Curriculum (70-Credit Version)

Requirements

Introduction to Policy and Data Analysis (4 credits)

Development Paradigms, Discourses, and Theories (4 credits) sample courses:

• Development Theory and Practice
• Development Economics
• Seminar: Negotiating Global Development Policy

International Trade Theory and Practice (4 credits)

Applied Practice Workshops (2 credits)

Seminars (8 credits) sample courses:

• International Trade Negotiation Simulation
• Foreign Policy, Trade and Security in East Asia

Global Poverty and Inequality Specialization Course Work (12 credits)

Introduction to Trade Policy and Institutions (4 credits)

International Trade Law and Dispute Resolution (4 credits)

Comparative Business/Government Relations (2 credits)

ITED Electives (8 credits) sample courses:

• Currency Capital Flows & Financial Crises
• Trade Law Compliance
• Legal Aspect of Compliance
• Quantitative Analysis for Trade
• Trade Based Financial Crime / Financial Investigations & Compliance

Language/Intercultural Competence (12 credits: minimum 8 credits of language required) sample courses:

• Arab-African Relations (in Arabic)
• Citizenship, Security, and Development in Latin America (in Spanish)
• Challenges in Peacebuilding—Congo (in French)
• Japan: Soft Power (in Japanese)
• Business Chinese (in Chinese)
• Intercultural Group Dynamics
• Multilingual Communication in Multicultural Settings

Economic Diplomacy Professional Project (2 credits)

Practicum (4 credits)

ITED Electives

Students may choose electives from an ITED-approved list. Electives, selected with guidance from your advisor, deepen your expertise in areas that can benefit your career.

Language and Intercultural Competence

Courses taught in your chosen language combine language skills development with topics related to your degree work and professional interests. Our intercultural competence offerings provide the cross-cultural communication skills needed to pursue global careers.

Economic Diplomacy Professional Project

Students complete an economic diplomacy professional project. This is an intensive working and writing project directed by ITED faculty and aimed at improving research, analysis, and writing skills; demonstrating knowledge and abilities; and building connections and networks in the community in areas of students’ specialization.

Students will select an emphasis for their project in one of the following three specializations:

• Commercial Diplomacy
• Trade Compliance
• Regional specialization

Professional Practicum

Put theory into practice through a semester-long practicum in the field:

Independent Practicum

The independent practicum (four credits) is self-directed and requires independent academic planning and responsibilities. You can choose to complete an internship or field-based research. Both require you to engage a faculty sponsor, develop a work plan with that sponsor, submit specified deliverables to be evaluated at the conclusion of the project, and present the deliverables in a final colloquium.

Sprintensive

Sprintensive is a pedagogical approach that is all about hands-on learning. It is relationship-rich and feedback-rich and involves a great deal of peer-to-peer and faculty-student interaction. Students take one class at a time, four hours a day, five days a week, covering an entire semester’s worth of material in just three weeks. The process is repeated three more times, so by the end of the semester students complete a full academic load, one class at a time. Focusing on a single subject offers many advantages. In addition to reducing the distractions and competing priorities of a standard schedule, the intensive schedule ensures that the student cohort develops deep and lasting bonds that translate into a vibrant professional support network.

Semester in Washington, D.C.

After completing their first semester, students can take fall semester courses in D.C. on business-government relations and economic statecraft and conflict resolution, and a seminar on advanced trade topics. Evening classes allow students to pursue internships, which are encouraged but not required. Students who intern in D.C. in the summer prior should consider continuing the internship during the semester.

Internships

Gaining professional development experience during the course of your academic program is essential. The Institute helps support student opportunities to apply their skills, build their résumés, expand their connections, and advance their international careers through innovative real-world learning experiences.

Additional Program Options

Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Program

Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) are encouraged to apply for the Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Program.

Sample Course Schedule

Fall Start, Full Time, Five Semesters