NEXT
STEP
DIPLOMACY, DEFENSE, & DEVELOPMENT
By participating in American University’s Graduate Professional Studies you can earn
credits that may count toward a Masters degree at AU or another institution. If you
apply and are admitted to a graduate program at American University, the credits earned
in Graduate Professional Studies (GPS) may be eligible to satisfy some of your Master’s
Degree requirements.
Through GPS in Diplomacy, Defense, & Development, you will earn 9-graduate credits:
Seminar in Diplomacy, Defense, & Development
(3 credits)
Internship or Research Course in Diplomacy, Defense, & Dev.
(3 credits)
Graduate Elective at American University(3 credits)
GPS students have the option of choosing an evening elective course at American
University that is 500-level or above and does not require prerequisites. Please note that
enrollment in your elective choice depends on space availability and, in some cases, you
may be placed on a course waitlist for your first choice option.
RECOMMENDED ELECTIVE OPTIONS
As you review the Schedule of Classes to select your elective, it will be beneficial to
reference the course requirements of degree programs that you may want to apply to in
the future. If you are interested in pursuing a graduate degree with American
University’s School of International Service (SIS) or the School of Public Affairs (SPA)
upon completion of your GPS semester, we recommend that you refer to the
requirements of the degree program(s) of interest when choosing your GPS elective
course. Please reference suggested electives below for a few of the degrees offered within
SIS and SPA.
SPA: MS TERRORISM & HOMELAND SECURITY POLICY
JLC-602: Legal Theory
JLC-607: Concept of Justice
JLC-672: Terrorism, Crime and Public Policy JLC-609: Criminological Theory
JLC-610: Current Controversial Issues in Justice and Public Policy
SPA: PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION OR PUBLIC POLICY
PUAD-601 Quantitative Methods for Policy Analysis I
PUAD-617 Project Management
PUAD-684 Organizational Analysis
SIS: MA COMPARATIVE AND REGIONAL STUDIES
SIS-672 Theories of Comparative and International Studies
SIS-619 Global Political Economy
A regional course in your region of interest
SIS: MA GLOBAL GOVERNANCE, POLITICS AND SECURITY
SIS-619 Global International Relations Theory
SIS-619 History of Global Politics
SIS: MA U.S. FOREIGN POLICY AND NATIONAL SECURITY
SIS-682 Foreign Policy: Institutions and Processes
SIS-653 Diplomatic Practice
SIS-653 U.S. National Security Strategy
SIS-653 Continuity & Change
SIS-689 Foreign Policy: Theories of Decision Making
SIS: MA INTERNATIONAL PEACE AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION
SIS-606 Culture, Peace & Conflict Resolution SIS-619 Econ. of Violence & Peace
SIS-609 Conflict Analysis & Resolution SIS-607 Peace Paradigms
FOUNDATION FOR
A FUTURE DEGREE
On average, graduate
degrees in the School of
International Service
require 39-42 credit hours and
degrees in the School of
Public Affairs require 33-42
credit hours for completion.
If you apply and are admitted
to a graduate program in SPA
or SIS, you could
potentially apply 3-6 credits
of your GPS classes to your
Masters degree. It may also
be possible to count your
internship course toward SIS’s
non-credit Professional
Experience requirement.*
*course credit is subject to
approval by the
SIS or SPA advisor.
EXPLORE YOUR
ELECTIVE OPTIONS
You can review the available
course offerings at
www.american.edu/provost/
registrar/schedule/index.cfm
QUESTIONS?
Contact the Graduate
Professional Studies Advisor,
Lana Knox, at 202-895-4859
or knox@american.edu.