facilities—including the Lucas Center for Imaging, which houses multiple whole-body MRI systems—students develop the skills needed to direct their own research to address critical problems in the field.

Through courses and lab work that promote collaboration and active learning, Stanford’s undergraduate program in chemistry teaches fundamental concepts key to advancing the molecular sciences. The department’s mission is to explore and advance new chemical frontiers in the life sciences, physical sciences, medicine, energy, and materials and environmental sciences through collaborative research and scholarship.

Undergraduate and graduate students have opportunities to work with leading faculty who study atomic and molecular systems, create new forms of matter, and develop experimental and theoretical tools to understand and control the behavior of electrons, atoms, molecules, and materials for the benefit of science and society.

View highlights of the chemistry department's undergraduate offerings.

Chicana/o-Latina/o Studies

The program in Chicana/o-Latina/o Studies deals principally with the important and growing population in the United States that originates from Mexico, Latin America, and South America. In the interest of understanding this population in its cultural, economic, and political dimensions, the program supports collaboration among faculty in a variety of disciplines.

Undergraduates who pursue a major or minor in Chicana/o-Latina/o Studies take an interdisciplinary approach to the full range of experiences relevant to the lives of Chicanas/os and Latinas/os in the U.S. today. Courses on topics such as poetry, film, childhood development, and educational policy are offered along with opportunities for learning through service. It is an intellectually rigorous course of study that addresses issues of major social significance.

Stanford’s Department of Classics takes an interdisciplinary approach to studying the literature and culture of the ancient world. Students examine history, language, literature, art, philosophy, and archaeology in courses that situate Greece and Rome in relation to other ancient societies.

At Stanford, classics is a dynamic field in which faculty and students employ diverse methods of study across media, genres, and time. Coursework delves into specialized fields such as ancient economics, law, and science to illuminate the relationships between various cultures and the ancient world’s influence on the contemporary one. Classics also collaborates with the Department of Philosophy to offer undergraduate and graduate joint programs in ancient philosophy.

View highlights of the classics department's undergraduate offerings.

Explore careers of undergraduate classics alumni.

Communication

Stanford’s Department of Communication focuses on studying the ways that communication techniques and technologies shape who we are, how we govern ourselves, and what kinds of cultures we inhabit as a society.

For undergraduate majors and coterminal master’s students, the department offers a broad introduction to the social and psychological power of communication. Master’s students in journalism pursue an intensive year-long program that emphasizes multimedia storytelling, data-driven reporting, and experimentation in immersive journalism about public affairs issues. Graduates work everywhere from Google News to The Washington Post. Doctoral candidates work with faculty within and beyond the department, developing their own research programs.

View highlights of the communication department's undergraduate offerings.

Graduate joint degree offered: JD/PhD

Comparative Literature

Division of literatures, cultures, and languages (dlcl).

Comparative Literature (part of the Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages) provides students the opportunity to study literature in all its forms. While other disciplines focus on works of literature as parts of specific national or linguistic traditions, comparative literature examines the nature of literary phenomena themselves by drawing together texts from around the globe and from different historical periods. The department focuses on literary forms such as narratives, performance, and poetry, as well as cinema, music, and new emerging media.

Along with the traditional model of comparative literature that juxtaposes two or more national literary cultures, the department supports teaching and research that uses specialized tools of inquiry such as literary theory, the application of philosophy to literature (and vice versa), and other methods that enrich literary study.

Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity

Undergraduate students interested in exploring race and ethnicity from an interdisciplinary perspective may choose from a diverse array of courses as part of a major or minor in CSRE. Faculty in fields such as anthropology, economics, and philosophy teach in the program. In addition to coursework, students are encouraged to pursue their interests through internships, engagement with the community, and original research.

The Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity supports scholarship that illuminates how race and ethnicity are essential aspects of society today. As a hub for interdisciplinary research and teaching, the center fosters a deep understanding of the past and develops tools to address current social problems in the interest of creating a more just and equitable world.

View highlights of the CSRE program's undergraduate offerings.

Explore careers of undergraduate CSRE alumni.

Data Science

Stanford’s Program in Data Science provides foundational knowledge for tackling data-driven problems in science, industry, and society. Students learn mathematical modeling, inferential thinking, and computational strategies. They consider the ethical use of data and technology and explore applications of data science to scientific challenges and social problems.

Students take courses in multiple departments, including mathematics, statistics, computer science, engineering, and the social sciences (BA). Electives allow students to define their own intellectual pathway. Capstone experiences provide opportunities for individual research projects or collaborative work with partners from industry, government, and nonprofits to put knowledge into action.

View highlights of the data science program's undergraduate offerings.

Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law

Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law (DDRL) is an honors program available to undergraduate seniors in any department or program at Stanford. Students in DDRL work closely with affiliated faculty and enjoy special opportunities to engage with visiting policymakers and government officials.

With the help of specialized instruction in research methods and regular workshops that facilitate collaboration, students who earn honors in DDRL produce original theses on such topics as technology’s impact on the political process, the history of immigration and border control, and global solutions to malnutrition.

The Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages (DLCL) is home to the departments of Comparative Literature, French and Italian, German Studies, Iberian and Latin American Cultures, and Slavic Languages and Literatures. The division’s faculty are expert teachers of numerous modern languages and scholars of culture, literature, history, politics, and philosophy in a wide range of traditions.

In courses on campus and in the Bing Overseas Studies Program, DLCL students learn to think critically and globally about how people use language to make sense of the world, to claim an identity and a place in history, to entertain, and to persuade. In addition to its majors, DLCL offers an undergraduate minor in Medieval studies and a PhD minor in philosophy, literature, and the arts.

View highlights of DLCL's undergraduate offerings.

Explore careers of undergraduate DLCL alumni.

East Asian Languages and Cultures

In Stanford’s Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, students study China, Japan, and Korea through coursework on language, linguistics, literature, film, cultural studies, and visual arts. Small classes are led by faculty and visiting scholars whose specialties range from traditional poetry to modern politics.

Intense language training and cultural immersion are cornerstones of the department. Students can also participate in Stanford’s overseas program in Kyoto, where they can explore topics such as religion, art, and the culture and economy of contemporary Japan.

View highlights of EALC's undergraduate offerings.

Explore careers of undergraduate EALC alumni.

East Asian Studies

Stanford global studies (sgs).

Stanford’s master’s degree program in East Asian Studies combines language training, interdisciplinary area studies, and a disciplinary concentration. Students construct a course of study suited to their interests and career aspirations.

The program is designed for those who want to concentrate on East Asia at the doctoral level but have not selected a specific discipline, or for those who wish to pursue intensive area studies and language training before moving on to advanced study. Stanford offers a joint degree program in East Asian Studies and law and dual degree programs with education or business. The program also attracts students who plan to specialize in East Asian Studies for careers in fields such as government service or journalism.

Graduate joint degree offered: JD/MA

Stanford’s prestigious Department of Economics trains undergraduates and graduate students in the methods and ideas of modern economics. It collaborates with the medical school, the business school, and departments across campus. The department leverages Stanford's strengths in big data and machine learning methods to deepen the insights of the field, and its groundbreaking interdisciplinary foundational and applied research is expanding our understanding of broad issues such as social mobility and education.

Students can extend their education through research assistantships with faculty within the department and at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, where economists collaborate with leaders in business, technology, health care, and government on policy-oriented research.

View highlights of the economics department's undergraduate offerings.  

Graduate joint degrees offered: JD/MA, JD/PhD, and MPP/PhD

In Stanford’s top-ranked Department of English, students analyze the culture of the written word through literature, focusing on traditions in English across a range of media. Coursework emphasizes interpretive thinking and creative writing; literary and cultural history; literary form and genre; and reading, writing, and critical analysis. The graduate program involves intensive training in the research and analysis of British, U.S., and other Anglophone literary histories and texts, preparing students to produce original scholarship and teach literature at the highest levels.

The department is also home to Stanford’s renowned Creative Writing Program, which offers workshops and tutorials in fiction, poetry, and nonfiction in addition to a reading series featuring prominent contemporary writers.

View highlights of the English department's undergraduate offerings.

Explore careers of undergraduate English alumni.

Ethics in Society

Ethics in Society offers undergraduates in any major the chance to earn honors by writing a thesis that applies moral and political philosophy to important social problems. Recent theses have focused on topical subjects such as inequality in education and the ethics of finance.

