5 Things to Expect in the New Master of International Affairs Program

The world today needs ambitious individuals who want to make a positive impact and are ready to face unique challenges head-on. Global leaders must contend with climate risk, geopolitical change, trade disruptions, and a technological landscape that won’t stay still. To succeed, professionals in international affairs will need to navigate this complexity with confidence and skill.

Wake Forest School of Professional Studies (SPS) has a program designed to help students do just that: The Master of International Affairs (IAF) is a new online graduate degree at Wake Forest SPS that prepares professionals to drive impact in a changing world.

Here’s what you can expect from the program.

1. Learn to Lead Across Borders and Activity Sectors

Global challenges are wide-ranging and affect many different areas. A public health crisis, for example, can easily become a security concern, while climate risks expand into economic challenges. Leaders in international affairs need to be equipped to see from multiple vantage points.

The IAF program is built around that reality. Rather than have students focus on a single area like diplomacy or policy, the curriculum takes a deliberately cross-sector approach. When they graduate, students will be prepared to connect the dots across government, business, and the nonprofit world to design creative solutions that hold up against multiple pressure points.

The program’s core courses give students a framework to evaluate complex problems and recommend strategies that cover economic, political, and social considerations simultaneously. They include:

• Global Systems and Challenges
• Global Political Economy and Development
• Ethical Leadership and Strategic Policy in Global Markets
• International Governance, Trade, and Law
• Global Analytics and Emerging Technologies

IAF students can choose to focus on career pathways that span roles in government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the private sector, and security and defense. 

Graduates will be ready for roles like:

• Foreign Service Officer
• Policy Advisor
• Political Risk Analyst
• International Business Development Director
• Humanitarian Response Director
• Global Health Policy Advisor

2. Bring Together Policy, Technology, and Data Analysis

One of the biggest issues facing global leaders today is the rate of technological change. But technology can also be a tool—and IAF students learn to both understand it and use it to drive strategy.

With the core course Global Analytics and Emerging Technologies, students learn to analyze international datasets, produce briefing materials, and build dashboards that help policy and corporate strategy teams make critical decisions. They’ll use AI tools, open-source intelligence (OSINT), predictive analytics, and data visualization to model the kinds of challenges they’ll face on the job.

These core competencies can be deepened with the elective focus area “AI & Data for Global Strategy”, which stresses AI foundations, data ethics, and strategic AI leadership.

3. Build Ethical Leadership and Cross-Cultural Fluency

In a world defined by political polarization and cultural complexity, leaders who have the necessary “soft skills” to navigate competing interests to build consensus are the ones who stand out.

The IAF program was designed to help students develop those qualities throughout the curriculum. Ethical Leadership and Strategic Policy in Global Markets gives students practice in stakeholder engagement, cross-cultural decision-making, and leading strategic discussions with integrity. These skills are backed up in the international affairs capstone course, which challenges students to integrate policy, strategy, and data into a significant applied project they must carry out using the ethical principles they’ve learned in the program.

That emphasis reflects not only real-world skills needed to succeed in international affairs, but also Wake Forest SPS’s Pro Humanitate tradition

4. Connect Learning Directly with Career Goals

The IAF program is built to be flexible. Students take courses that fit their schedules and have the freedom to shape their degree around their particular career goals.

With six core courses and four electives, the 30-credit curriculum offers two thematic elective pathways: “AI and Data for Global Strategy” for students who want to deepen their technology and analytics expertise, and “Global Health Policy and Systems” for students drawn to health security, digital health, and international health governance. 

Electives cover other important topics, including cybersecurity, sustainability, strategic communications, negotiation, and crisis management.

Additionally, Wake Forest SPS’s Charlotte presence at The Pearl, Charlotte’s first innovation district and its connections to the Wake Washington Center in D.C. and the World Affairs Council of Charlotte all expand opportunities for real-world learning and professional connection.

5. Fast Facts of the IAF Program

• Format: Online, with no set class times
• Credits: 30 (five core courses, one capstone, and four electives)
• Tuition: $38,940
• One core course we’re excited about: Global Analytics and Emerging Technologies

Learn more about the Master of International Affairs program at Wake Forest SPS. Request information today.