International Affairs

• M.A. International Affairs
• M.A.International Affairs with Specialization in African Studies 
• M.A. International Affairs/JD
• Ph.D. International Affairs

M.A. International Affairs

About the Program

The Norman Paterson School of International Affairs (NPSIA) was established in the mid-1960s with the generous support of the late Senator Norman M. Paterson to encourage and promote graduate study and professional research and publications in the field of international affairs. The NPSIA program is interdisciplinary, reflecting our philosophy that exposure to a range of disciplines is necessary to develop an understanding of our complex global environment. We also provide a policy-oriented learning environment to enable our students to engage effectively with the global policy community during and after their studies at NPSIA.   

Academic Regulations

See the General Regulations section of this Calendar.

A grade of B- or better must be obtained in each credit counted towards the master's degree. The School does not permit exceptions to this rule.

Students will be required to withdraw from the program if their grade point average falls below 7.0 (B-), or if they receive a grade of less than B- in any two courses that are eligible to be counted toward the Master's degree.

Admission Requirements

The minimum requirement for admission into the master's program is a B.A. (Honours) degree in a discipline related to international affairs.

Under current practice, at least a high honours standing (B+ minimum) is normally required to be considered for admission to the program.

Applicants may submit Graduate Record Examination (GRE) aptitude test scores; in some circumstances, students may be required to submit GRE scores.

The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs requires applicants whose native tongue is not English to be tested for proficiency in English. NPSIA applicants must submit a CAEL Assessment™score of a minimum of 70 or a TOEFL score of 250 computer-based or 600 regular 100 iBT (minimum score of 25 in each of reading, writing, speaking and listening).

Students admitted to the NPSIA M.A. program must have successfully completed a 1.0 credit (or the equivalent) course in introductory economics (introductory microeconomics and introductory macroeconomics for economics majors) before starting the program.

Students who have not completed one credit of introductory economics at the time of their application will have their admission into the program made conditional upon its successful completion prior to registration. In some cases where the student is deemed by the admissions committee to have an insufficient background in international affairs they may be required to complete up to two additional courses as part of their M.A. program. Students who are uncertain about whether they meet the background requirements are encouraged to contact the School of International Affairs.

Co-op Option

Full-time M.A.students who have completed 3.0 credits and all their core requirements in the program may select a co-op option. The co-op program provides opportunities to integrate the theoretical and practical aspects of international affairs.

The 0.0 credit co-op is in addition to the 5.0 credits required for the M.A., and a minimum of two co-op terms must be successfully completed before the student is eligible to receive a co-op designation on their academic transcript. Students register in  the co-op course INAF 5913 and are restricted from taking more than 0.5 credit at the same time.

Work terms are four months in duration, and typically students are employed at the junior officer level in government departments or other organizations. Information and procedures can be obtained from the Carleton University Co-op Office. 

M.A. International Affairs (5.0 credits)

Full-time program requirements

Students admitted to the full-time program must complete all of the degree requirements within two calendar years or six terms of full-time study. Students admitted into the full-time program are expected to continue to register as full-time students until completion of their program. The program may be completed within one calendar year, though it normally takes at least four terms of full-time study.

A minimum of 1.5 credits must normally be completed in each of the first two terms of full-time study, including the mandatory program courses.

All courses used for credit in the degree must be approved in advance by the M.A. Program Supervisor.

M.A. International Affairs with Specialization in African Studies

Notes: 

1. 1.5 credits of the total required 5.0 credits may be selected from courses offered in other departments, with a maximum of 1.0 credit from a single department and a maximum of 1.0 credit selected from fourth year undergraduate courses. Any course not identified as an INAF 5000 level course must be approved by the M.A. Program Supervisor.
2. Students must successfully complete an examination in second language proficiency administered by Carleton University's School of Linguistics and Language Studies, or meet the equivalent standard as determined by the School of Linguistics and Language Studies. There is an administrative fee for the standard test (provides a certificate of language proficiency). Students are strongly encouraged to take the opportunity to improve their language skills during their studies, including during their summer terms. Details of the language requirement are provided on the School website.

Fields

NPSIA's M.A. program is organized around six fields. Each field has a designated economics course (or courses) and a set of designated subject courses. Each student is admitted into a field and receives priority in the required economics course and in any three of the non-shared designated field courses.   Students that complete the required economics course or courses and three designated field courses will receive a field concentration designation on their academic transcript. Students who choose not to complete the requirements of any given field may still graduate with a general M.A. in International Affairs without a field concentration designation. Courses marked with an asterisk (*) are shared courses with limited enrolment; students in the field may claim such courses towards their field concentration but do not have priority for the limited space in those courses.

