International Affairs
By merging the perspectives of different disciplines in innovative paradigms, students comprehend and creatively analyze issues that affect human rights, well–being, peace, and stability.
The International Affairs Program allows students to explore, interpret, and understand significant global events via an interdisciplinary lens designed to promote critical thinking and innovative solutions to contemporary human problems. The challenges confronting our increasingly interconnected world defy simple solutions. This program generates productive members of society and future leaders passionate about learning, committed to global justice and equity, and inspired by an ethic of service to humanity.
The goals of the International Affairs Program are to:
- Increase the number of people of color in leadership roles within international affairs and diplomacy.
- Facilitate interdisciplinary teaching and promote learning that integrates the cognitive strengths of various subject areas at Howard University, including but not limited to history, politics, law, economics, sociology, education, health, the arts, the environment and technology.
- Serve as a world class repository for research on, and the teaching of, alternative perspectives and paradigms in international affairs, particularly those contributions made by people of African descent, that address such issues as: global inequality and redistribution, conflict resolution and peace building, human resource development and equity, environmental justice and human rights, information and communication, and multiculturalism as illustrated by emerging discourses on race, gender, ethnicity, and class.
- Involve students and faculty in critical areas of international affairs through partnerships, internships, service learning, study abroad, and other hands-on experiences in governments, multilateral agencies, the corporate sector, and nongovernmental organizations.
- Implement outreach programs developed by students and faculty that disseminate knowledge through community interaction and service and that promote public understanding of the impact of international events on domestic affairs.
- Participate in the internationalization of the University community by promoting awareness and sponsoring international activities and events.
To Apply Contact
Dr. Clarence Lusane
Program Coordinator
Professor and Chair, Department of Political Science
Telephone:(202)806-6720
Email: Clarence.Lusane@Howard.edu
Our program emphasizes the interconnectedness of global, regional, national and local spheres of power and authority within which individuals and groups mediate essential moral and material needs.
Attention focuses on global inclusion, that is, how transnational social processes differentially impact human communities as a result of history, culture, gender, ethnicity, race, class, geography, ecology, demographics, health, technology, and education. Essential to global inclusion are the institutions of governance that affect human sovereignty, allocate resources, and define the public good. The International Affairs Program promotes a long view of history as the most effective means by which students can be trained to tackle the crucial issues facing humanity in the 21st century.
International Affairs Program Graduates Will:
- Increase the cadre of high achieving students prone to leadership in International Affairs or related fields.
- Act as well-rounded individuals who exhibit an eclectic vision, open-mindedness and a capacity to see all sides of issues in international affairs.
- Apply theories and concepts in analyzing, interpreting, comprehending and assisting in problem solving in international affairs.
- Obtain employment in multilateral and international institutions where they will be equipped to contribute to the shaping of international public policy in an increasingly complex world.
- Apply enhanced competency skills to their understanding of international issues. Invoke cultural sensitivity in international work and possess commitment to service in domestic and global communities.
- Show proficiency in languages, understand in-depth and possess the ability to function in diverse cultures.
- Pass the Foreign Service Examination and meet GRE score requirements or equivalent to enter competitive graduate or professional schools.