Program Overview

Master of Advanced Studies in International Affairs: Security of the Asia-Pacific Career Track

The Master of Advanced Studies in International Affairs (MAS-IA) program offers a comprehensive and highly personalized curriculum, with a focus on the Security of the Asia-Pacific region. This career track cultivates professionals' critical thinking tools and ability to navigate current debates about the security of states. Students will examine the relationships between key actors such as China, Japan, Korea, and the U.S., as well as issues like territorial disputes, military build-ups, regional alliances, and non-traditional security threats.

Faculty Spotlight

The program features renowned faculty members, including Professor Tai Ming Cheung, who teaches a course on Chinese International Relations and Security (GPPS 407). Professor Cheung's research focuses on the complexities of China's economic and military capabilities, and how policymakers can use this nuanced understanding to craft effective policy.

Curriculum

The MAS-IA program requires students to complete two core courses, which provide a foundational understanding of global economies and the systems and developments influencing policy creation. The core courses are:

• GPCO 481 - Politics of International and National Policy Making: This course provides an introduction to international political economies of the Pacific region and covers important international developments, such as regionalism, as well as domestic decision-making processes.
• GPCO 482 - Global Economics and Markets: This course studies the major economies of the Pacific region by combining standard economic tools with each economy's institutional background. Special attention is given to the challenges that economic globalization poses to economic relations among those economies.
• GPCO 483 - Workshop on Policy Issues in the Pacific Rim: This capstone class focuses on students collaborating on long-term projects and analyzing important political, economic, and business issues in the Pacific region using the tools acquired through other school courses.

In addition to the core courses, students must complete nine additional courses, which are divided into track courses, electives, and regional courses.

Track Courses

• GPPS 407 - Chinese International Relations and Security
• GPPS 442 - Foundations of Strategic Studies
• GPPS 469 - Comparative Grand Strategy and Defense Policy

If a student selects only two of the courses listed, the third course must be chosen from the list of electives below.

Electives

• GPCO 410 - International Politics and Security
• GPPS 400 - International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
• GPPS 401 - The New "New" Civil Wars
• GPPS 427 - International Law and Regulation
• GPPS 429 - Geopolitics, Insurgency, and Weak States
• GPPS 430 - Human Rights, Public Policy and International Politics
• GPPS 433 - Debating U.S. Security Policy
• GPPA 477 - Cyber Security

Regional Courses

Students must complete two regional courses, with at least one focusing on politics. The available regional courses are:

China

• GPPS 404 - Chinese Politics
• GPPS 405 - U.S.-China Relations
• GPIM 461 - Doing Business in China
• GPPA 467 - Chinese Environmental and Energy Policy
• GPEC 486 - Economic and Social Development of China

Japan

• GPIM 411 - Business and Management in Japan
• GPPS 416 - Postwar Politics in Japan
• GPPS 460 - Politics of U.S.-Japan Economic Relations
• GPEC 471 - Japanese Economy
• GPPS 478 - Japanese Foreign Policy

Korea

• GPPS 408 - Korean Security
• GPPS 484 - Korean Politics

Southeast Asia

• GPEC 462 - Southeast Asian Economics
• GPPS 463 - Politics of Southeast Asia

Some prerequisite(s) or the instructor's consent may be required for some classes. Course schedules are published quarterly and are subject to change without notice. Some courses that can be applied to meet requirements may not be offered in a given academic quarter or academic year.