A degree designed for the globalized world, offering a view of international policymaking that is both relevant and solution based.
Master of Global Policy Studies
Producing professional policymakers for the global arena.
The Master of Global Policy Studies program provides the professional skills, applied academic training and effective networking to move students quickly into international careers. Through the combination of a rigorous, interdisciplinary core and a wide array of customizable specializations, we prepare our graduates for a variety of policy jobs ranging from national security and intelligence, to international development and global governance, to energy and global environmental policy.
LBJ Professors Answer: Why LBJ? Why Now?
Core Program
The MGPS core curriculum provides students with an interdisciplinary understanding of global policy issues, as well as a set of analytical and professional communication skills.
Analytical Methods for Global Policy Studies
Students are exposed to the core quantitative and qualitative techniques of research design and analysis widely used by professionals in the global policy environment.
Microeconomics for Global Policy Studies
Using contemporary examples, students learn about the principles of markets and market failure relevant to global policy studies and gain basic tools of economic analysis.
The Nature of the International System
Students are introduced to the systematic analysis of global affairs from the perspective of international relations theory and through the study of contemporary international problems.
International Economics
Students are exposed to frameworks for understanding the contemporary global economy, including the costs and benefits of trade in goods and services, technology diffusion and exchange rates.
Policymaking in a Global Age
Students learn to both analyze and implement policy through an exploration of the constraints and dilemmas faced by decision makers, from both a theoretical and practical viewpoint.
Writing for Global Policy
This course helps students develop the written and oral communication skills necessary for policy professionals by focusing on various genres of writing and presenting that students may encounter in their careers.
Global Policy Crisis Simulation
This one-credit course allows students to role-play a set of global actors in a simulation of an international crisis, offering hands-on experience in negotiation, teamwork and crisis management.
Professional Research Project
This year-long course partners groups of students with a faculty mentor to work on a real-world problem, and results in a final product delivered to the ordering client (topics vary year to year).
Internship Requirement
All students are required to complete a 400-hour internship at a global policy-relevant organization of their own choosing. The LBJ School offers stipends to offset unpaid internships.
Customize Your Degree
With scores of electives and courses cross-listed with other units on campus every semester, students have a great degree of flexibility in designing a program of study that meets their interests.
All MGPS students supplement core requirements with at least 15 credits of courses taken toward a specialization of their choice and nine credits of freely chosen electives. Students may choose from a list of existing specializations or create their own, providing a uniquely flexible degree plan. These noncore courses can be taken at the LBJ School or at a number of other departments across the university. Students may also take advantage of two other formal mechanisms for customizing a degree.
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