Master of Arts in International Public Affairs (MIPA)

120 ECTS

The professional English-language MA program International Public Affairs (MIPA) is academically coordinated within the Department of Comparative Governance and European Studies (DCGES) of our faculty. Most guest events are organized with the support of the Centre for International Cooperation and Development Studies (IDC), part of the DCGES. 

The summary of the 2022 admission procedures, FAQs, the full list of 2022-2023 novelties and the online registration details specific to the program are available at https://idc.fspub.unibuc.ro/mipa/Admission2022

Contact: mipa@unibuc.ro, mipa@fspub.unibuc.ro

Profile

This 2-year (4 semesters) degree program is one of the few graduate study programs in the world in the field of international public affairs. This is an increasingly in-demand expertise at the intersection of international studies, comparative governance, communication, public management, sustainability and public policies. Established in 2018, our program aims to prepare future professionals of international public affairs for higher adaptability to multicultural and increasingly digital work environments, while contributing to advancing the local, national and global sustainable development and social responsibility efforts. Apart from an individual academic supervisor for the entire duration of their studies, all students have access to different mentors from partner institutions in the field of international public affairs which are active in Romania or abroad. In addition, students are also fully integrated into projects within which they are required to develop solutions to real problems of the partner institutions. Almost each week, guest experts from Romania or abroad offer lectures and small group seminars that help students familiarize with the challenges of the current labour market and provide more specific knowledge and/or skills. The admission to the program is unique in Romania, and includes a comprehension and synthesis skills test in English based on the Thinking Skills Assessment (TSA Oxford) standards, and an interview where we evaluate the critical thinking and argumentation skills, the level of creativity, the leadership potential, as well as the sensitivity to the public interest and to social solidarity. Instead of an MA thesis, at the end of the program students are required to defend publicly a capstone project (i.e. application of the knowledge and skills acquired throughout the program to examine or evaluate a specific real life problem).

Content

Among the very few of its kind in the world and unique in both Romania and the region, the program focuses on professional and individualized training, with about 80% of the instruction time allocated to seminars, policy workshops, internships, individual tutoring and professional mentoring.

The areas of interest and specialization for the practical part of the program focus largely on the following:

• DIPLOMACY track: public diplomacy, cultural diplomacy, digital diplomacy
• GLOBAL AFFAIRS track: sustainable development, humanitarian affairs
• EUROPEAN AFFAIRS track: European Union institutions and policies
• CIVIL SOCIETY track: international NGOs, social movements
• INDUSTRY track: public-private partnerships for creative industries, the social and environmental sustainability of companies

The curriculum is also uniquely structured around a set of modules that include several subjects that aim to gradually develop the students’ knowledge and skills:

Foundational module

• Comparative Political Systems: Major Concepts and Analytical Tools (1st semester)
• Elements of National and Transnational Constitutionalism (1st semester)
• Public Policy in Comparative Perspective: Major Concepts and Analytical Tools (2nd semester)

Core concepts, analytical competence & policy workshop modules

• NEW 2022-2023 Civic technology: Citizen Experience Design for Public Services, organized with Code4Romania
• Cultural Affairs and Creative Industries in an Interconnected World (3rd semester)
• Emergent Global Challenges (3rd semester)
• Foreign Policy Analysis: Theories and Analytical Tools (2nd semester)
• Public Communication and Risk Management in International Environments: Fundamentals of Protocol, Diplomacy, Negotiation, Lobby and Advocacy (2nd semester)
• Public Opinion, Social Movements and Civil Society Organizations in International Contexts (3rd semester)
• The Global Agenda of International Public Affairs: Concepts, Institutions, and Analytical Tools (1st semester)

Skills & training modules

• Critical Reasoning for International Public Affairs (1st semester)
• International Project Writing, Management and Evaluation (3rd semester)
• Research Design, Methods, Techniques, and Digital Tools for International Public Affairs (2nd semester)
• Writing and Presenting Professionally for International Audiences (1st semester)

Internship modules

• Institutions and Actors of International Public Affairs (4th semester)
• Strategies, Tools and Practices of International Public Affairs (4th semester)
• Professional Research Team Project (3rd semester)

Individualized professional training

• Capstone Project Tutoring (4th semester)
• Methodological Seminar and Academic Tutoring (2nd semester)
• Professional Seminar and Mentoring (all semesters)

In addition to these mandatory subjects, each semester students can enroll in specialization modules for extra credits. These are developed in partnership with major organizations or companies working in the field and new subjects are added every year. In 2022-2023, student can also take the new extra credit modules on Sport and human rights, Culinary diplomacy and Contemporary Global Food Security Challenges, as well as a module and a summer school in Luxembourg organized with the European Investment Bank.

All courses and activities are completely taught and examined in English. Classes for learning French for Political Science (intermediate and advanced level, within the faculty) and Chinese (any level, within the university) are also available for free to all students. Due to a special agreement with Goethe Institute Bucharest, MIPA students can also benefit from heavily discounted rates (beginners and intermediate) or free (advanced) German language classes, which are fully recognized as part of the curriculum, as extra credits.

Up to 5 candidates admitted in 2022-2023 can also enroll in a double degree track offered with University of Urbino’s Master “International Politics, Society and Economics“, an option which give them the possibility to spend the 3rd semester of studies (in 2023-2024) in Urbino.   

Career & networking opportunities

The program creates and develops expertise in international public affairs particularly (but not exclusively) for

• the international relations, public communication or social responsibility/sustainable development units of
  • the institutions and specialized agencies of the United Nations (UN) system; 
  • the institutions and specialized agencies of the European Union (EU);
  • intergovernmental organizations;
  • ministries or agencies of the central public administration;
  • the local public administration;
  • non-governmental organizations;
• the administrative and technical staff of embassies and cultural institutes;
• the governmental and non-governmental organizations active in priority areas for the UN agenda;
• think-tanks or free-lance political consultancy in international affairs.

In addition, the program provides the opportunity to develop specific expertise and skills which are currently in high demand for

• the implementation of the United Nations agenda 2015-2030 (Sustainable Development Goals – SDGs), especially in matters related to the coordination, analysis and evaluation of public policies and strategies for sustainable development;
• the creation, monitoring and evaluation of the social and environmental sustainability reports legally required in the European Union for all companies with at least 500 employees, as part of their corporate social responsibility strategies.

All FSPUB and associated teaching staff members hold a doctoral degree in social sciences or humanities (political science/international relations, sociology, economy, law, philosophy or contemporary history) and have pursued postgraduate studies at top European and North American universities such as the Central European University, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, London School of Economics and Political Science, McGill University, Pennsylvania State University and others. Most of these instructors have also collaborated as consultants/independent experts with numerous strategic partners from the labour market in the field of international public affairs such as the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Romanian Ministry of Labour, the Romanian Cultural Institute, various foreign embassies and cultural institutes present in Romania, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), UNICEF and the World Bank Group.

Academic coordinators: Luciana Alexandra GHICA | Claudiu D. TUFIȘ