Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies

Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies
Name	Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies
Established	2014
Type	School
Parent	Boston University
City	Boston
State	Massachusetts
Country	United States

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Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies is a professional school at Boston University focused on international affairs, public policy, and regional studies, located in Boston, Massachusetts on the Charles River campus. The school offers interdisciplinary programs that connect practice and scholarship across continents, drawing on networks linked to institutions such as the United Nations, World Bank, European Union, African Union, and Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Its faculty and alumni engage with organizations including the U.S. Department of State, NATO, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the Council on Foreign Relations.

History

The school was launched in 2014 following a major gift from Frederick S. Pardee and builds on prior Boston University programs such as the International Relations program and the Global Development Policy initiatives. Early milestones included partnerships with entities like the U.S. Agency for International Development, collaborations with scholars from the Harvard Kennedy School, exchanges with the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and programmatic links to the Peace Corps, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and the Smithsonian Institution. The Pardee School expanded amid debates in higher education over curricula influenced by events such as the Arab Spring, the Global Financial Crisis (2007–2008), and the Sustainable Development Goals agenda promoted by the United Nations General Assembly.

Academic offerings include a Master of Arts in Global Policy, Master of Arts in International Relations, Master of Arts in Global Development Policy, and undergraduate majors and minors that build on historical models like the Marshall Plan study of postwar reconstruction and comparative analyses of the Treaty of Westphalia. Degree curricula integrate courses on regions such as East Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, South Asia, and Europe and thematic concentrations involving institutions like the World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States, and Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Students undertake practicums modeled on engagement with the International Criminal Court, the International Monetary Fund, and the Interpol framework, and pursue capstone projects reflecting policy discussions from the G7 summit and the G20 summit.

The school houses research centers and initiatives that echo the agendas of organizations such as the United Nations Environment Programme, Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Centers focus on topics ranging from conflict resolution, drawing on case studies like the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and the Korean War, to climate policy engaging with accords such as the Paris Agreement and frameworks like the Kyoto Protocol. Research scholars collaborate with think tanks including the Brookings Institution, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Chatham House, and the Rand Corporation, and publish analyses related to events like the Rwandan Genocide, the Balkan Wars, and the Arab–Israeli peace process.

Faculty include scholars and practitioners with backgrounds linked to the United States Congress, the U.S. Supreme Court, the International Court of Justice, and diplomatic service in postings to countries such as China, Russia, India, Brazil, and South Africa. Administrators have held leadership roles connected to institutions like the Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, World Health Organization, and the International Rescue Committee. Visiting professors and lecturers have come from universities and institutions including the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, the London School of Economics, the Yale School of Management, and the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs.

Students include domestic and international cohorts from countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, China, India, Nigeria, Brazil, and Jordan, many of whom previously interned at organizations like the United Nations Development Programme, Médecins Sans Frontières, International Committee of the Red Cross, and the European Commission. Admissions consider backgrounds with experience in programs like the Fulbright Program, the Rhodes Scholarship, the Marshall Scholarship, and service in institutions such as the Peace Corps or national foreign ministries. Financial support and fellowships are modeled on awards like the Rotary Foundation grants and partnerships comparable to the Fulbright Program.

Facilities occupy buildings near landmarks such as the BU Castle and the Boston University School of Law, with classrooms and centers equipped for simulations of bodies like the United Nations Security Council, model exercises patterned after the Model United Nations, and technology for remote engagement with partners in Geneva, Brussels, New York City, and Washington, D.C.. The campus environment connects to Boston-area institutions including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Harvard University, the Boston Public Library, and cultural centers such as the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

The school maintains partnerships and exchange agreements with universities and organizations such as the Georgetown University, the Columbia University, the Johns Hopkins University, the National University of Singapore, the University of Cape Town, and the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, and engages in study abroad and joint research tied to initiatives like the Belt and Road Initiative analyses and transnational projects responding to crises such as the Syrian Civil War and the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa. Collaborative programs connect students and faculty to policy networks including the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and regional development banks such as the Asian Development Bank and the African Development Bank.