International challenges demand global solutions
The International and Global Affairs (IGA) prepares future leaders and public servants by helping them understand how power, institutions, norms, and diverse actors shape policymaking across borders.
Students in the IGA concentration examine the interplay of critical issues—including security, human rights, climate and energy, science and technology, trade and finance, and the future of global governance and public policy—and learn how these dynamics unfold in different regions of the world.
The IGA concentration at Harvard Kennedy School equips students with both conceptual insight and practical skills. By integrating analysis, historical reasoning, cross-cultural intelligence, and hands-on policy engagement, IGA prepares students to navigate complexity and design solutions for the real world. Graduates pursue leadership roles in national governments, international organizations, NGOs, and multinational corporations, carrying forward the tools and perspectives needed to shape global governance in the twenty-first century.
IGA Alumni: Where Are They Now?
Commonly Asked Questions
Shaping Solutions for a Globalized World
The International and Global Affairs (IGA) concentration prepares you to lead and innovate across borders— equipping you to tackle the world’s most pressing challenges in security, human rights, environment, trade, science and tech policy, and beyond.
Experience a rigorous, integrative curriculum and unparalleled access to leading faculty, global research centers, and real-world policy learning. You will develop conceptual depth, practical skills, and a vibrant network—preparing you to tackle the complex issues of a globalizing world.
Moving from Concepts to Practice
As an IGA concentrator, you’ll complete a rigorous 24-credit program integrated with the MPP core curriculum, an IGA-related Policy Analysis Exercise, and foundational training in international and global affairs. Core courses, including IGA-100, introduce the key principles, concepts, and challenges that define the field, while electives allow you to tailor your studies to areas such as security, human rights, environment, health and resources, trade and finance, and science and technology policy.
IGA students build a versatile set of analytic and professional skills, including:
- Understanding and analyzing the dynamics of power, institutions, norms, and actors in transnational policymaking
- Examining the causes and consequences of interconnected challenges in security, human rights, climate and energy, science and technology, trade and finance, and global governance—across different world regions
- Applying advanced analytic techniques such as historical reasoning, systems thinking, policy analysis, and cross-cultural intelligence to design and evaluate solutions to complex global problems
- Utilizing frameworks and case studies to understand how global issues intersect and unfold across national, regional, and sectoral boundaries
Through IGA, you’ll master conceptual, analytical, and practical tools that are essential for shaping policy and solving real-world public challenges in the international and global arena.
Did you know?
Graduating with the IGA concentration means your transcript will officially reflect your expertise in International and Global Affairs.
Connecting to Collaborate
Two centers are affiliated with IGA, giving you opportunities to engage with leading research, policy analysis, and hands-on projects in international security, diplomacy, science and technology, human rights, and global governance.
IGA-Affiliated Research Centers
The Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs is the school's hub for research, teaching, and training in international security and diplomacy, environmental and resource issues, and science and technology policy.
The Carr-Ryan Center for Human Rights Policy produces research, teaching, and writing guided by a commitment to make human rights principles central to the formulation of good public policy in the United States and throughout the world.
Read about all HKS programs and centers.
Serving and Leading Worldwide
There is no typical career path for students who concentrate in IGA. Graduates excel in a wide range of global leadership roles, including:
Government and Public Sector
- Senior policy advisors in national governments
- Senior advisors in national security and technology
- Directors of cyber policy in federal agencies
- Diplomats, trade commissioners, and embassy foreign policy leads
International Organizations
- Positions at the United Nations, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and European Parliament
Private Sector and Consulting
- Consultants at leading firms
- Strategy and risk analysts
- CEOs and founders of startups advancing climate solutions, AI, and global risk management
Nonprofits and Research & Advocacy Organizations
- Senior fellows and policy directors
- Founders and leaders of nonprofits advancing human rights, democracy, and global information access
IGA alumni use their analytic, leadership, and policy skills to shape key decisions and drive innovation in every region of the world.
Leveraging Resources
The in-depth training you receive at HKS as an IGA concentrator—paired with analytic, leadership, and policy skill-building courses—makes for a winning combination in the professional world. Our graduates go on to work in governments, international institutions, nonprofits, universities, and businesses around the globe, leveraging the unparalleled network of HKS faculty and alumni to help them take their next bold step.
You should also take advantage of the Office of Career Advancement for individualized career coaching, and regularly connect with alumni in the HKS network and faculty members with whom you share interests.