Students may also pursue a minor in Ethics and Society, engaging with moral issues, both personal and public. Choosing from a range of elective courses, students develop a foundation in ethical reasoning that may be applied to a particular theme, such as medicine, the environment, or technology.

Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies is an interdisciplinary program that provides students with the knowledge and skills needed to investigate the significance of gender and sexuality in all arenas of human life. Students learn to think critically about gender roles, relations, and identities and also how gender intersects with other social constructs such as class and ethnicity. The program offers outstanding support and opportunities through close partnerships with the Clayman Institute for Gender Research and the Stanford Women’s Community Center.

The program offers an undergraduate major and a minor, as well as the opportunity for students in any major to earn honors with a research paper or creative project. A doctoral minor is also available for students who desire a rigorous foundation in the field. Students are encouraged to design their own plans of study to align with their identities, interests, and goals.

View highlights of the Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies program's undergraduate offerings.

French and Italian

The Department of French and Italian offers students the opportunity to pursue coursework in language, culture, literature, and intellectual history within the French and Italian traditions. The undergraduate programs in French and Italian provide a comprehensive study of their respective literatures and cultures, establishing a solid basis for further study in literature or history.

The curriculum is designed to benefit students at all levels of language proficiency and to meet a wide range of interests. Students who wish to explore international relations, European history and literature, film studies, philosophy, and post-colonial studies will find many relevant course offerings.

German Studies

The undergraduate program in German equips students with the language skills and analytic capacities needed to understand the cultures of German-speaking Europe. Students learn how to interpret complex literary and philosophical works, evaluate historical change, and immerse themselves in new cultures and societies. Students majoring in German often combine courses in the department with offerings from other fields in the humanities, arts, and social sciences.

The doctoral program provides training in the full range of German literary history, along with opportunities to pursue specialized research topics. All students participate in an ongoing colloquium for sharing writing and research, as well as in language teaching and other professionalization opportunities.

Stanford’s top-ranked Department of History teaches students to make sense of humanity’s past, present, and future while developing critical analytical skills and sophisticated ways of thinking. Courses teach students to evaluate original source material as well as synthesize information from multiple sources and formats in order to communicate its importance in clear, persuasive writing.

The department’s faculty has expertise in a wide range of historical periods, national histories, and regional studies. Its research explores such topics as law, race and ethnicity, and science and medicine in many historical contexts. The graduate program trains scholars who earn distinction in teaching and research, while undergraduates go on to pursue careers in law, government, medicine, and technology.

View highlights of the history department's undergraduate offerings.

Explore careers of undergraduate history alumni.

Graduate joint degrees offered: JD/MA and JD/PhD

Human Biology

Human Biology offers an interdisciplinary approach to understanding human beings from biological, behavioral, social, and cultural perspectives. Through teaching and research on topics such as environmental policy, genetics, and child development, the program promotes the welfare of humans as well as the world at large.

Students take courses in many departments, developing a strong, integrated foundation in the biological and social sciences, as well as statistics. Capstone projects in research or community service allow students to pursue an area in great depth. In addition to offering a major and a minor, the program also awards honors to undergraduates who write a thesis based on their own research.

Human Rights

Stanford global studies.

The Center for Human Rights and International Justice offers an undergraduate minor in human rights open to students in any major or program. At Stanford and throughout the world, the center works to advance the cause of justice and human dignity. Students who pursue the minor work closely with experienced scholars and practitioners in the field of human rights in courses that apply history, philosophy, and political science to advocacy and experiential learning. For a capstone project, students may write a research paper, develop practical tools for the collection and analysis of data, or undertake creative work.

Iberian and Latin American Cultures

Studying Iberian and Latin American cultures means engaging in a deep and compelling exploration of the languages, literatures, and cinema of the Iberian Peninsula (primarily Spain and Portugal), Latin America, Brazil and Lusophone Africa, and Latina/o populations in the United States. The program balances an emphasis on literary studies with philosophical, historical, and social approaches to cultural issues.

As a result of its focus on critical thinking, open discussion, and close textual analysis, the undergraduate curriculum provides excellent preparation for a large number of professional fields. The graduate program provides rigorous and highly individualized advanced training in the analysis of Iberian, Latin American (including Brazil), and Latina/o literatures.

Interdisciplinary Arts

Stanford arts institute.

Open to students in any major, the Interdisciplinary Arts Minor and Honors in the Arts programs support students in completing original projects under the guidance of academic and creative mentors. The programs support a diverse range of interdisciplinary experiences: Students are free to design projects that incorporate multiple arts disciplines and to integrate non-arts interests into either artistic practice or research. The minor requires 27 units of core and elective classes in addition to a capstone project. Honors student participate in weekly workshops during their senior year as they develop a creative thesis project.

International Policy

The Ford Dorsey Master's in International Policy (MIP) is an interdisciplinary program devoted to rigorous analysis of international issues in diplomacy, governance, security, global health, and environmental policy. The program integrates perspectives from political science, law, economics, history, and other disciplines, with a focus on implementation and administration of solutions to global problems.

The MIP program combines research and scholarship with practical training designed to prepare students for careers in public service and other settings where they can have an impact on international issues. The program allows students to specialize in cyber policy and security; energy, natural resources, and the environment; global health; governance and development; or international security.

Graduate joint degrees offered: JD/MA and MA/MPP

International Relations

International Relations is an interdisciplinary undergraduate program focusing on the changing political, economic, and cultural relations within the international system in the modern era. The program explores how global, regional, and domestic factors influence relations between groups around the world, drawing on the expertise of faculty in economics, political science, and history.

Students gain a foundation in comparative politics, U.S. foreign policy, and economics, then specialize in a region or topic of their choosing, along with a relevant foreign language. There are also rich opportunities to become involved with ongoing research projects and work directly with faculty mentors.

International Security Studies

This program offers students, regardless of major, the opportunity to earn honors in international security studies. After coursework on national and international security and relevant technologies, students undertake a substantial research project, which they complete with the help of personalized guidance from faculty in a variety of disciplines. Recent graduates have written on such issues as religious extremism, missile defense, and climate change. Students in the program benefit immensely from access to the vibrant intellectual environment of Stanford’s Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC), a hub for leading researchers in the field.

Jewish Studies

This interdisciplinary program offered by the Taube Center for Jewish Studies promotes research on Jewish literatures, languages, religion, politics, and history. In addition to traditional strengths in history and religious studies, the program also comprises scholarship on the role of the arts, especially music and theater, in Jewish culture.

Courses offer a rich understanding of the many areas of Jewish studies, such as Jewish history, Israeli culture, religious literature, and the Hebrew and Yiddish languages. Undergraduates may earn a major or minor in Jewish studies. The Taube Center also supports graduate students and visiting scholars as part of its mission to educate the broader community, Jewish and non-Jewish, through lectures and other public events.

Latin American Studies

Stanford Global Studies offers a master’s degree in Latin American Studies. The curriculum is based on courses surveying the history, politics, culture, and ecology of the region. Students enjoy opportunities to interact with leading scholars, including distinguished visitors from Latin American or Iberian countries who come to Stanford each year as Tinker Visiting Professors.

Stanford’s Center for Latin American Studies oversees programs for students, coordinates a range of conferences and lectures, and provides fellowships and funding to support research by faculty in many fields of study. Training in the languages of Latin America, including indigenous languages such as Nahuatl, and coordinating resources and services for immigrants are important parts of its mission.

Linguistics

In Stanford’s undergraduate program in linguistics, students analyze the structure of language with close attention to sound, meaning, words, and sentences and learn how these structural patterns vary over time. Courses also draw connections between linguistics and anthropology, psychology, and cognitive and computer sciences, among other disciplines.

The graduate program emphasizes theoretical work based in empirical language data. Research and teaching explore a range of topics that includes computational linguistics, historical linguistics, language acquisition, psycholinguistics, semantics, and sociolinguistics. Linguistics also collaborates with Stanford’s departments of computer science, philosophy, and psychology to offer interdisciplinary doctoral study in cognitive science.

View highlights of the linguistics department's undergraduate offerings.

Explore careers of undergraduate linguistics alumni.

Master of Liberal Arts

A part-time master's degree program for adults, Stanford's Master of Liberal Arts (MLA) offers the opportunity to pursue an interdisciplinary course of study through evening classes and a flexible academic schedule.

