Masters International-Peace Corps - Curriculum Guidelines

Students work with a faculty advisor to design a program of study appropriate to their interests and career goals, keeping the following in mind:

Students must complete 24 hours of coursework, including 6 hours of required courses (see below) .
Elective coursework can be from one of two established areas of concentration: agriculture and non-governmental organization (NGO) administration, or another area based on the student's interests. A self-designed concentration is contingent on availability of courses.
If you choose the concurrent major in environment and natural Resources, the 15 hours of coursework required for the enr degree may apply toward the 24 hours of coursework for the international studies degree if the enr coursework has an international focus.
Students receive six hours of internship credit (INST 5970) for completion of Peace Corps Service that, in addition to the 24 hours of required coursework, completes the 30 required hours for the MA degree. If a student must terminate Peace Corps Service, he or she will be credited with an appropriate amount of internship credit for the period of time served.
Students must complete two research papers and an oral defense. The research papers will be:

A critical paper on the history, issues, and controversies associated with the locale and work the student will be doing as a Peace Corps volunteer that will be submitted prior to beginning Peace Corps service
An analytic journal-length paper, based on the student's Peace Corps work, submitted within six months of the completion of Peace Corps service.

It is highly recommended that MI students do an applied service course/internship prior to Peace Corps placement.

Required Course Work

All students are required to take one course each in theory and research methods. The list of possible courses in each area are listed here, but not limited to these courses.

Theory Group

INST 5300 The World System
POLS 4870 Seminar in International Relations
POLS 4890 Seminar in Comparative Government and Politics
POLS 4900-Seminar in International Relations Theory
POLS 4910 Seminar in Comparative Foreign Policy Analysis
POLS 5250 Politics of Developing Nations
POLS 5290 Inter-American Relations
POLS 5330 American Foreign Relations
POLS 5340 International Organizations

Research Methods Group

AGEC 5600-Community Economic Analysis
AGEC 5660-Community and Economic Development
ANTH 5650-Field Methods in Cultural Anthropology
EDRE 5640 Introduction to Qualitative Research
GEOG 5790-Research Methods in Geograpy
HLED 5004 Program Planning, Implementation and Evaluation
POLS 5680-Seminar in Research Design
SOC 5100-Advanced Social Research Methods