Previous Programs

Began Fall 2010, closed Spring 2017

The Visual and Material Culture Track of AUP’s MAGC program offered an interdisciplinary and cross-cultural consideration of the increasing importance of visuality and interactivity in today’s world. Graduates acquired in-depth knowledge of visual theories, contexts and practices and how these things relate to the global media. They also developed critical thinking, analyzing the cultural forces behind visuality as a communicative practice. Incorporating non-Western contributions to the field, this track combined a critical approach to theoretical and scientific understandings of vision and visuality with a rigorous consideration of the functions of the viewer, object and environment in specific circumstances.

Began Fall 2008, closed Summer 2013

The MA in Global Communications and Civil Society gave students insight into communication between NGO members; within the NGO world and civil society; between NGOs, donors and governments; and between NGOs and the corporate world. The program offered an opportunity for students to work on how communications impact the development of civil society, independent and activist organizations, and in particular the nonprofit sector. The program was an opportunity for those with some professional NGO experience, as well as activists and media professionals, to acquire theoretical knowledge of the field, situating their experiences in wider academic debates. It enabled students to think critically, on the basis of case studies, about the interaction between the state, private business and the third sector.

Began Fall 2009, closed Summer 2015

The MA in Cultural Translation allowed students to study cultural meanings as part of processes of mobility, migration and translation. Works of art and culture were considered within supranational, international and global contexts, including empires, population migrations, trade systems and the circulation of objects and representations. The academic core of the program – which was divided into historical and theoretical reflection and the study of contemporary culture – fed into considerations of cultural policy and creative and critical production. The field of cultural translation takes the creativity and rigor of the practice of translation and the energy of contemporary and historical theories of translation and brings them into debate with other areas of the humanities and social and political sciences. Graduates attempted to understand, manage and inhabit forms of life that were emerging internationally, transnationally, supranationally and globally.

Began Fall 2007, closed Summer 2015

The MA in Middle East and Islamic Studies provided a rigorous generalist degree that fostered an informed understanding of issues related to the Middle East and the Islamic World. As equally suited to students with a strong background in Middle East, religious or Islamic studies as it was for those coming from outside of these disciplines, this degree trained open-minded and nuanced critical thinkers.

Began Fall 2007, closed Summer 2015

This two-year research MA program in Middle East and Islamic Studies with Language was intended for students who wished to dive deeper into the discipline than the one-year program – and especially those wanting to ground their understanding through firm knowledge of a foreign language of the region. The degree required training and proficiency in a language of the Middle East. This enabled students to read accurately in order to carry out research.

Began Spring 2008, closed Summer 2015

This two-year program was a dynamic initiative offering the best of two disciplines; it combined a solid grounding in international theory and practice with a rigorous generalist overview of Middle East and Islamic studies. A pluralistic and multidisciplinary approach offered political and ideological perspectives from the region and encouraged intellectual autonomy. The program built on a theoretical knowledge of politics and international affairs while providing a range of regional specializations in the Middle East and other Islamic countries, as well as the US and Europe.

Began Fall 2007, closed Summer 2015

The three-semester MA program in Middle East Studies and Arabic Language combined rigorous study of the Middle East with a solid working knowledge of Arabic. The degree offered insight and knowledge into the history, politics, economics and religion of the region while also allowing students to master the Arabic language. In addition to studying in Paris, students immersed themselves in this most useful of languages during a summer in Cairo.

Began Fall 2007, closed Summer 2015

The three-semester MA program in Islamic Studies and Arabic Language combined a thorough introduction to Islamic studies at the MA level with a solid working knowledge of Arabic, the language of the fundamental sources of faith. This program enabled students to delve into the study of Islam – both as a faith and political and cultural force – through the instruction of its history, the development of the faith, and its rites and rituals. Islam’s legal structure, the rise of political Islam, and its interface with colonialism, modernism and secularism were also explored.

Began Fall 2007, closed Summer 2017

The MPPA degree offered a multidisciplinary perspective on international politics and policy-making, foregrounding economics, political science and international relations, political sociology and political theory, and international law and ethics. This multidisciplinary framework provided a strong intellectual preparation for our globalizing world. Drawing on both the practical aspects of the MA in International Affairs and the department’s overall concerns with public policy, the program simultaneously provided hands-on professional training, necessary for leaders in the international public policy or civil society sectors, and a rounded mix of theory and practice.

Began Fall 2009, closed Summer 2015 

The MA in Cross-Cultural Management and Sustainability was designed to respond to the needs and aims of contemporary society and the increasing demand on businesses to reestablish their relationship and responsibilities vis-à-vis a broader array of global stakeholders, and to participate in creating and maintaining a sustainable socioeconomic and natural environment while operating across cultures. The program focused on interdisciplinary study, the effect of sustainability issues on business operations, cross-cultural management, corporate social responsibility, international business and management, international strategy, and leadership.

The program provided a balance of both the theoretical and practical preparation for a new generation of international managers in an increasingly interrelated global business environment that requires unprecedented active participation by the private sector in socioeconomic development. Students were trained to understand the needs, requirements and processes of performing across cultures as well as how to adapt an organization from “take-make-waste” to “regenerative circular” behavior.

Began Spring 2006, closed 2008

This program assembled faculty from leading academic and financial institutions worldwide to develop graduates into financial professionals who bring best practices in risk management, corporate finance and capital markets into their future careers. Advances in information technology at the time had caused the practice of finance to face unprecedented changes. The ability to manage risk became highly valuable. Investors needed to balance between risk and return, financial institutions needed to provide securities and services for customers to manage risk, and executives needed to limit exposure to commodity prices and fluctuations in exchange rates. The MSF trained financial professionals who went on to be in strong demand, being well placed to make immediate contributions to the marketplace.