Mathematical and Computational Science*

The program in Mathematical and Computational Science (MCS)* serves undergraduates who want to pursue data science and applied mathematics. Its faculty are drawn from computer science, engineering, and statistics, and the curriculum provides an understanding of mathematics in the context of the information sciences.

Students in MCS gain skills in computation, probabilistic modeling, statistical inference, and optimal decision-making. Thanks to the program’s interdisciplinary design, students learn to apply their expertise to problems in science and technology, as well as management and the social sciences. Graduates pursue professions that demand high competence within diverse technical frameworks and social environments.

*The MCS program will no longer be accepting students for the major and minor as of Aug. 31, 2022. The Data Science major  replaces MCS effective Sept. 1, 2022. Currently enrolled MCS majors and minors will be able to complete their degrees.

Mathematics

The undergraduate mathematics program encompasses the full range of pure and applied mathematics. The major is flexible at incorporating math-related coursework in nearby areas such as physics, machine learning, cryptography, and finance. The department provides students with opportunities for extensive experience with logical reasoning, generalization, and proofs to communicate sound arguments, as well as the creation and interpretation of mathematical models for reliable data analysis (such as in computer science and computational biology). Undergraduates can earn a major or minor in mathematics. Many mathematics majors earn a double major followed by either graduate school in mathematics or nearby fields, or a career in the corporate sector, tech industries, or government agencies.

The expertise among the faculty covers the traditional areas of pure mathematics (algebra, analysis, and geometry) along with fields nearer to computer science (such as probability and combinatorics) and applied mathematics. There are graduate courses in a wide array of areas at the introductory and advanced levels due to the breadth of the faculty, some of whom have a joint appointment in the statistics department. The department hosts many distinguished visitors throughout the year and there are numerous weekly seminars on topics related to contemporary research.

View highlights of the mathematics department's undergraduate offerings.

Medical Humanities

Undergraduates with any major may pursue a minor in Medical Humanities. Combining the field of medicine with art, literature, film, history, policy, and the social sciences, the minor explores the rich terrain of the human experience as students learn to appreciate the human body and medical issues from multiple disciplinary and aesthetic perspectives.

Medically inclined students can use the minor to broaden their interpersonal knowledge and skills, but it is also relevant for undergraduates interested in the meaning and experience of diagnosis, the way that medicine is an art form as well as a science, and the way institutions and culture shape how illness is identified, experienced, and treated.

Modern Thought and Literature

Modern Thought and Literature (MTL) is an interdisciplinary graduate program directed by faculty in English, theater and performance studies, comparative literature, and law. The program, which explores critical approaches to modernity, supports research in literature, film, popular culture, technology, ideology, and more.

MTL students are trained in literary and cultural studies as well as disciplines such as anthropology, gender studies, or sociology. The program expects that many of its alumni will go on to become innovative teachers and scholars in all areas of the humanities.

Through courses based in theory, musicianship, analysis, and history, Stanford’s Department of Music trains students for careers as composers, performers, teachers, and scholars. The department supports a culture that is not only firmly rooted in history and tradition but also vigorously engaged with the technological and artistic evolution of sound. Resources include the Archive of Recorded Sound—where students can explore the progression of music on formats from wax cylinders to streaming media—and the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics, a multidisciplinary facility that serves composers and researchers collaborating at the crossroads of technology and art.

Campus-wide, the department also promotes the enjoyment and understanding of music through private lessons. Students enjoy extraordinary opportunities to participate in ensembles, chamber groups, and major productions.

View highlights of the music department's undergraduate offerings.

Explore careers of undergraduate music alumni.

Native American Studies

Native American Studies supports scholarship on Native communities in the interest of preserving and appreciating their unique social systems, languages, and natural resources. Its courses are housed across campus departments and schools including sociology, education, anthropology, archeology, English, art history, linguistics, and law.

A major or minor in Native American Studies introduces students to a broad range of approaches to the academic study of indigenous cultures while promoting understanding of both the traditions and the continuing experiences of Native American peoples and communities. Students may pursue a plan of study that integrates specialized courses with the methods of other disciplines such as history and psychology.

Stanford’s Department of Philosophy offers rigorous programs in the traditional core areas of philosophy as well as opportunities to explore subfields including feminist philosophy and aesthetics. Its traditional strengths in logic and the philosophy of science are complemented by strong programs in action theory, ethics and political philosophy, language, mind and epistemology, and the history of philosophy, especially ancient philosophy and Kant studies.

Students of philosophy learn to think critically about the sources of knowledge and value, to express difficult ideas with clarity, and to make strong arguments. For undergraduates the department offers a general course of study as well as special programs in the history and philosophy of science and in the intersection of philosophy and literature. Graduate students are welcomed into a vigorous intellectual community where they participate in workshops, in reading groups, in colloquia, and in nearly all aspects of department life on an equal basis with the faculty.

View highlights of the philosophy department's undergraduate offerings.

Explore careers of undergraduate philosophy alumni.

Stanford’s undergraduate physics program offers a solid foundation in classical and modern physics in a top-ranked department. Courses in physics reveal the mathematical beauty of the universe at scales ranging from subatomic to cosmological. The program also includes labs in which students can develop their own experiments. Astronomy, astrophysics, and cosmology courses are also offered through the department.

Graduate students have opportunities to pursue research in astrophysics, cosmology, particle physics, atomic and laser physics, and condensed matter physics. In addition to working with leading faculty in both physics and applied physics, students collaborate with researchers in the schools of engineering and medicine and at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.

View highlights of the physics department's undergraduate offerings.

Political Science

Stanford’s top-ranked Department of Political Science offers students the opportunity to study domestic and international political systems through courses on governance, public policies, political behavior, and institutional design. The undergraduate major focuses on political systems within the context of global forces, international conflicts, social movements, ideological systems, and diversity. Students study a variety of research methods, both quantitative and qualitative, and develop effective written and oral communication skills. The department trains students to be citizens prepared for a range of careers that require analytical thinking and knowledge of sophisticated research methods.

Departmental research areas include U.S. politics, comparative politics, international relations, political methodology, and political theory.

View highlights of the political science department's undergraduate offerings.

Stanford’s renowned top-ranked Department of Psychology has a long-standing tradition of groundbreaking theoretical research that also has a powerful impact in the real world. The department supports teaching and research devoted to a better understanding of human nature and behavior. Areas of research include cognitive and developmental psychology, neuroscience, social psychology, and the study of emotion.

The undergraduate program offers excellent training in understanding human behavior using scientifically rigorous methods. Students have opportunities to become research assistants in faculty labs and also work at Stanford’s Bing Nursery School and SPARQ (Social Psychological Answers to Real-World Questions), the department’s “do tank” that creates and shares social psychological insights to help improve society.

View highlights of the psychology department's undergraduate offerings.

Graduate joint degrees offered: JD/PhD and MPP/PhD

Public Policy

The program brings together economics, political and moral philosophy, psychology, and legal studies with the aim of understanding public policy. Faculty from across the university have expertise in topics such as health care, education, national and international security, and criminal justice.

Along with an appreciation of ethical and pragmatic issues, students learn how to approach and evaluate major public policy challenges. Courses provide a foundation in economics and political science as well as opportunities to study policy in relation to energy, the environment, technology, and urban development. Seniors demonstrate their capacity to understand and solve pressing problems through seminars or independent research. The program also offers opportunities for graduate study.

Graduate joint degrees offered: JD/MA, JD/MPP, MA/PhD, MBA/MPP, MD/MPP, MPP/MS, and MPP/PhD

Religious Studies

Stanford’s Department of Religious Studies provides a range of perspectives on the history, literature, thought, and practice of religious traditions. In addition to housing core faculty with strengths in the study of Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and Buddhism, the department collaborates with a number of programs on campus. These include the Department of Philosophy, the Ho Center for Buddhist Studies, the Taube Center for Jewish Studies, the Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies, and the Center for Medieval and Early Modern Studies.

The department also supports the study of languages needed to understand sacred texts and interpretive traditions, as well as research at Stanford’s overseas centers, where religions can be observed and experienced in their appropriate cultural contexts.

View highlights of the religious studies department's undergraduate offerings.

Explore careers of undergraduate religious studies alumni.

Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies

The Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies (CREES) advances interdisciplinary approaches to a vast region stretching from the Berlin Wall to the Bering Strait. In addition to supporting undergraduate and doctoral students, it offers a one-year master’s program providing intensive study for students with an academic background in the region.

Degree programs in CREES combine language and area courses with work in the social sciences and humanities. Students' professional interests include  government, journalism, business, and non-governmental organizations. CREES also attracts students pursuing doctoral or professional degrees who desire intensive area studies and language training.

Science, Technology, and Society

The interdisciplinary program in Science, Technology, and Society (STS) offers a modern liberal arts education by bringing together scholars from fields such as anthropology, computer science, and sociology to explore the impact of scientific discoveries and how people understand their relationship to technology.

Through courses in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and engineering, students acquire technical skills along with an understanding of the history of science as well as the values and economic forces that guide technological change.

Slavic Languages and Literatures

The Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures teaches Russian language, literature, and cultural history, with a strong emphasis on literary theory and criticism. From freshman and sophomore seminars, which do not require specialized knowledge or knowledge of Russian, to advanced graduate seminars in Russian, the department offers courses that serve a wide range of interests.

Students pursuing majors in the department will become experts on a region that plays an important role in the world today and acquire the knowledge of philosophy, history, and cultural studies that will allow them to put this expertise to use. Along the way they can expect to master not only the Russian language but also the critical thinking, analytic, and writing skills necessary to succeed in a wide range of professional fields.

The Department of Sociology, one of the best in the nation, teaches students how to understand and address social issues that affect everything from interpersonal relations to global warming. Students develop a broad grasp of fundamental sociological theories and the methodological skills used to evaluate human behavior and social organizations.

The faculty also lead respected university centers such as the Institute for Research in the Social Sciences, the Clayman Institute for Gender Research, and the Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality. 

View highlights of the sociology department's undergraduate offerings.

Graduate joint degree offered: JD/PhD and MPP/PhD

The Stanford Global Studies Division (SGS) is home to 14 centers and programs dedicated to exploring issues, societies, and cultures in regional and global perspective. SGS equips Stanford students with the interdisciplinary knowledge and skills essential to leading in a global context and fosters innovative research that deepens society’s understanding of critical regions and global issues.

SGS offers a minor in global studies, which is available to any undergraduate student who desires an intensive program of study dedicated to one of several global regions. Students enrolled in the minor can specialize in African studies, European studies, Iranian studies, Islamic studies, Latin American studies, or South Asian studies. Students are encouraged to undertake training in languages appropriate to their interests and to complement their coursework through one of many opportunities offered by the Bing Overseas Studies Program.

Learn more about SGS’s academic programs .

Stanford’s top-ranked Department of Statistics gives students a foundation in the role of probabilistic and statistical ideas and methods in science, medicine, technology, and the humanities. Faculty provide instruction in the theory and application of commonly used techniques in the field, while offering training through innovative programs. The department administers a mathematical and computational science major for undergraduates,* a data science track through its master’s program, and a doctoral training program in biostatistics for personalized medicine.

To foster the relationship between theory and application, the department also promotes interdisciplinary collaboration through faculty appointments in economics, education, political science, and other fields. 

*The MCS program will no longer be accepting students for the major and minor as of Aug. 31, 2022.  The Data Science major  replaces MCS effective Sept. 1, 2022. Currently enrolled MCS majors and minors will be able to complete their degrees.

Symbolic Systems

Symbolic Systems is an interdisciplinary program that investigates both the computer and the human mind as systems that use symbols to communicate and represent information. Faculty approach the relationship between humans and computers by way of theoretical and technical expertise in cognitive science, linguistics, philosophy, and other fields.

Students learn technical skills in mathematics and computer programming, along with a foundation based on humanistic perspectives and empirical research. Many students go on to pursue advanced studies in artificial intelligence, neuroscience, or the philosophy of language.

Graduate joint degree offered: JD/MS

Theater and Performance Studies

At Stanford’s Department of Theater and Performance Studies (TAPS), students receive instruction—in the classroom and onstage—from faculty as well as artists-in-residence. The curriculum integrates theory, criticism, and a historical study of drama with the experience of live performance in theater spaces on campus. Students apply analytical skills developed in courses to artistic endeavors that range from performing in classic dramas and stage-managing musicals to creating costumes for period pieces and directing experimental one-act plays.

The department also houses a Dance Division, in which students consider movement both as performance and as a cultural, political, and social lens for understanding the body and the world. Courses covering critical and historical perspectives on dance complement studio classes that teach forms ranging from ballet to hip-hop.

View highlights of TAPS's undergraduate offerings.

Explore careers of undergraduate TAPS alumni.

Urban Studies

The Urban Studies program uses theoretical and practical approaches to understand the nature of cities. Research and teaching focus on why people live in cities and how urban environments affect human development, addressing contemporary problems related to poverty, education, and transportation. Faculty in law, economics, business, communication, engineering, and literature work closely with the program.

Undergraduates learn about the history of urbanization as a political and social phenomenon and study the methods of qualitative and quantitative research. The program also encourages community service and internships in government or the private sector. Stanford’s programs in New York City and Washington, D.C. both offer outstanding opportunities for urban studies students.

© Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305

Kenneth Schultz

William bennett munro professor of political science.

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Kenneth A. Schultz is William Bennett Munro Professor of Political Science at Stanford University. His research examines international conflict and conflict resolution. He is the author of Democracy and Coercive Diplomacy and World Politics: Interests, Interactions, and Institutions (with David Lake and Jeffry Frieden), as well as numerous articles in peer-reviewed scholarly journals. He was the recipient the 2003 Karl Deutsch Award, given by the International Studies Association, and a 2011 Dean’s Award for Distinguished Teaching, awarded by Stanford’s School of Humanities and Sciences. He received his PhD in political science from Stanford University.

Academic Appointments

• Professor, Political Science

Administrative Appointments

• Professor, Department of Political Science, Stanford University (2010 - Present)
• Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Stanford University (2004 - 2010)
• Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, University of California, Los Angeles (2001 - 2004)
• Assistant Professor, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University (1996 - 2001)

Honors & Awards

• Visiting Scholar, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (2012 - 2013)
• Dean’s Award for Distinguished Teaching, School of Humanities and Sciences, Stanford University (2011)
• Victoria Schuck Faculty Scholar Chair in Political Science, Stanford University (2010 - 2013)
• Fellow, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (2005 - 2006)
• Karl Deutsch Award, International Studies Association (2003)
• Teacher Appreciation Award, Pi Sigma Alpha, University of California, Los Angeles (2003)
• Warren Miller Prize, Political Methodology Section (co-recipient with Jeffrey B. Lewis), American Political Science Association (2003)
• Edgar S. Furniss Book Award, Mershon Center, The Ohio State University (2001)
• Arthur H. Scribner Bicentennial Preceptorship, Princeton University (2000 - 2001)
• Helen Dwight Reid Award, American Political Science Association (1997)
• Franklin L. Burdette Pi Sigma Alpha Award (co-recipient with Barry R. Weingast), American Political Science Association (1995)

Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations

• Member, Bing Overseas Studies Program Council, Stanford University (2009 - Present)
• Member, Bing Overseas Studies Program Faculty Oversight Committee, Stanford University (2007 - Present)
• Member of Faculty Senate, Stanford University (2010 - 2012)
• Director, Program in International Relations, Stanford University (2005 - 2011)
• Member, Editorial board, International Organization (2014 - Present)
• Member, Editorial board, Journal of Politics (2015 - Present)
• Member, Editorial board, Journal of Conflict Resolution (2015 - Present)
• Member, Editorial board, World Politics (2011 - Present)
• Member, Editorial board, International Organization (2007 - 2012)
• Member, Editorial board, American Political Science Review (2007 - 2012)
• Co-Editor, American Political Science Review (2008 - 2008)
• Associate editor, World Politics (1996 - 2001)
• Program chair, International Security Division, American Political Science Association (2006 - 2006)
• Program chair, Conflict Processes Division, American Political Science Association (2002 - 2002)

Program Affiliations

• Program in International Relations
• Public Policy

Professional Education

• Ph.D., Stanford University, Department of Political Science (1996)
• M.A., Stanford University, Department of Political Science (1993)
• A.B., Harvard University, Russian and Soviet Studies (1990)
• (650) 736-1998 (office)

