Advanced Skills

Courses under the Advanced Skills component not only transcend particular professions but teach skills that are distinctive to the professional practice of international affairs. The courses develop students' ability to analyze and forecast international events; formulate as well as advocate policies and strategies; lead, negotiate and work in various cross-cultural environments.

Qualitative Analytical & Forecasting Skills

Alternative Analysis: The Red Team Approach
This course introduces students to the concept and application of alternative analysis. Alternative analysis is used not only in intelligence analysis and military operations, but also in commercial and business analysis. This course is designed for graduate students across many disciplines, who look to gain a better understanding of the intelligence community, learn alternative analysis techniques, and practice critical thinking skills that are applicable to any context. (Fall)

Analyzing International Economic Data
This short course will develop student's skills in conducting economic data analysis applicable to academic pursuits and professional demands. The curriculum is designed to provide hands on experience using internet sources of economic data, online software to specify data queries, and covers how to download and manipulate electronic data. The course will expose students to sources, terminology, and definitions unique to analyzing international economic data. (Spring)

The Art and Practice of Global Investing
The course will concentrate on the skills necessary to navigate the investable world, all assets, all regions. It will include a case study analysis of investing during the sub prime financial debacle of 2007-08 as well as a look at some of the key instruments/entities influencing markets today such as Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs). The course will also include investment presentations by students as well as the class coming together as an investment committee to vet those investment ideas. The class will focus on real world issues of investing from both an institutional approach such as hedge funds, endowments, mutual funds etc as well as from an approach of a family office or high net worth individual. Discussion is likely to touch on current issues affecting various markets, including those faced by the teacher in his investing practice.

Critical Thinking
This course will give students practice in the evaluation and construction of political arguments. We will examine speeches, editorials, debates, and press conferences with the aim of enhancing students' abilities to spot logical fallacies, identify faulty reasoning, and understand and improve rhetoric. (Spring)

Introduction to Gaming and Simulations
The course will review collaborative analysis techniques that have been developed to game out or simulate issues and situations of significance. The course presents an overview of public and private sector applications of these methods for analysis and training. It will also provide detailed descriptions of various approaches and their conceptual underpinnings. (Fall)

Op-Ed Writing Skills
This course will explore what makes a successful Op-Ed; how to write an Op-Ed; how to critique an Op-Ed and make it better; and how to place an Op-Ed. Emphasis will be on practical skills development: writing leads; writing drafts; analyzing your drafts and the drafts of others; tightening and editing drafts and writing polished pieces.

Political Analysis
The objective of the course is to improve each student's ability to analyze a complex policy situation and craft a paper dealing with some aspect of that situation. (Summer/Fall/Spring)

Policy Formulation & Advocacy Skills

Corporate-Government Relations
The course will provide an overview of the strengths and limitations of the various corporate tools used to influence public policy. Primary focus will be on how the Washington lobbyist influences policy by managing and integrating governmental affairs assets. (Spring)

How do Leaders Create a Vision in Private, Nonprofit and Public Organizations?
Globalization has changed how organizations develop a compelling strategy that is understood by managers and employers. The goal of this course is to provide you with the knowledge and tools necessary to devise and implement your own smart strategies. (Spring)

Leadership, Teamwork & Management Skills

Cross-Cultural Communication
The focus of the course will be development of cross-cultural communications, management, and negotiation skills. (Spring/Summer/Fall)

Leadership and Teamwork
This course examines concepts of team-building and leadership which are critical to managerial success. Topics include leadership, decision making, communication and conflict, work motivation, building effective teams, and organizational change and culture. (Fall)

Negotiating Skills
This class is primarily designed to give students, in an interactive setting, a framework for learning about and using joint problem solving based on the concepts of interest-based negotiation developed by Roger Fisher at the Harvard University Program on Negotiation. (Summer/Fall)

Project Monitoring and Evaluation
This workshop will introduce the student to the practical components and tools for designing, monitoring and evaluating international development projects. By the end of the workshop participants will understand how to frame a development problem in relation to an intervention design, use a logical framework to express their projects' development hypothesis, and create process and outcomes indicators to monitor project progress and evaluate project results. Participants will also gain an overview of the key M&E events and tools within the project life cycle.