Early involvement with research projects and events can spark new professional connections and open doors to unique opportunities. To best prepare yourself for the next phase of your career, explore research center websites, including those directly affiliated with IGA and others, for a range of research, internship, and funding opportunities tailored to diverse interests in international affairs.
- Belfer Young Leaders Student Fellowship
- Human Rights Internship Fund and PAE grants at the Carr-Ryan Center
- Kenneth I. Juster Fellowship program
Among your professional development opportunities, consider applying for a Kenneth I. Juster Fellowship in the spring of your first year. The Juster Fellowship is designed to provide support for outstanding MPP students—including IGA concentrators—for field research or practical experience in fields such as international relations, international trade and economic affairs, international development, negotiation and dispute resolution, and global governance and affairs.
MPP students will have the opportunity to apply for this fellowship in the spring semester of their first year via the School’s common application process.
Learn more about past Juster Fellows and their paths.
Jason Hess MPP 2026
“Growing up in the Rust Belt taught me early how global shocks shape local lives, and IGA helped me understand those forces through international relations, the political economy of trade, authoritarian populism, crisis management, and energy transitions. As I begin my career in public service as a Truman Scholar, fieldwork in Morocco through the Juster Fellowship, projects with the Growth Lab and the Department of Energy, and work on crisis response have shown me how local challenges sit inside a larger international system.”
Georgia Reynolds MPP 2026
“Through the Juster Fellowship, I was grateful for the opportunity to support the international spectrum coordination efforts of the U.S. Department of Defense in Washington, D.C. Learning about the international process highlighted the important spectrum policy efforts across technology sectors, including my focus area of space policy. The fellowship also enabled the opportunity to attend the International Telecommunication Union Space Sustainability Forum in Geneva. Overall, the experience strengthened my understanding of spectrum coordination and equipped me to carry these insights into future work on international coordination and space.”
Slavina Ancheva MPP 2026
“I am extremely grateful to the Kenneth I. Juster Fellowship, which allowed me to conduct a summer fellowship at the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development. At the OECD, I conducted research on AI adoption in G7 countries, focusing specifically on national policies to promote AI uptake by small businesses. This experience allowed me to look beyond the headlines of the global AI race to see how the technology is being applied throughout the economy and to learn more about the policy levers available to governments to encourage such diffusion.”
IGA Student Stories
IGA Courses & Faculty
Graham Allison
Lotem Bassan-Nygate
Jeeyang Rhee Baum
Jacqueline Bhabha
Claude Bruderlein
Matthew Bunn
Nicholas Burns
Erica Chenoweth
William Clark
Dara Kay Cohen
James Dennison
Simson Garfinkel
John Holdren
Sheila Jasanoff
Juliette Kayyem
Henry Lee
Halla Logadottir
Fredrik Logevall
Zoe Marks
Rana Mitter
Meghan O'Sullivan
Samantha Power
Eric Rosenbach
David Sanger
Daniel Schrag
Kathryn Sikkink
Jake Sullivan
Roya Talibova
Dustin Tingley
Jim Waldo
Stephen Walt
Rand Wentworth
Featured IGA Courses
International and Global Affairs: Concepts and Applications
IGA-100
This course is a wide-ranging introduction to the core principles of international and global affairs.
Migration, Refugees, and Human Rights
IGA-355
Migration is a central political and moral issue of our time and its impacts will continue to alter our world throughout this century.
Africa in Global Politics
IGA-632
Africa is the world’s most youthful continent and by the end of this century its 54 countries will be home to one in three people on Earth.
The Future of the EU: Migration, Policy, and Politics
IGA-662
This course explores migration as one of the defining political, social, and policy challenges of the 21st-century.
IGA Events
Stay up to date on upcoming events across a wide range of policy areas—including security, human rights, climate and energy, science and technology, trade and finance, and the future of global governance and public policy. Please note that some of these events are restricted to HUID holders.
Russian Strategic Nuclear Modernization in the 21st Century
Chrystia Freeland Study Group: Liberal Democracy in an Age of Might Makes Right
Belfer Center Spring Gathering
Threat to American national security isn’t a missile gap - it’s a talent gap
China’s Rise and Its Impact on the Global South
Road to GEM Speaker Series: Harvard Ministerial Leadership Program
The Role of Precision Weapons in India-Pakistan Crises
A Conversation with Ambassador Lui Tuck Yew of Singapore
Europe’s Strategic Military Autonomy: Economics, Industry, and Defense
Evidence Journey with a New Operating System | CEO of CERP Maroof A. Syed
Receive emails with news, events, program information, and tips for applicants.