Additional Info

• Mail Code: 6044

• Curriculum Vitae PDF

2023-24 Courses

• Frontiers of International Security: Policy, Research, and Innovation INTNLREL 35SI (Spr)
• Research in International Relations POLISCI 410D (Spr)
• War and Peace in American Foreign Policy AMSTUD 110D, INTNLREL 110D, POLISCI 110D, POLISCI 110Y (Spr)
• Directed Reading and Research in Comparative Politics POLISCI 249 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum)
• Directed Reading and Research in Comparative Politics POLISCI 349 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum)
• Directed Reading and Research in International Relations POLISCI 219 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum)
• Directed Reading and Research in International Relations POLISCI 319 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum)
• Directed Reading in Environment and Resources ENVRES 398 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum)
• Directed Reading in International Relations INTNLREL 197 (Win)
• Directed Research in Environment and Resources ENVRES 399 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum)
• Senior Thesis INTNLREL 198 (Aut, Win, Spr)

2022-23 Courses

• Crisis and Cooperation: Contemporary Research on International Security INTNLREL 35SI (Spr)
• The Science of Politics POLISCI 1 (Aut)

2021-22 Courses

• International Relations Theory, Part II POLISCI 410B (Win)

2020-21 Courses

• Protagonists in Policy INTNLREL 76, POLISCI 76 (Aut)

Stanford Advisees

• Doctoral Dissertation Reader (AC) Jamie Hintson , Denis Tchaouchev
• Doctoral (Program) Alicia Chen , Jane Kaufmann, Sean Peters, AB Rhodes, Jake Yeager

All Publications

View details for DOI 10.1093/isq/sqac030

View details for Web of Science ID 000827781300001

View details for DOI 10.1080/09636412.2021.1979842

View details for Web of Science ID 000709690100001

The potential links between climate and conflict are well studied, yet disagreement about the specific mechanisms and their significance for societies persists. Here, we build on assessment of the relationship between climate and organized armed conflict to define crosscutting priorities for future directions of research. They include (1) deepening insight into climate-conflict linkages and conditions under which they manifest, (2) ambitiously integrating research designs, (3) systematically exploring future risks and response options, responsive to ongoing decision-making, and (4) evaluating the effectiveness of interventions to manage climate-conflict links. The implications of this expanding scientific domain unfold in real time.

View details for DOI 10.1029/2020EF001532

View details for PubMedID 32715014

View details for DOI 10.1017/S1752971919000071

View details for Web of Science ID 000512699900005

View details for DOI 10.1111/ajps.12425

View details for Web of Science ID 000491480500001

Research findings on the relationship between climate and conflict are diverse and contested. Here we assess the current understanding of the relationship between climate and conflict, based on the structured judgments of experts from diverse disciplines. These experts agree that climate has affected organized armed conflict within countries. However, other drivers, such as low socioeconomic development and low capabilities of the state, are judged to be substantially more influential, and the mechanisms of climate-conflict linkages remain a key uncertainty. Intensifying climate change is estimated to increase future risks of conflict.

View details for DOI 10.1038/s41586-019-1300-6

View details for PubMedID 31189956

View details for DOI 10.1177/0022002715620470

View details for Web of Science ID 000405578400009

View details for DOI 10.1017/S0020818316000254

View details for Web of Science ID 000395076900002

View details for DOI 10.1080/0163660X.2017.1406705

View details for Web of Science ID 000418879900001

View details for DOI 10.1146/annurev-polisci-020614-095002

View details for Web of Science ID 000354352000008

View details for DOI 10.1177/0022002713487317

View details for Web of Science ID 000342576500006

View details for DOI 10.1080/09636412.2012.706475

View details for Web of Science ID 000307926200001

• Domestic Politics and International Relations Handbook of International Relations Schultz, K. A. edited by Carlsnaes, W., Risse, T., Simmons, B. London: Sage Publications. 2012 ; 2nd
• World Politics: Interests, Interactions, and Institutions Schultz, K. A., Frieden, J., Lake, D. New York, W. W. Norton & Company. 2012

View details for DOI 10.1561/100.00011022

View details for Web of Science ID 000311187000002

View details for DOI 10.1017/S0020818310000032

View details for Web of Science ID 000277169100004

• World Politics: Interests, Interactions, and Institutions Schultz, K. A., Frieden, J., Lake, D. New York, W. W. Norton & Company. 2010

View details for DOI 10.1177/0022002707313305

View details for Web of Science ID 000257940500001

View details for DOI 10.1093/pan/mpi020

View details for Web of Science ID 000233843100006

View details for DOI 10.1017/S0020818305050071

View details for Web of Science ID 000227138900001

• Democracy, Learning, and Conflict Resolution The Waseda Journal of Political Science and Economics Schultz, K. A. 2005 ; 359 : 35-62

View details for DOI 10.1093/pan/mpg021

View details for Web of Science ID 000186431100003

• Tying Hands and Washing Hands: The U.S. Congress and Multilateral Humanitarian Intervention Locating the Proper Authorities: The Interaction of International and Domestic Institutions Schultz, K. A. edited by Drezner, D. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. 2003 : 105–42

View details for DOI 10.1017/S0020818303571065

View details for Web of Science ID 000182235200002

View details for Web of Science ID 000167918700002

• Democracy and Coercive Diplomacy Schultz, K. A. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2001
• Domestic Political Competition and Transparency in International Crises: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Power and Conflict in the Age of Transparency Schultz, K. A. edited by Finel, B. I., Lord, K. M. New York: St. Martin’s Press. 2000 : 57–82

View details for Web of Science ID 000080363100002

View details for Web of Science ID 000077384000006

• Limited Governments, Powerful States Strategic Politicians, Institutions, and Foreign Policy Schultz, K. A., Weingast, B. R. edited by Siverson, R. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. 1998 : 15–50

View details for Web of Science ID A1995QB84300004

Erica Gould

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Application requirements for all doctoral programs (phd).

All of our doctoral programs are designed to develop outstanding educational researchers who have a deep understanding of the scientific, practical and policy issues they study. All require full-time study, and we promise five years of full-time financial support for every student we admit. Our doctoral programs are small, typically ranging from about 25 to 35 new students a year. The small size of our doctoral cohorts creates big educational advantages for students: the classes are almost always small, students receive individualized attention from their advisors, and they have many opportunities to develop close collegial relationships with fellow students.

It is extremely important to demonstrate in your statement of purpose that your interests converge closely with the current research of faculty who work in the program to which you are applying. Other doctoral applicants will certainly do this, and if you don't, you will forfeit an important competitive advantage to them. 

If you wish to contact faculty, please read our Which Degree Which Program article, by Professor Eamonn Callan, which outlines the appropriate process for contacting faculty with whom you share research interests. 

• Program website:  Degrees and Programs/PhD
• Length of Program:  5 years (average length)
• Tuition: fellowship/assistantship salary and tuition guaranteed for first five years of the program (autumn, winter and spring quarters) for all students, including international students. Funding includes two summers.

Application Requirements:

Application form.

Complete and submit Stanford's graduate online application .

Application Fee

The application fee is $125 , is non-refundable, and must be received by the application deadline.

Application Fee Waivers

Stanford offers three types of application fee waivers for which GSE applicants may apply and be considered:

• GRE Fee Reduction Certificate-Based Waiver
• Diversity Program Participation-Based Waiver
• School-Based Waiver

Please visit the Stanford Graduate Diversity website for instructions, deadlines, and the fee waiver application form.

Statement of Purpose

A Statement of Purpose is required. Your statement should be typed, single-spaced and should be between one to two pages . Describe succinctly your reasons for applying to the proposed program, your preparation for this field of study, and why our program is a good fit for you, your future career plans, and other aspects of your background as well as interests which may aid the admissions committee in evaluating your aptitude and motivation for graduate study. You may indicate potential faculty mentors as part of your study and research interests. Be sure to keep a copy for your records. What's a Good Statement of Purpose?

A resume or CV  is required of all applicants, depending on which document is most appropriate for your background. There is no page limit for resumes or CVs, though we typically see resumes of one page in length. Please upload your resume or CV in the online application.

Three (3) Letters of Recommendation

Applicants are required to submit three letters of recommendation . In the online application, you will be asked to identify your recommenders and their email addresses. Please notify your recommenders that they will receive an email prompt to submit their recommendation online. You can submit your request for letters of recommendation through the system without submitting the entire online application.  Stanford GSE only accepts online recommendations through the application system ; Stanford GSE cannot accept mailed, emailed or faxed recommendations.

