- Specializations
- Co-op Program
- Credit Requirements
- In-Program Second Language Proficiency Test
- PhD Fast-track Option
NPSIA students receive comprehensive, interdisciplinary, high-quality instruction and training in their chosen specialization of international affairs. Our programs develop a strong foundation in policy formulation, policy research methods, and economics. We focus on practical knowledge and skill development that complement theoretical instruction through the regular use of research assignments, case studies and simulations, mediation exercises, the preparation of policy papers, and project evaluation activities. Recognizing that the ability to communicate is essential to international affairs, all students must be able to function in a second major international language by the completion of their degree.
The NPSIA MA program is interdisciplinary, reflecting the philosophy that exposure to a range of disciplines is necessary to develop an understanding of our complex global environment.
Specializations
 *NEW* Specialization in Cyber Security |
 Specialization in Latin American and Caribbean Studies |
 Specialization in Data Science |
 Specialization in African Studies |
Co-op Program
The Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, in conjunction with Carleton University’s Co-op Office, offers a co-op option to full-time students in the MA program.
- Co-op Eligibility
-
Students will be eligible for a first co-op work term during the summer term of their first year in the MA program. In order to participate in a first co-op work term, students must successfully complete the following 1.5 course credits in the fall term of their first year in program:
INAF 5017 (0.25 credits) (required course)
INAF 5018 (0.25 credits) (required course)
INAF 5016 (0.5 credits) (required course)
INAF course of student’s choosing (0.5 credits)
Total of 1.5 credits
Students will be eligible for a second co-op work term if they successfully complete a total of 3.0 credits (including their fall term courses), prior to starting the second co-op work term. In order to participate in a second co-op work term, students must successfully complete the following 1.5 course credits in the winter term of their first year in program:
INAF economics course required for your field (0.5 credits) (required course)
INAF courses of student’s choosing (1.0 credits)
Total of 1.5 credits
The 3.0 credits must include successful completion of all required courses, and the successful completion of the required INAF economics course for their field.
NOTE: Students will be prevented from participating in the co-op program if the School deems that they have not made satisfactory progress in their academic program.
Students undertaking a co-op work term will be considered full-time for the duration of the term in which they are completing a co-op work term. A student may take only 1 course (0.5 credit) in the evening, while participating on a co-op work term, and will pay full-time student fees.
Students must request a change of status if they wish to be changed to part-time status for the duration of their co-op work term. Please note that students who are funded will not receive funding if their status is changed to part-time. A student may take only 1 course (0.5 credit) in the evening, while participating on a co-op work term, and will pay part-time student fees.
In order to graduate with a co-op designation on their transcripts, students must successfully complete two co-op work terms. The two work terms may be taken successively or be separated by one or more study terms. A co-op work term may be undertaken during any of the co-op cycles (January, May or September).
Students participating in the Co-op option must complete all co-op work terms prior to completing their full program requirements. Students must complete their program on an academic term, and not on a co-op term.
For further information on NPSIA’s Co-op program, please visit the Graduate Student section of Carleton’s Co-op website.
Outreach Activities:
NPSIA continues to pursues co-operative endeavours with other Canadian institutions as well as international bodies in the field of international affairs. For example, NPSIA has co-sponsored a Canada- Malaysia Conference along with the Asia-Pacific Foundation of Canada, the Canadian Committee of the Pacific Basin Economic Council, and the Malaysian Institute for Strategic International Studies.
Credit Requirements
The program requirements for the M.A. program are completion of 5.0 credits. Students will complete the 5.0 credit program by Course Work Option, Research Essay Option or Thesis Option. All three options will allow students to complete one or more co-op terms and/or complete an international exchange. For further details, please speak to the MA Graduate Administrator.
