The School of Public and International Affairs, also referred to as SPIA, is a

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

international affairs International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...

and

public policy school A public policy school is typically a university program that teaches students policy analysis, policy studies, public policy, political economy, urban planning, public administration, international relations, security studies, political science, ...

within

The University of Georgia ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

(UGA) in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It is the fourth ranked public affairs school in the United States.

History

The School became a standalone entity in 2001 when the department of

separated from the

Franklin College of Arts and Sciences The Franklin College of Arts and Sciences is the oldest and largest college of the University of Georgia (UGA) in Athens, Georgia. Established in 1801 following the American Revolution, the college was named in honor of American Founding Father B ...

which had been founded in 1801. Since then, the School has added two additional departments (

and public administration and policy). The

Master of Public Administration The Master of Public Administration (M.P.Adm., M.P.A., or MPA) is a specialized higher professional post graduate degree in public administration, similar/ equivalent to the Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the issues of ...

program of SPIA which began in 1966 in Franklin College is currently ranked third in the nation by '' U.S. News & World Report'', according to their 2023 rankings. The school boasts 50 full-time faculty members and has produced 11,000 alumni since its founding. Most notably, it produced two

Rhodes Scholars The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

in 2008.

Departments and centers

The following departments are part of the School: * Department of International Affairs * Department of Political Science * Department of Public Administration and Policy The following centers are part of the School: * The Center for International Trade and Security (CITS) * The Center for the Study of Global Issues (GLOBIS) * SPIA Survey Research Center

Degrees offered

Undergraduate degrees

The following

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-lev ...

degrees are offered by the School: *

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

(

A.B. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

) in Political Science * Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) in International Affairs * Joint Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) in Criminal Justice Studies (with

)

Graduate degrees

The following graduate degrees are offered by the School: *

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

(M.A.) in Political Science *

( M.P.A.) * Master of International Policy (M.I.P.) *

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in Public Administration * Ph.D. in Political Science

References

*
UNDERGRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL DEGREES OFFERED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA, UGA Bulletin

{{DEFAULTSORT:University Of Georgia School Of Public And International Affairs School of Public and International Affairs, University of Georgia Public administration schools in the United States Public policy schools Schools of international relations in the United States 2001 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Educational institutions established in 2001