Carnegie Mellon University

MS IRP-AMP Curriculum

Curriculum (186 units, including prerequisite courses)

The MS IRP-AMP requirements include 186 units (including prerequisite courses), divided as follows:

Must be completed before the end of the fourth year.  

  • 84-104 Decision Processes in American Political Institutions (9 units)
  • 84-275 Comparative Politics (9 units)
  • 84-226 International Relations (9 units)
  • Two 84-300/400 level CMIST electives, one of which may be a 6-unit mini course (15 units total)

Students must complete all of the following core courses.

  • 84-701 Regression Analysis for Political Science I (12 units)
  • 84-702 Regression Analysis for Political Science II (12 units)
  • 84-710 Thesis Proposal Tutorial (6 units)
  • 84-711 Qualitative Methods in Social Science Research (6 units)
  • 84-791, 84-792 Policy Seminar (6 units total, 3 units per semester)

Students must complete three of the four graduate seminar courses offered.

  • 84-720 International Security Graduate Seminar (12 units)
  • 84-721 American Politics Graduate Seminar (12 units)
  • 84-722 Comparative Political Institutions Graduate Seminar (12 units)
  • 84-726 International Relations Graduate Seminar (12 units)

Summer between Fourth and Fifth Year

Students are required to complete a summer internship in a related field between the fourth and fifth year of the program.  The internship will allow students to synthesize the program’s studies in the context of practical and hands-on experiential learning opportunities.  CMIST has dedicated staff to support students in all aspects of the internship process. 

Spring of Fifth Year

All students must complete a graduate-level thesis paper.  Students must submit a proposal by November of the fifth year.  Students will work independently with a faculty member in the Institute for Politics and Strategy to complete the IRP Graduate Thesis.  The final paper will be reviewed and approved by the faculty adviser for the thesis and the faculty director of the Carnegie Mellon Institute for Strategy & Technology. Please view the Thesis Proposal Guidelines for further details.

Students must complete a minimum of 48 units (approximately four courses).

International Relations
  • 84-600 Security War Game
  • 84-603 International Human Rights
  • 84-604 In the News: Analysis of Current Events
  • 84-610 International Political Economy
  • 84-615 Political Economy of International Migration
  • 84-616 Political Economy of Transatlantic Partnership
  • 84-618 Politics of Developing Nations
  • 84-622 Nonviolent Conflict and Revolution
  • 84-623 War and Peace in the Contemporary Middle East
  • 84-624 The Future of Democracy
  • 84-625 Contemporary American Foreign Policy
  • 84-640 Collaborative Research in Political Science
  • 84-627 Repression and Control in Dictatorships
  • 84-662 Diplomacy and Statecraft
  • 84-665 The Politics of Fake News and Misinformation
  • 84-669 Decision Science for International Relations
  • 84-674 Technology, Weapons, and International Conflicts
  • 84-680 US Grand Strategy

International Securityacademics/courses/graduate-courses/84670
  • 84-600 Security War Game
  • 84-605 The Future of Warfare
  • 84-612 Terrorism in Sub-Saharan Africa
  • 84-617 Defense Resourcing: From Strategy to Execution
  • 84-623 War and Peace in the Contemporary Middle East
  • 84-628 Military Strategy and Doctrine
  • 84-665 The Politics of Fake News and Misinformation
  • 84-670 Nuclear Security and Arms Control
  • 84-672 Space and National Security
  • 84-673 Emerging Technologies and the Law
  • 84-674 Technology, Weapons, and International Conflicts
  • 84-680 US Grand Strategy
  • 84-683 Cyber Policy as National Policy
  • 84-686 The Privatization of Force
  • 84-687 Technology and the Cyber Domain
  • 84-688 Concepts of War and Cyber War
  • 84-689 Terrorism and Insurgency
  • 84-690 Social Media, Technology, and Conflict

 

Comparative Politics

  • 84-603 International Human Rights
  • 84-606 Latin American Politics
  • 84-608 Political Economy of Latin America
  • 84-618 Politics of Developing Nations
  • 84-624 The Future of Democracy
  • 84-664 Comparative Presidential Behavior: Leadership, Personality, and Decision Making
  • 84-680 US Grand Strategy

 

American Politics

  • 84-602 Judicial Politics and Behavior
  • 84-609 Political Behavior
  • 84-619 Civil-Military Relations
  • 84-625 Contemporary American Foreign Policy
  • 84-651 Bias, Objectivity, and the Media's Role in Politics
  • 84-652 Representation and Voting Rights
  • 84-654 The American Experiment: Unraveling the US Electoral System
  • 84-665 The Politics of Fake News and Misinformation
  • 84-680 US Grand Strategy
  • 84-693 Legislative Decision Making: US Congress


Undergraduate courses taken in the Carnegie Mellon Institute for Strategy & Technology (84-xxx) may not also count toward the MS IRP course requirements except as listed in the prerequisite course category.  A maximum of 48 units of graduate courses out of the 186 units required to complete the accelerated master’s degree will be permitted to count toward an undergraduate degree at Carnegie Mellon.  (This allowance may be restricted further by the double-counting policies of one’s undergraduate major and department.)  Exceptions are made only with prior approval of the faculty director and the deputy director.