- Requirements - Coursework Option (5.0 credits)
1. 1.0 credit in:
INAF 5017 [0.25] Policy Process and International Affairs
INAF 5018 [0.25] Law and International Affairs
INAF 5016 [0.5] Statistical Analysis for International Affairs
2. 0.5 credits in economics, successfully completed by the end of the second term, from: (See Note 1, below)
INAF 5009 [0.5] International Aspects of Economic Development
INAF 5214 [0.5] Economics for Defence and Security
INAF 5205 [0.5] Economics of Conflict
INAF 5308 [0.5] International Trade: Theory and Policy
INAF 5309 [0.5] International Finance: Theory and Policy
INAF 5600 [0.5] The Economics of Human Development
INAF 5703 [0.5] International Public Economics
3. 3.5 credits in Field and Elective courses (See Notes 1 and 2, below)
4. Successful completion of second language proficiency examination (see Note 3, below)
Total Credits: 5.0
- Requirements - Research Essay Option (5.0 credits)
1. 1.5 credits in:
INAF 5017 [0.25] Policy Process and International Affairs
INAF 5018 [0.25] Law and International Affairs
INAF 5015 [0.5] Research Design and Methods for International Affairs
INAF 5016 [0.5] Statistical Analysis for International Affairs
2. 0.5 credits in economics, successfully completed by the end of the second term, from (See Note 1, below):
INAF 5009 [0.5] International Aspects of Economic Development
INAF 5214 [0.5] Economics for Defence and Security
INAF 5205 [0.5] Economics of Conflict
INAF 5308 [0.5] International Trade: Theory and Policy
INAF 5309 [0.5] International Finance: Theory and Policy
INAF 5600 [0.5] The Economics of Human Development
INAF 5703 [0.5] International Public Economics
3. 2.0 credits in Field and Elective courses (See Notes 1 and 2, below)
4. 1.0 credit
INAF 5908 [1.0] Research Essay
5. Successful completion of second language proficiency examination (see Note 3, below)
Total Credits: 5.0
- Requirements - M.A. Thesis Option (5.0 credits)
1. 1.5 credits in:
INAF 5017 [0.25] Policy Process and International Affairs
INAF 5018 [0.25] Law and International Affairs
INAF 5015 [0.5] Research Design and Methods for International Affairs
INAF 5016 [0.5] Statistical Analysis for International Affairs
2. 0.5 credits in economics, successfully completed by the end of the second term, from (See Note 1, below):
INAF 5009 [0.5] International Aspects of Economic Development
INAF 5214 [0.5] Economics for Defence and Security
INAF 5205 [0.5] Economics of Conflict
INAF 5308 [0.5] International Trade: Theory and Policy
INAF 5309 [0.5] International Finance: Theory and Policy
INAF 5600 [0.5] The Economics of Human Development
INAF 5703 [0.5] International Public Economics
3. 1.0 credit in Field and Elective courses (See Notes 1 and 2, below)
4. 2.0 credits
INAF 5909 [2.0] M.A. Thesis
5. Successful completion of second language proficiency examination (see below)
Total Credits: 5.0
Notes:
- Students who wish to obtain the Field designation are required to complete 1.5 credits of field courses and their required economics field course if they choose the coursework option. For students in the IEP field both INAF 5308 and INAF 5309 must be completed in order to receive the field designation. If students choose to complete by Research Essay or Thesis, 0.5 credit will be applied towards the field designation. Students in the African Studies Specialization, the Research Essay or Thesis must cover both their field and the African studies component.
- For elective courses, 1.5 credits of the total required 5.0 credits may be selected from courses offered in other departments, with a maximum of 1.0 credit from a single department and a maximum of 1.0 credit selected from fourth year undergraduate courses. Any course not identified as an INAF 5000-level course must be approved by the M.A. Program Supervisor.
In-Program Second Language Proficiency Test
All students must provide proof of second language proficiency prior to the completion of their program. Students with no prior knowledge in a second language are encouraged to contact the Language Advisor (Cristina Trevisan) during their first term to discuss their options for completing the language requirement. All students must begin their language training no later than the first semester of their second year in the program.
