Degree Requirements, Curriculum

MIPP Orientation

You are required to attend the mandatory Johns Hopkins SAIS Orientation, which will be held on Thursday and Friday, January 20-21 in order to matriculate into the spring 2022 cohort. The Office of Student Life hosts this two-day event to welcome all new students and to inform you of available resources. Embedded within the schedule are interactive MIPP break-out sessions that will connect you with your cohort and introduce you to other special aspects of the MIPP program.  

Course Requirements

The MIPP degree provides you with the flexibility to design a curriculum to meet your professional and personal goals. The MIPP degree is conferred upon successfully completing eight full-semester courses (totaling 32 credits) from the school's non-language catalog. In designing your academic plan, you may choose any combination of non-language courses from the school's catalog. (Language courses are not credit-bearing and are optional for MIPP students, except for some non-native English speakers based upon scores on a mandatory English placement exam administered at the beginning of every semester.) 

In designing your academic plan, you may choose any combination of eight full-semester, non-language courses. Academic advising is available through the MIPP program at [email protected]. 

Sample Course Selections

Sample Profile: An MIPP candidate who has worked in Latin America and wants relevant regional course work, but who lacks formal training in economics and international financial issues, might construct a program of study as follows:

First Semester

• Understanding Modern Latin American Politics
• Drugs. Walls and Aging Guerillas; Seminar on Current US.-Latin American Relations
• Energy in the Americas: Conflict, Cooperation & Future Prospects
• Microeconomics

Second Semester

• Latin America & the World: Changing Global Dynamics
• Borders and Migration in the America
• Mexico, Central America & the Caribbean:  New Challenges Amidst Growing Insecurity
• International Trade Theory

Sample Profile: A foreign diplomat seeking deeper insight into US foreign policy might construct a program as follows, and perhaps add a non-credit English writing course in the first semester. 

First Semester

• American Foreign Policy Since World War II
• Kissinger Seminar: History, Strategy, and American Statecraft
• US Foreign Policy and New World Orders in the 20th and 21st Centuries
• Theories of International Relations
• Advanced Writing Course in Academic English

Second Semester

• Conduct of Foreign Policy
• American Intelligence: Role, Practice and Impact
• U.S. - China Relations
• Comparative Politics

Sample Profile: An MIPP candidate interested in development issues might choose the following eight courses:

First Semester

• Introduction to Development
• Public-Private Partnerships: Investing in Emerging Economies
• Comparative Public Management
• Economic Development

Second Semester

• From Poverty to Plenty: Policymaking for Global Progress
• Agriculture: Global Issues
• The Role of the Private Sector in Development: Social and Environmental Impact
• Humanitarianism, Aid, & Politics