The School of Diplomacy and International Relations (SODIR), is a post-secondary, degree-granting institution concentrating on international affairs within Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in collaboration with the United Nations Association of the United States of America, it was the first school of international relations to be founded after the Cold War. The school offers both undergraduate and graduate programs. The School of Diplomacy and International Relations is an affiliate member of the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs.
History
The school was founded in 1997, and welcomed its first class in the Fall of 1998. Among the founding members was its first dean, Ambassador Clay Constantinou, a former U.S. diplomat and graduate of Seton Hall Law. The school was later named in honor of retired Goldman Sachs executive and philanthropist John C. Whitehead, who served as deputy secretary of state under President Ronald Reagan from 1985–89; Whitehead also headed the United Nations Association of the United States of America and was the Chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. As the first school of international relations in the post–Cold War era, the Whitehead School was founded with a need to “prepare the next generation of global leaders.” The School's founding was supported by the United Nations Association of the United States of America, with which it still enjoys a close relationship. Its close proximity to New York City has also historically allowed its students and faculty to participate in U.N.-sponsored functions. Consequently, students from the school often interact with U.N. diplomats. The alliance with UNA-USA has also afforded students opportunities to receive internships and employment with various organizations of the U.N.
In June 2013, it was announced that John C. Whitehead asked for his name to be removed from the school. Dr. Andrea Bartoli, an international conflict resolution expert who has served in academic and diplomatic positions for more than two decades, joined the School as Dean in July 2013. Under his leadership the School launched three new academic and research centers in the spring of 2014: The Center for United Nations and Global Governance Studies, The Center for Peace and Conflict Studies, and The Center for Emerging Powers and Transnational Trends. These new centers are in addition to the Center for Global Health Studies.
Degree programs
The School offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees, a Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts in Diplomacy and International Relations, as well as an Executive M.S. in International Affairs, available in on-campus, online, and hybrid formats. It also offers Graduate Certificates in Post-Conflict State Reconstruction and Sustainability (online), United Nations Studies, Global Health Management, and Global Studies for both working professionals as well as matriculated graduate students, and a United Nations Intensive Summer Study Program for graduate students, advanced undergraduates and working professionals. The UN program may be taken as a three credit course for credit or not for credit. In addition to its formal academic programs, the school is often a venue for professional workshops and conferences.
Undergraduate
The undergraduate program, working toward a Bachelor of Science degree, is an intensive program which includes 120 total credits, 45 of which are Diplomacy specific coursework. Students take a wide range of courses in international relations, history, economics, and law. In addition, there is an eighteen-credit foreign language requirement which usually leads to the completion of a minor. As part of the curriculum, all undergraduate students complete at least one internship for academic credit. A B.S./M.A. program is offered for students who wish to complete a master's degree in an accelerated time frame. A six year B.S./J.D. program prepares students for both an undergraduate degree in International Relations and a law degree.
Graduate
Students enrolled in the M.A. program participate in a two-year program that culminates with either a research project or a thesis. Degree requirements include the completion of an academic internship and at least two of thirteen different specializations. Students choose between functional fields of study such as: International Economics and Development, Foreign Policy Analysis, International Law and Human Rights, International Organizations, Global Negotiation and Conflict Management, Global Health and Human Security, International security, Post-Conflict State Reconstruction and Sustainability