Language proficiency can be demonstrated by one of the following options:
- Option 1 - Provide Documentation Confirming Proficiency
Provide documentation that demonstrates the student has achieved at minimum a B1 level or better according to the Council of Europe (Common European Framework of Reference) designations of proficiency in a second language.
Examples of sufficient documentation: undergraduate transcripts, high-school diplomas, accredited language school certificates, documents pertaining to research in a foreign language, letters of reference from employers, official testing results obtained at other institutions or language schools, letters of language proficiency provided by faculty members.
Successful students will be encouraged to continue to improve their proficiency in their designated language, or acquire proficiency in another language.
Note: Students must achieve a grade of B- or better in their language courses.
- Option 2 - Complete Intermediate Level Course
-
Successful completion of an intermediate level course in a language other than the student’s mother tongue and accepted by NPSIA.
At Carleton University, the following courses will satisfy the NPSIA language requirement (Please note: Not all courses are offered every year. Students may be required to complete any necessary beginner language courses, as determined by the School of Linguistics and Language Studies, prior to completing any of the final courses noted below):
ARAB 2110
FREN 1100
JAPA 2110
PORT 2110
RUSS 2020
KORE 2020
GERM 2020 or GERM 2110
ITAL 2020 or ITAL 2110
CHIN 2020 or CHIN 2110
SPAN 2020 or SPAN 2110
*Students must achieve a grade of B- or better in their language courses.
- Option 3 - Test With a Language Instructor
-
Students who have knowledge of a second language, but do not have documentation can speak to the language advisor about their options. If a test with a Carleton University professor or contract instructor is available, the cost of the test will be $75 + HST for the 2022-2023 academic year. If the test is completed off campus, the fees can vary, depending on the organization. This fee must be paid for by the student in advance of the test. Due to COVID-19, these tests are temporarily limited and will take place online. If you have already booked a test, please complete the online payment form here.
- Option 4 - Complete Rosetta Stone Online Program
-
Complete the online language training program, Rosetta Stone. The program is a once per year licence (registration in the fall of each academic year) and is available in the following languages: French, Spanish and German. Approx. cost is $265.- per license (+ HST). To fulfill the NPSIA language requirement, students must complete level B1 in the language training program, in accordance to the Council of Europe (Common European Framework of Reference) designations.
The Rosetta Stone program offers two learning paths: Foundations, for beginners (A1-A2) and Fluency Builder, for intermediate/advanced learners (B1-B2-C1). There is an initial compulsory placement test, which will determine the path, and two achievement tests for French, four achievement tests for Spanish and German.
Important: Once a student starting in Foundations meets the requirements for B1, they MUST send an email to the Language Advisor, who will then allow the student to access the next level (i.e. Fluency Builder, and complete the required B1 level). If a student starts at B1 level, they must access Fluency Builder in order to successfully complete the program requirements for NPSIA.
Due to COVID-19, all Rosetta Stone tests will be taking place online and not in person. At the beginning of each academic year, an email will be sent out with sign-up information, deadlines and details on how to use the program. If you have already signed up for the program, please complete the online payment form here.
Please note that students must pre-order their Rosetta Stone program license. To do so, students need to send an email to internationalaffairs@carleton.ca indicating their intent to complete the Rosetta Stone program. The pre-order window will be open from July 11-July 25 and the payment window will be open from July 26-August 31. In order to pre-order your license, please send an email to internationalaffairs@carleton.ca indicating your interest in completing the Rosetta Stone program.
For more information regarding the Modern Languages Unit at the School of Linguistics & Language Studies, please see: http://www.carleton.ca/slals/modern-languages/.
PhD Fast-track Option
The Norman Paterson School of International Affairs offers a fast-track option into the NPSIA PhD program, after 1 year in the MA program (open to full-time MA only students). Students interested in the fast-track option should meet with the MA and PhD program supervisors during the fall of their first term in the program. Eligible students will be evaluated based on research abilities and performance in the first term of studies.
Share: Twitter, Facebook
Short URL:
https://carleton.ca/npsia/?p=808