Bard MA in Global Studies

Drawing on the strengths of Central European University’s (CEU) renowned International Relations program and the innovative Bard Globalization and International Affairs (BGIA) program in New York City, the 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. 

Students begin in either Vienna, studying in the renowned International Relations program at Central European University (CEU), or Bard's Annandale-on-Hudson campus. Then they move to the Bard Globalization and International Affairs (BGIA) campus in New York City, where they complete coursework and an internship with an organization working on global affairs. By emphasizing critical thinking, writing, and experiential learning, the program will educate 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.