Students who already have a graduate or senior undergraduate economics course that is deemed to be the equivalent of the required economics course for their field must take another economics course from the School. Students with economics courses similar to those offered by the school must see the M.A. Program Supervisor to determine which economics course they should be taking.

The fields are: 

Transfer from the Master's to the Ph.D. Program

Students in the full-time M.A. program who demonstrate outstanding academic performance and research potential may, with permission of the Doctoral Program Supervisor, be admitted to the Ph.D. program after two terms of registration.

Students considering this option will be advised, when selecting courses for their M.A. program, to choose those courses at the master's level which are open to doctoral students and which may assist them in the doctoral comprehensive examinations. 

Part-time program requirements

In some cases, an applicant with relevant full-time employment experience may be admitted to a part-time M.A. program. While the program requirements are the same as those for full-time students, part-time students may take up to six calendar years from the date of initial registration to complete the program.

Part-time students must register for a minimum of one term in three, and must successfully complete INAF 5011, INAF 5012, INAF 5013, and INAF 5014 within their first 2.5 program credits. In addition, the economics course requirement must be included in the first 2.5 credits completed.

Students enrolled in the full-time master's program may  transfer to the part-time program only under exceptional circumstances as approved by the faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.

M.A. International Affairs/JD

About the Program

The Norman Paterson School of International Affairs and the Common Law Section of the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa offer a joint Master of Arts in International Affairs and Juris Doctor (M.A./JD). The benefit of the joint program is the integration of students, legal training and graduate studies in international affairs.

Admission Requirements

Students must apply separately to the Faculty of Law, Common Law Section, at the University of Ottawa and to the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, and be accepted by both institutions in accordance with the normal admission requirements of each program. Interest in pursuing the joint program must be specified in each application.

Program Requirements

A student will complete both the M.A. and the JD programs over four calendar years.

Students will be expected to fulfil the normal requirements of both the M.A. and JD programs.

Students must complete in their second year of the program INAF 5509.

In addition, students in the joint program will be required to complete courses in international law to be specified by the Faculty of Law.

Of the 5.0 credits completed for the M.A. degree, up to 1.5 credits may be applied to the Juris Doctor degree.

In undertaking the M.A./JD research essay, students will be expected to integrate both components of the joint program into their work.

The normal sequence of courses for the two degrees is as follows:

First Year

Normal JD first year (required course work to include a 0.5-credit course in international law)

Second Year

Normal M.A. first year (as described in full-time M.A. program requirements) including completion of INAF 5509.

Third and Fourth Year

Students will make up any additional M.A. credit requirements. Students should normally be registered in at least 0.5 credits of an INAF course in at least one term of each of the third and fourth years of their MA/JD program. These could include an M.A./JD research essay (INAF 5906 ) or M.A./JD research thesis (INAF 5919 ). M.A./JD research essays and theses will have one supervisor from NPSIA and one supervisor from the Law School.

Ph.D. International Affairs

About the Program

NPSIA's Ph.D. program is interdisciplinary and focuses on international policymaking processes and institutions. Its objective is to provide students with advanced training and research skills suitable for both an academic career, or for more senior policy analysis and research positions in government and non-governmental institutions.

The Ph.D. Program is organized around the following three fields:

International Conflict Management and Resolution

Interdisciplinary and policy-oriented research on international and intrastate conflict management and resolution. Sources of and responses to conflict, drawing from traditional and non-traditional frameworks with an emphasis on diagnostic and analytic skills. Topics include conflict management, peacekeeping, crisis decision-making, the management of terrorism, arms control, concepts of security, peace-building, and conflict prevention.

International Development Policy

Interdisciplinary and policy-oriented research on international development. Global, regional, community and institutional dimensions of development as a social, economic and political process. Topics include the linkages between development and trade, finance, regional integration, technology transfer and transnational enterprises, the environment and natural recourses, health, education, labour, and institutions.

International Economic Policy

Interdisciplinary and policy-oriented research on the relationship between the global markets, civil society, and states. Theories and policy approaches to international political economy, drawn from economics, political science and other disciplines. Topics include trade, finance, multinational corporations, international migration, and a critical analysis of the issues surrounding the phenomenon of global integration.

Academic Regulations

See the General Regulations section of this Calendar.

