International Security

The International Security (IS) field offers courses related to the onset, conduct and termination of large-scale political conflict, violence and war, as well as civil-military relations, crisis management, decision-making, intelligence, non-violent resistance, strategy and statecraft. The field also provides courses devoted to emergent security threats, including cybersecurity, climate change, terrorism, and demographic shifts as well as emerging tools for addressing insecurity such as security sector reform. Course offerings reflect theoretical and practical considerations and historical and contemporary perspectives. Courses might be based in case studies of countries or regions, examine the play of politics within states, or span the international and global system of states. In addition to studying critical events around violence, war, and peace, students will engage crucially important concepts and phenomena including power, legitimacy, authority, sovereignty, institutions, cooperation, democratization, ethnicity, nationalism and  self-determination, and religion. The field also offers courses in international relations theory and political systems that seek to describe, explain, and compare the different units and actors that comprise the world in the 21st century.  

In essence, students in the IS field are presented with a broad understanding of the historical and contemporary dynamics of the international security environment and acquire requisite knowledge of the key theories, concepts, and leading thinkers in this field. Our curriculum is geared towards developing graduates who can effectively analyze, discuss, and act on key challenges in the contemporary international security environment.  

The many achievements of former students and military fellows attest to the efficacy of the International Security field at Fletcher. Our students have gone on to successfully work in a variety of professional career fields, including in the U.S. government, foreign governments, non-governmental organizations, international and national policy institutes, global consulting, international and national media, and academia.

Field Advisor(s)

Richard Shultz

Richard Shultz

Research Centers 

Students in the field also have access to and are supported by five security related programs and centers listed below. Each hosts an array of fellows, speakers, workshops, and events throughout the academic year and provides financial and logistical support to student-oriented activities, including student-led conferences and publications.  

Center for Strategic Studies

Cyber Security and Policy Program

The Edward R. Murrow Center for Global Diplomacy

International Security Studies Program 

Maritime Studies Program  

Russia and Eurasia Program  

Field Requirements 

MALD and MIB: 4 courses in field of study (one core, one field elective, and two additional electives) 

MGA: 6 courses in field of study (two core, one skills course, and three additional electives) 

Total Credits Required   

MALD and MIB: 12.0 credits 

MGA: 18.0 credits plus Practicum

  • MALD and MIB 

    DHP P240 The Role of Force in International Politics 

    MGA 

    DHP P233 International Security 

    DHP P240 The Role of Force in International Politics

  • MALD and MIB 

    DHP P205 National Security Decision Making: Theory & Practice 

    DHP P233 International Security  

    DHP P241 Policy and Strategy in the Origins, Conduct, and Termination of War  

    MGA 

    DHP D220 Processes of International Negotiation 

    DHP P203 Analytic Frameworks for International Public Policy Decisions 

    DHP P207 GIS for International Applications 

    EIB B291 Leadership: Building Teams, Organizations, and Shaping Your Path 

    ILO L215 Ethics in Practice of Foreign Affairs

  • DHP D252 Grand Strategy

    DHP D272 U.S. - China Security Relations

    DHP D282M Contemporary Russian Foreign Policy 

    DHP H204 Classics of International Relations 

    DHP H205 The Historian’s Art and Current Affairs 

    DHP P202M Security Sector Reform: Conceptual and Contextual Debates in Peacebuilding 

    DHP P205 National Security Decision Making: Theory & Practice  

    DHP P206M Maritime Security 

    DHP P209M Demography and National Security  

    DHP P215 Nuclear Weapons and Great Powers Competition

    DHP P232 Technological Innovation Security

    DHP P233 International Security 

    DHP P241 Policy and Strategy in the Origins, Conduct, and Termination of War  

    DHP P243 Internal Conflicts and War  

    DHP P244 Modern Terrorism and Counterterrorism  

    DHP P246M Civil Resistance

    DHP P248 Strategy and Grand Strategy: Theory, Art and Practice 

    DHP P249 International Cyber Conflict 

    DHP P263 Civil Wars: Theory and Policy 

    DHP P265 21st Century Intelligence and National Security Seminar 

    DHP P277 Introduction to Nuclear Security: History, Policy, and Theory 

    DHP P291 Power in World Politics 

    EIB B223 Informal and Underground Finance 

    ILO L201 Public International Law  

    ILO L216 International Humanitarian Law  

    ILO L224 Peace Operations  

    ILO L262 Foreign Relations and National Security Law

  • One skills course is required for the MGA. MALD and MIB students may not use these courses as a field elective unless otherwise indicated above.

    DHP D208M Research Methods and Scholarship

    DHP D218 Influencing Policy and the Global Debate: Writing Analysis and Opinion 

    DHP D220 Processes of International Negotiation

    DHP D225 Conflict Resolution Practice 

    DHP D243M Overview of Survey Methods 

    DHP D245M Working in Difficult Research Environments with Vulnerable Populations: Advanced Field Research Methods 

    DHP New Advanced GIS

    DHP New Introduction to Data Science for Global Applications

    DHP P203 Analytic Frameworks for International Public Policy Decisions 

    DHP P207 GIS for International Applications

    DHP P225 Design, Monitoring, and Evaluation

    DHP P234 The Arts of Communication 

    DHP P250 Environmental Problem Solving 

    EIB B205 Data Analysis and Statistical Methods 

    EIB B206 Data Analysis and Statistical Methods for Business

    EIB B262 Marketing Research and Analysis 

    EIB B291 Leadership Building Teams, Organizations, and Shaping Your Path 

    EIB E210M Quantitative Methods

    EIB E213 Econometrics 

    EIB E214 International Economic Policy Analysis 

    EIB E247 Econometric Impact Evaluation for Development

    ILO L215 Ethics in the Practice of Foreign Affairs

  • A practicum is required for MGA students.

Faculty with expertise in the field:

Richard Shultz

Richard Shultz