Recommendations should be written by people who have supervised you in an academic, employment, or community service setting. We very strongly recommend that at least one of these letters be from a university professor familiar with your academic work. Your recommendations should directly address your suitability for admission to a graduate program at Stanford GSE.

It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that all three letters of recommendation are submitted through the system by the application deadline , so please work closely with your recommenders to remind them of the deadline.

College and University Transcripts

Transcripts are required from every college and university you have attended for at least one academic year as a full-time student. When submitting your online application, transcripts should be uploaded to the application as a scanned copy or PDF ; this is sufficient for the application review process. Please refrain from sending a secured PDF/transcript with a digital signature as our system cannot upload these properly. The best way to ensure we receive an upload-able document is for you to print out the secured transcript, scan it, and upload the scanned copy (not to exceed 10MB) as a PDF. 

If you earned a degree at the institution from which you are submitting a transcript, please ensure that the degree conferral date and the degree conferred is clearly visible on the document. If you are currently enrolled in a degree program and will not have earned the respective degree by the time of submitting your GSE application, you should submit your most recent in-progress transcript from your institution.

Only if admitted will we contact you with instructions on sending two copies of your official transcripts to our office. We cannot accept mailed, emailed or faxed copies of your transcripts during the application process. Please note: the instructions for sending transcripts on the online application and on the general Stanford Graduate Admissions Office website differ from this Stanford GSE requirement.

Concerning course work completed in a study abroad program

If the coursework and grades are reflected on the transcript of your home institution, you do not need to submit original transcripts from the study abroad institution.

Concerning foreign institutions

If your institution provides a transcript in a language other than English, we require that you submit a translation of the transcript that is either provided by the institution or a certified translator. Translations must be literal and complete versions of the original records.

If your transcript does not include your degree conferral date and the degree conferred , please submit a scanned copy of your diploma, a conferral statement, or a conferral document in addition to your transcript . If you are currently enrolled in a degree program and will not have earned the respective degree by the time of submitting your GSE application, you should submit your most recent in-progress transcript from your institution.

Stanford University requires the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) from all applicants whose native language is not English. The GSE requires a minimum TOEFL score of 250 for the computer-based test, 600 for the paper-based test or 100 for the internet-based test in order to be considered for admission. The Test of Written English (TWE) portion of the TOEFL is not required. Applicants who have completed a four-year bachelor's degree or a two-year master's program (or its equivalent) in the U.S. or at an institution where English is the main language of instruction are not required to take the TOEFL. For more information on TOEFL requirements, please refer to the Required Exams  page on the main Stanford Graduate Admissions website. You may register for the TOEFL test directly at the ETS website .

TOEFL Dates and Deadlines

PhD applicants who are required to take the TOEFL should plan to take the internet-based TOEFL test and have official TOEFL scores sent electronically to Stanford at institution code 4704 (department code does not matter) no later than November 1 . This will give your official TOEFL scores time to be sent from ETS and be received by our system in time for the December 1 deadline. PhD applicants to Knight-Hennessy Scholars should plan to take the internet-based TOEFL test no later than October 16 so your scores can be received by our system in time for the November 16 KHS GSE deadline. Please note that the TOEFL may be taken no earlier than 18 months prior to the application deadline.

Does Stanford accept tests other than TOEFL?

No. We accept only TOEFL scores; we do not accept IELTS or other test scores.

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Meet the Berlin Faculty

Main navigation.

Classes at the Berlin Program are taught by local faculty, the Center Director, and by Stanford Faculty in Residence. Many instructors hold regular appointments at German universities or have served in prominent positions in policy organizations, research institutes, and editorial boards. Most non-language courses are taught in English, but customarily there is at least one seminar taught in German each quarter.

Faculty in Residence

Each quarter, one Stanford professor serves as Faculty in Residence in each of the BOSP program locations. These faculty teach classes in their own disciplines, developing courses that incorporate unique features of the local culture and environment or that provide comparative perspectives on a particular topic.  View  a list of current and future faculty.

Local Faculty

Diana böbe (instructor).

Diana studied at the Freie Universität Berlin as well as the Université d’Orléans, France (M.A. in American Studies, French and Latin American Studies, 2008), and the Université de Nice Sophia Antipolis, France (M.A. in German Studies, 2011). She has taught German as a Foreign Language at Nice University in France, and since September 2011, she has been a language instructor at the Stanford University Program in Berlin. Since October 2015, Diana has also been teaching for the Technical University Berlin (Department: German as a Second Language) where she prepares prospective subject teachers to integrate language promotion for students with German as a first or second language in everyday lessons.

Diane's courses include  1Z  - Accelerated First and Second Quarter German,  3B  – German Language and Culture,  21B  - Intermediate German, and  24B  - Advanced German.

Uli Brueckner (Lecturer)

Uli studied political science, German Literature, and European Studies in Würzburg and Berlin. His fields of interest are European integration, Political Economy, Cultural Policy and Diplomacy. From 1994-2002, he held the Jean Monnet Chair of European Integration at the Department of Political Science, Freie Universität Berlin. He was also a visiting professor in Szczecin, Shanghai, Stanford, Moscow, Paris and Ljubljana. In 2003, Uli Brückner was appointed EU Jean Monnet Professor at Stanford University/Berlin. He works with the European Commission, the Federal Foreign Office, the Federal Agency for Civic Education and the institute for cultural diplomacy in Berlin.

Uli organizes the H.G. Will Study Trips of BOSP Berlin to new and future EU member states.

Uli's courses include  A People's Union? Money, Markets, and Identity in the EU  and  Shifting Alliances? The European Union and the USA .

Wolf-Fabian Hungerland (Lecturer)

Fabian received his Ph.D. in economics at Humboldt-University of Berlin in 2018, where he specialized in international economics and economic history. His research focuses on German economic history and globalization in the long run. In parallel, Fabian has been working as an economist for Berenberg Bank since 2012. With Berenberg, he covers emerging markets, particularly Eastern Europe. Before all this, Fabian obtained a master's degree in economic history at the London School of Economics and Political Science and a bachelor's degree in economics at the University of Göttingen. He also studied at University of Warwick and the Kiel Institute of the World Economy. In his free time Fabian enjoys a good hike or canoe trip with camping, he likes to swim -- and tries to learn the tabla.

Fabian’s courses include Globalization and Germany

Martin Jander (Lecturer)

Martin was born in Freiburg. During his studies of German, History, Sociology, and Political Science in the late 1970s and early 1980s in West-Berlin, he became interested in opposition in the East Germany, a topic that continues to be one of his main fields of research, both in his graduate work (Ph.D. in Political Science at the FU Berlin in 1995), and as researcher at the F.U. Berlin. He has been teaching German and European history in the Berlin programs of New York University and FU-BEST since 2001, and started teaching in the Stanford Program in 2007. German left-wing terrorism is presently one of his fields of research in a project of the Hamburger Institut für Sozialforschung. His many publications include  "Formierung und Krise der DDR-Opposition " (Berlin, 1996) as well as teaching materials on various German historical topics for “Geschichte betrifft uns” (Aachen) and several guide-books focused primarily on Berlin.

Martin's courses include  The Long Way to the West - German History from the 18th Century to the Present  and  Berlin vor Ort .

Wolf-Dietrich Junghanns (Lecturer)

Wolf studied philosophy at the University Rostov on Don, Russia (Diploma 1984), and at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (Dr. phil. 1990). He has taught at the Technische Hochschule Magdeburg (1984-86), Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (1986-87, 89-90), Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA (1992). In addition to teaching, Wolf serves as coordinator of the "Krupp Internship Program for Stanford Students in Germany."

Research: Fields of interest are social and political philosophy, intellectual history, cultural studies, and sports studies (esp. boxing). Numerous publications on sports-related topics, such as: Schmeling 21. Das "deutsche Boxidol" in Monumenten und Biographien. Berliner Debatte Initial. Sozial- und geisteswissenschaftliches Journal, 22 (2011) 2, 111-175.

Wolf's courses include  Theory from the Bleachers: Reading German Sports and Culture  (Winter Quarter) and  Sports, Culture and Gender in Comparative Perspective  (Spring Quarter).

