Bard MA in Global Studies

Drawing on the strengths of Central European University’s (CEU) renowned International Relations program and the BGIA campus in New York City, the Bard MA in Global Studies program places at its center the theory-practice nexus. The curriculum is intentionally designed to emphasize the important relationship between rigorous theoretical and conceptual thinking and the reality of how problems unfold and can be effectively addressed in practice. 

With two degree tracks available, students can tailor the program to meet their personal goals and spring forward into careers in global affairs, nonprofit work, and more. 

Students begin in either Vienna (CEU Track), studying in the renowned International Relations program at Central European University (CEU), or Bard's Annandale-on-Hudson campus (New York Track). Then they move to the MAGS campus in Manhattan, New York City, where they complete coursework and an internship with an organization working in global affairs. By emphasizing critical thinking, writing, and experiential learning, the program educates the next generation of global citizens to be actively engaged in the transnational public sphere.

Students complete 30 credits during the one-year MA program, including coursework on the form and function of the global political order, the histories and evolution of specific global problems and how groups and individuals have attempted to address them, and skills-based courses that prepare students to enter the workforce.

The centerpiece of the MA Program in Global Studies curriculum is the internship, where students get an on-the-ground perspective on how non-state and civil society actors address transnational problems.