To successfully complete the doctoral program, students must obtain a grade of B- or better in each course credit, and Satisfactory or Distinction in the field seminars, comprehensive examinations, doctoral research seminar, the research prospectus defence, and the Ph.D. thesis and its oral defence.

Admission Requirements

Admission into the Ph.D. program will be judged primarily on the applicant's ability to undertake research successfully and his/her prospects for completion of the program. Admission to the Ph.D. program is governed by the requirements stated in the General Regulations section of this Calendar.

The normal requirement for admission to the doctoral program in International Affairs is a Master's degree in a social science with at least an A- average.

Relevant work experience is also considered. Students who lack sufficient background at the graduate level in international affairs will be required to take supplementary courses extra to degree prior to admission.

Students with no formal training in economics must complete a 1.0 credit (or equivalent) course in introductory economics (introductory microeconomics and introductory macroeconomics for economics majors) plus at least 1.0 credit (or the equivalent) at the advanced undergraduate (typically third or fourth year) or intermediate theory level to be considered for admission.

Students who are admitted to the doctoral program but lack sufficient specialization in their fields of study may be required to take additional courses at the graduate level in preparation for their field seminars.

All applicants whose first language is not English will be required to obtain an overall score of 70 or over on the Canadian Academic English Language Assessment with a minimum score of 70 for the writing section or a TOEFL score of 250 computer-based, 100 iBT (minimum score of 25) in each of reading, writing, speaking and listening.

Program Requirements

The Ph.D. in International Affairs is a 10.0-11.0 credit program. The specific requirements are:

Detailed Program Requirements

Residence Requirement

All Ph.D. candidates must be registered full time for a minimum of six terms to satisfy the residence requirement.

Courses

First Year

The following three (3.0) credits of compulsory courses must be completed in the first year of initial registration:

Second Year

The following must be completed by the end of the second year of the program:

• A comprehensive field seminar and examination in the declared field
• All remaining required credits except the doctoral research prospectus and thesis to a minimum of 5.0 credits

Third Year

The following must be completed by the end of the third year of the program.

• All required credits and comprehensive examinations.
• The doctoral research seminar and prospectus defence
•  The language requirement

Subsequent years

The student is expected to be enrolled continuously in the PhD thesis, including summer terms, until the completion and successful the doctoral thesis. 

Comprehensive examinations

Two comprehensive examinations (0.5 credit each) must be completed with a grade of Satisfactory or Distinction. In the first year a student must successfully complete the comprehensive examination in policy and methods based on their compulsory policy and methods courses, INAF 6001, INAF 6002 and INAF 6003. Failure to complete these requirements within the time limit may result in a student's removal from the program.

The comprehensive examination at the end of the second year is based on a set of readings provided at the beginning of Fall term and material studied in the four courses (three elective and one economics) associated with their declared field. Preparation includes the coursework, self-directed study and study with their proposed doctoral supervisor, and the required participation in the doctoral field comprehensive seminar in their second year.

 A candidate whose performance on a comprehensive examination is not deemed satisfactory by the examining board may be required to submit to either an oral examination or may be required to repeat the examination in a subsequent term.

Doctoral Research Seminar (0.5 credit)

A seminar where research issues and the students' thesis prospectus are discussed; participation is mandatory for all students in the third year of the program, and attendance by all doctoral students is strongly encouraged. Satisfactory completion of the seminar requires the successful public defence of a research prospectus that will be the basis for the dissertation.

Thesis (4.5 credits)

All Ph.D. candidates are required to successfully complete and defend a thesis equivalent to 4.5 credits on a topic approved by the School.

Language Requirement

Doctoral students must successfully complete an examination in second language proficiency administered by Carleton University's School of Linguistics and Language Studies, or meet the equivalent standard as determined by the School of Linguistics and Language Studies. There is an administrative fee for the standard test which also provides a certificate of language proficiency. Students are strongly encouraged to take the opportunity to improve their language skills during their doctoral studies, including during their summer terms, This requirement must be completed or significant progress demonstrated by the end of the third year of the program.

Summer session: some of the courses listed in this Calendar are offered during the summer. Hours and scheduling for summer session courses will differ significantly from those reported in the fall/winter Calendar. To determine the scheduling and hours for summer session classes, consult the class schedule at central.carleton.ca

Not all courses listed are offered in a given year. For an up-to-date statement of course offerings for the current session and to determine the term of offering, consult the class schedule at central.carleton.ca