Sylvia Klötzer (Lecturer)

Sylvia received her Master's degree in German Language and Literature from the Freie Universität (F.U.) in Berlin, Germany in 1987, her Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1992, and her Habilitation in Cultural Studies at the University of Potsdam in 2005. Teaching and research positions include 1991/2 Prof. at Williams College, 2005 at UMass Amherst; postdoc and researcher at the Potsdam Center for Contemporary History (ZZF) 1995–2000; she has been teaching at Potsdam University (Institut für Germanistik) since 2006 and at the Stanford Program in Berlin since 2009.

Her publications include  Satire und Macht: Film, Zeitung, Kabarett in der DDR.  Köln 2006.   and  Aussichten. Deutsch als Fremdsprache für Erwachsene. (co-author). Stuttgart: 2011, 2012.

Sylvia's courses include G erman 1Z - Accelerated First and Second Quarter German  and  German 2Z - Accelerated Second and Third Quarter German .

Karen Ruoff Kramer (Director & Lecturer)

Karen has been the Director of the Stanford Program in Berlin since 1980. She studied at Stanford University (B.A. in English Literature; Ph.D. in German Studies) and at the Freie Universität Berlin (Master's of Arts in Philosophy, Comparative Literature and American Studies). She has been a guest professor at Stanford’s campus in Palo Alto on several occasions and is the author of academic and literary texts, including  Academia, Exzellenz hat ihren Preis, Ariadne/Argument, 2021 and The Politics of Discourse: Third Thoughts on New Subjectivity (NY/Bern: NYU Ottendorfer Series, 1994). Karen sits on the boards of the  German Fulbright Commission  and of the  Will Foundation , is Curatorium Member and Fellow of the  Institut für Kritische Theorie , is founding member of the AASAP (Assoziation Amerikanischer Study Abroad Programme in Deutschland),  member of the  Stanford Club of Germany, e.V.  (and, not to forget, of the  Förderverein der Freiwilligen Feuerwehr Krummensee, e.V. ). In 2002 she was awarded the German Federal Medal of Honor  (Bundesverdienstkreuz am Bande)  for her contributions to relations between Germany and the United States and between Germans East and West. She is a published novelist and poet, plays the cello, and dances with horses.

Students can get in touch with Karen concerning:

• Academic advising, including courses at German universities, directed reading, and honors thesis research.
• Courses and curriculum.
• General advising and concerns.

Karen's courses include  Contemporary Theater and Split Images: A Century of Cinema .

Leah Muir (Lecturer)

Composer Leah Muir’s music has been performed by many international venues such as the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Bruckner Orchester Linz with Dennis Russell Davies and David Friedman, the Münchener Biennale, Wien Modern, MärzMusik, Academy Schloss Solitude, Wiener Konzerthaus, Konzerthaus Berlin, the Aspen Music Festival, June in Buffalo, Ars Electronica, Soundtrack Cologne, as well as many established new music ensembles and soloists. Muir ​ is a Docent at the Berlin University of the Arts where she is the Artistic Director and cofounder of Ensemble ilinx, Studio for New Music at the Berlin University of the Arts in conjunction with Prof. Elena Mendoza. Ensemble ilinx plays repertoire from the 20th and 21st century whereas the concert series Zoom + Focus is only for student composers, where over 150 new compositions from students have been premiered over the last 5 years. Many of these productions are in collaboration with Klangzeitort—Institut für Neue Musik UdK HfM, an organization of the Berlin University of Arts and the Hanns Eisler Conservatory, which sponsors new music concerts and other transmedial productions of which she is also a member of.

Leah’s courses include:  Ways of Hearing: Exploring Berlin through its Music

Matthias Pabsch (Lecturer)

Matthias received his PhD in 2001 at the Institute of Art and Visual Studies, Humboldt University Berlin. He is an Artist and Architectural Theorist. In 2010, he was appointed Adjunct Professor at Duke University, and he has been teaching at the Stanford Program in Berlin since 2006.

His work as an artist has been shown widely, both in Germany and internationally. His publications include “Architektur und Städetbau am Potsdamer Platz “(1998) and “Pariser Platz – Architektur und Technik. Vom manuellen zum digitalen Zeitalter” (2002).

Matthias's courses include  Cityscape as History: Architecture and Urban Design in Berlin  and  Berlin vor Ort .

Matthew Stephen (Lecturer)

Matthew studied political science, history and classics at the University of Otago (2003-2006, B.A. (Hons), M.A., 2007-2008) before undertaking a PhD at the Freie Universität Berlin and the Berlin Graduate School for Transnational Studies (2009-2013) where he graduated summa cum laude. He is currently a Post-Doctoral Researcher at the Department of Global Governance at the WZB Berlin Social Science Center. He has been a visiting researcher at the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA) in Hamburg, the Department of International Relations at Hebrew University Jerusalem, and the University of Sydney. His research focuses on the interaction of international power shifts, legitimacy and international institutions from a variety of theoretical perspectives. He has published on these topics in journals such as the Cambridge Review of International Affairs, the European Journal of International Relations, Global Governance, Global Society, Globalizations, and the Review of International Studies. He has also taught at the Freie Universität Berlin, University of Potsdam, Charles University, and the Berlin Summer School for Social Sciences.

Matthew's courses include  Lessons of Berlin in International Politics .

Popular searches

Land your dream job, what's that degree for an overview of common graduate degree programs.

Alexis Perrotta

Making the choice to pursue a master's degree or PhD is a big decision—deciding on a particular area of focus can be an even bigger decision.

Prior to selecting an area of graduate study, it's important to have a clear understanding of how your degree may apply to a variety of professions in the social-impact sector. More specifically, you’ll want to know how a degree fits into your unique career path well before finishing a program.

Not sure where to start? Below you'll find an overview of common grad degrees and programs, including details on how they may direct your career path. For a deeper dive, click the degree name at the top of each section.

Graduate Degrees in Journalism

Journalism is a versatile field with job opportunities such as public relations, publishing, investigative reporting, broadcasting, and political critique, among others. Graduates use their skills as writers, editors, and broadcasters to inform and engage the public on important issues of the day.

A master’s in journalism program can run anywhere from ten months to two years, and many place a strong emphasis on connecting communications basics with the actual processing and presentation of information to the public. They do this by conducting interactive classes, requiring field experience—such as internships or participation in campus media—and fostering discussions with local professionals.

Most graduate schools in journalism either require or strongly recommend between three to five years of work experience and/or demonstrated interest in journalism before applying. This includes freelance writing or editing for a local or school publication, internships, and undergraduate courses in journalism or media.

Graduate Degrees in Public Health

Public health is a broad field focusing on reducing health disparities and increasing health care equity, quality, and accessibility. Graduates with a master’s in public health work on disease prevention and health education in a variety of specializations, from environmental health to nutrition.

Most full-time master of public health programs run for two years, although international graduate programs tend to be one year long. Due to its broadness as a field, the study of public health is divided into areas of specialization such as behavioral science and health education, biostatistics, environmental health, epidemiology, health services administration, international or global health, maternal and child health, nutrition, and more.

Graduate Degrees in International Relations

International relations is a field encompassing everything from human rights and sustainable development to economics and policy analysis. Graduates with a master’s in international relations develop and apply a global perspective on a variety of complex issues that transcend national boundaries.

A master’s degree in international relations (also referred to as international affairs) usually requires two years of full-time coursework. Like other professional graduate programs, international relations curricula place a strong emphasis on connecting the theoretical with the practical. Experiential learning is often encouraged and sometimes required, and is achieved through internships with international organizations as well as semesters abroad.

Because international relations is a wide-ranging and interdisciplinary field, graduate programs offer you the flexibility to explore and cultivate a number of intellectual and professional interests within the degree area, including foreign languages, economics, communications, and public policy.

Graduate Degrees in Community Psychology

Community psychology is a specialization linking social-impact service with clinical psychological inquiry. Graduates of community psychology programs often devote their careers to advancing theory, research, and collaborative action to promote positive well-being, increase empowerment, and advance social justice.

Degree programs in community psychology can range from four to six years. This is because most of them offer non-terminal master’s degrees—meaning you’ll be applying for a PhD in community psychology or a related field (of which community psychology is an elective specialization) and will acquire your master’s degree along the way. As a result, it will likely take longer than a typical graduate program to complete your coursework, fieldwork, capstone project, and doctoral dissertation.

