Global M.A. Packs Worldly Experience into 1 Year
1st full cohort blazing across Europe—and beyond

The College of Arts & Sciences' newest full-time master's program encompasses student opportunities that are uniquely Webster: It's an M.A. in International Relations that puts each student in the classroom and in the field at all four of the University's European campuses.

Though the University already offers an M.A. in International Relations at each of Webster's European campuses, as well as in Thailand and several domestic military sites, the "Global M.A." program creates a traveling cohort of full-time students who complete their master's within one year.

In the process, students are exposed to the expert Webster faculty and the unique local culture at each campus. Students complete consecutive eight-week terms at Webster Vienna, Geneva, London, and Leiden, followed by a fifth, summer term at the campus of their choice. In fact, in this year's cohort of 19 students, at least 10 have chosen to do their final term at Webster's Bangkok Center in Thailand.

One of the benefits of the program, says associate professor Kelly-Kate Pease, is the professional seminars the students take at international institutions and non-governmental organizations near the host cities of each campus. These cities are at the forefront of the world's business, politics, law, technology, and humanitarian concerns. Organizations such as the United Nations, NATO, the International Committee for the Red Cross, OPEC, and the International Atomic Energy Agency make for irreplaceable "real-world" classrooms.

"The seminars are all geared toward hands-on learning, and they're at great places," Pease says. "In London, students did a seminar at the Royal Institute of International Affairs" (known as Chatham House). "To say you've been a student fellow at Chatham House is a nice line on your resume."

Meanwhile, back in the traditional classroom, the cohort takes existing courses with current students who are already earning their degree at each European campus. The resulting mix creates a learning environment with perspectives from all over the world.

The Global M.A. Student

The program seems ideal for students like Ohio native Liz Byers, a political science and international business graduate of Kent State. Byers' interest in global affairs was groomed by several student exchange experiences she had beginning at age 14, in places such as Japan, Costa Rica, Estonia, and Denmark.

"Ever since then I've had an interest in the relationship between governments and cultures, just the ever-changing world," Byers says. "Even more so, in making the world seem smaller."

The professional seminars are invaluable, Pease says: "'Student fellow at Chatham House' is a nice line to have
on your resume."

Of course, that distinguishing component also poses challenges. "Adapting to new teachers every eight weeks is an adjustment," she says. "Trying to figure out what they want and at the same time trying to settle in can be tough."

But this dynamic also appears to pull the cohort together. "The best part for me thus far is the group of people I am with," Byers says. "We call ourselves 'a dysfunctional family,' because as we move around we're the only constant. It has caused us to grow rather close as a group."

Professor Pease has been impressed with the group, which she has been advising—mostly from St. Louis—through just about every expected and unexpected academic and logistical hurdle that comes with studying in four countries in under a year.

"They have a really interesting dynamic," says Pease, who met them during orientation in Vienna. "There is a good gender split and a diversity of ethnic backgrounds that I think helps the experience."

(In fact, academic and family dynamics aside, another story has developed within this year's cohort: Two couples have formed among them, while a fifth student is now engaged to someone she met during the cohort's Vienna term.)

But underlying everything—outside of romance—is the unique learning opportunity the students are seizing, Pease says. "The professional seminars, the great faculty they're seeing, and just being over there—it's all such a great opportunity."

For information about enrolling in Webster's Global M.A. in International Relations program, visit www.webster.edu/global.

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