Specialization Courses

As part of the Global Affairs MA program, students choose to specialize in one of four fields by completing 12 credits in that given field. At least one course (3 credits) must be GLOA-coded. 

The most recent specialization lists for the upcoming semesters are available below. 

Summer 2026 Specialization Course List 
Fall 2026 Specialization Course List (for all students Spring 2026 or earlier)
Fall 2026 Specialization Course List (for all students starting Fall 2026)

See the Academic Calendar for important deadlines (last day to add a course/last day to drop a course). 

All students must declare a specialization before enrolling in a specialization course by submitting the Global Affairs MA Program Declaration form to globalma@gmu.edu. 

If you are a student who started in the program before Fall 2026, see here for the specialization options. The new specialization options are listed below.  

Global Conflict and Security

Coursework in this specialization addresses conflict and security across the world, including both the geopolitical dimension of security and the lived experience of security. Courses focus on the conduct of conflict, strategic considerations, conflict prevention and conflict resolution alongside adjunct issues such as transitional justice, arms control, and political violence. Coursework addresses the multifaced causes, nature, and resolutions to conflicts in different settings, including the intersection of conflict, structural inequalities, human rights violations, and development. 

Global Culture and Media

Coursework in this specialization addresses cultural globalization, cross-cultural (and intra-cultural) differences in the experience of globalization’s different facets, how cultural institutions and media shape our understanding of global issues, and the role of media in mobilizing groups and individuals across the world for different causes. Courses also focus on sociocultural differences between groups, how such differences are represented, and the practical need for cross-cultural communication in a turbulent world. 

Global Governance and Economy

Coursework in this specialization addresses how international governance works across different domains; how national governments, international organizations, and non-governmental organizations work together to identify, understand, and address global issues; and the private sector’s role in globalization, including the intersection of private and public interests in economic development and investments. Coursework includes options in business and economics (note that some of these courses have prerequisites in statistics) as well as in governance, international organizations, transnational governance, and international law. 

Global Development and Sustainability

Coursework in this specialization addresses international development and human and social welfare in a global perspective, including global public health and education, as well as the construction of sustainable and circular economies and societies. Coursework options include sustainable development from different disciplinary perspectives, including linked issues such as migration and displacement, the environmental impact of globalization, and the linkages between health, inequality, security, and the environment.