Graduate Degrees in Education

Education is a wide-ranging, interdisciplinary field that encompasses areas of focus including administration, teaching, mentorship, and counseling. Graduates with a master’s in education create and foster systems, policies, practices, and environments that enable students to grow and develop.

A master of education degree usually requires one to two years of coursework. Students typically begin by choosing a concentration, such as arts education, physical education, student affairs, school counseling, leadership, or administration, and then move on to explore various intellectual and professional interests within those areas of focus.

Curious about getting to know more about which grad school programs can advance your social-impact career? RSVP for Idealist’s Grad School Fair in NYC on October 9th !

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Watch CBS News

U.S., Russia prisoner swap is the latest in a long history of exchanges between the world powers

By Caitlin Yilek

Updated on: August 1, 2024 / 4:48 PM EDT / CBS News

Washington — In the largest international prisoner exchange since the Cold War, 24 prisoners were traded on a tarmac in Ankara, Turkey, on Thursday in a deal involving half a dozen countries.

The complex deal, which secured the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former Marine Paul Whelan, was months in the making, with American and Western diplomats working for months to secure the release of 16 prisoners in exchange for eight individuals sought by Russia who were being held in Germany, Slovenia, Norway, Poland and the U.S.

While high-profile prisoner trades have happened between Washington and Moscow for decades, they have, until recent years, typically involved spies. More recently, they've involved Americans who the U.S. considered to be wrongfully detained — former Marines, a journalist and a women's basketball star. 

Here's a look at some of the notable exchanges:

Feb. 10, 1962

The first major exchange between the U.S. and the Soviet Union took place more than 60 years ago on Glienicke Bridge, which connected West Berlin to East Germany and later became known as the "Bridge of Spies." 

The U.S. traded convicted Soviet spy Rudolf Abel for pilot Francis Gary Powers, whose spy plane had been shot down over the Soviet Union. As part of the February 1962 deal, Frederic Pryor, an American graduate student who had been detained in East Berlin on suspicion of spying, was also released.

Oct. 11, 1963

The next year, the U.S. freed two alleged Soviet spies, Ivan Egorov and his wife Aleksandra, in exchange for two Americans imprisoned on espionage charges. The Americans freed were student Marvin Makinen, who was arrested in Kyiv in 1961, and Walter Ciszek, a Jesuit missionary arrested in the Soviet Union in 1941. 

April 27, 1979

The Soviets released five dissidents, including Aleksandr Ginzburg, in exchange for two Russians convicted of spying in the U.S. 

September 1986 

The U.S. made an exchange to secure the release of American journalist Nicholas Daniloff, who was arrested in Moscow on allegations of espionage. His brief detainment in a KGB prison was believed to be in retaliation for the arrest of accused Soviet spy Gennadi Zakharov. As part of the deal, Zakharov was allowed to plead no contest in court and was sent back to the Soviet Union, while imprisoned dissident leader Yuri Orlov was also released to the U.S. 

July 9, 2010

One of the largest prisoner exchanges between the U.S. and Russia since the Cold War occurred on the tarmac in Vienna, Austria. Washington handed over 10 Russian spies who had lived undercover in the U.S. for years until their arrests in 2010 by the FBI. In exchange, Russia released four of its own citizens to the West, including Sergei Skripal, a former Russian spy who was imprisoned for passing secrets to British intelligence. 

April 27, 2022

Marine veteran Trevor Reed was handed over to the U.S. on a Turkish tarmac, nearly three years after he was arrested during a drunken night out on allegations that he assaulted two police officers. 

In return, the U.S. freed Konstantin Yaroshenko, who was serving a 20-year prison sentence for drug smuggling. 

Dec. 9, 2022 

Months later, WNBA star Brittney Griner was traded for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout , who was nicknamed the "Merchant of Death," on an airport in Abu Dhabi. 

Griner was arrested earlier that year at a Moscow airport when vape canisters containing cannabis oil were found in her bags. She was sentenced to nine years in prison on drug charges. 

Arrested in 2008, Bout was serving a 25-year prison sentence in the U.S. for conspiring to sell weapons to people who intended to kill Americans. 

Aug. 1, 2024 

Among the prisoner releases in recent years, Whelan was the first to be detained in Russia in 2018. He was convicted on espionage charges, that he and the U.S. vehemently deny, and sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020. 

Gershkovich had been detained since March 2023, when he was arrested during a reporting trip. He was the first American journalist to be accused of espionage by Moscow since Daniloff in 1986. Last month, he was sentenced to 16 years in prison in what the U.S. called a "sham" trial. 

Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, who was based in Prague, was arrested in June 2023 after visiting her mother in Russia. Authorities charged her with disseminating false information about Russia's military and sentenced her to more than six years in prison in July. 

Unlike Whelan and Gershkovich, the U.S. never deemed her to be wrongfully detained. 

• Paul Whelan
• Evan Gershkovich
• Brittney Griner
• Trevor Reed

Caitlin Yilek is a politics reporter at CBSNews.com, based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked for the Washington Examiner and The Hill, and was a member of the 2022 Paul Miller Washington Reporting Fellowship with the National Press Foundation.

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Transcript: WSJ assistant editor Paul Beckett on "Face the Nation," Aug. 4, 2024

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VP contenders to interview with Harris Sunday

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Maxwell School – Demystifying the Graduate Admission Process (Virtual Session)

Prepare to lead and make a difference in communities around the globe. At Maxwell, you’ll find faculty, students and alumni who are dedicated to the idea that well-trained public service-minded professionals can change the world.  

Whether you are just starting out in your career or you are a seasoned professional, you’ll find a Maxwell program designed to help you:

• fill gaps in knowledge,
• build skills and confidence to take on a leadership role in your organization,
• prepare to move across sectors and,
• boost your ability to drive change.

Our Approach

We’ve situated a world-class team of public administration faculty among an equally accomplished faculty of the social sciences. This dynamic mix of educators and scholars creates a one-of-a-kind experience in which students immerse in interdisciplinary coursework and topical research at one of 15 research centers within the school.

You’ll reach your professional ambitions—fast. Our professional degrees provide exceptional preparation to advance your career in as few as 12 months, letting you get back to work more quickly than most other programs. And, if you have seven years of experience, you may qualify for one of our midcareer executive programs—with course options that are even more flexible and efficient.

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Public administration, master of public administration.

Prepare to lead positive change through a rigorous yet efficient array of skills-building courses.

• On campus, in Syracuse, N.Y.
• 40 credits plus optional internships
• Complete full-time in 12 to 18 months

Executive Master of Public Administration—On Campus or Online

Fill gaps in your knowledge with a program tailored to your career goals—five to seven years of experience required. An online option for working professionals provides added flexibility.

• Online or on campus in Syracuse, N.Y., options (separate programs)
• Complete part- or full-time in as few as 12 to 15 months

International Relations

Master of arts in international relations.

Satisfy your curiosity about the world, and develop skills and knowledge to change it for the better.

• 40 credits with a required global internship
• Required career track selection to focus your studies
• Complete full-time in 18 months

Master of Arts in Public Diplomacy and Global Communications

Prepare to drive change in a range of international contexts through effective public and interpersonal communications. One powerful degree, two schools: the Maxwell School and the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.

• On campus, in Syracuse, N.Y., and Washington, D.C.
• 43 credits with a required global internship

Executive Master's in International Relations

Improve your leadership and management skills and global affairs knowledge—seven years of experience required.

• Complete on a part- or full-time basis

Executive Master’s in International Relations in D.C.

Leverage the combined experience, knowledge and networks of two top-ranked institutions—the Maxwell School and the Center for Strategic and International Studies—and earn your degree while you work in D.C. Seven years of experience required.

• On campus, in Washington, D.C.
• Complete part-time in as few as 18 to 20 months

Doctoral Program

Phd in public administration.

Educate the next generation of public service leaders and conduct research that moves the field of public administration and policy analysis forward.

• 72 credits (36 credits beyond the M.A.)
• Full-time residential program, typically completed in 4.5 years

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We offer a variety of regional, topical and skills-based Certificates of Advanced Study (CAS) to help you focus and refine your expertise. Some CAS can be earned as part of a master's program while others can be earned independent of a degree. Learn to use data to formulate and analyze policy, deepen your knowledge of effective public management practices, develop techniques to promote collaboration and resolve conflicts, broaden your expertise in a specific region of the world, and more.

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Aug 5, 2024

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