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 gave me the tools to connect my technical background with the policy questions I care about. My classes showed me how to think about cybersecurity and privacy not just as technical problems, but as governance challenges with real geopolitical stakes.
Lukasz Kolodziej MPA 2026
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.
IGA Alumni: Where Are They Now?
Jieun Baek MPP 2014
“The disciplined analytical and investigative skills I developed through the IGA concentration and my Belfer fellowships have anchored my work as both a practitioner and author, informing several books on North Korea, including my forthcoming book with Yale University Press, Privileged but Powerless: How North Korean Elite Grievances Reveal the Regime’s Greatest Weakness (2026). That foundation continues to guide my work at the intersection of security, human rights, and authoritarian politics.”
Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council
Adjunct Faculty, Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford
Belfer Center Fellow 2014–2016
Belfer Center Postdoctoral Fellow 2020–2022
Nicholas Sung MPP 2022
“My studies within the IGA concentration strengthened my conviction that human rights and global security are inseparable and prepared me to transition from the Peace Corps to leading the U.S. Army’s international civilian harm mitigation and response efforts. More valuable than the coursework itself were the critical thinking skills, facilitation techniques, and examples of respectful leadership as modeled in class by IGA Professors Cohen, Marks, Rosenbach, and Rapp.”
Former Emerging Leader Fellow and Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response Officer for Allies and Partners, U.S. Army
Sasha Baker MPP 2011
“My IGA courses and professors shaped how I think about national security problems, and the program’s mix of analytic rigor and real-world engagement equipped me with policy analysis tools I still use every day. My HKS experience also introduced me to a community I’ve relied on throughout my career, anchored by my classmates who remain my strongest professional base.”
Head of National Security Policy, OpenAI
Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy 2022–2024
Special Assistant to the President and NSC Senior Director for Strategic Planning 2021–2022
Alvin Tan MPP 2010
“My time as a Belfer IGA [Student] Fellow equipped me with the understanding and skill to understand the world of international trade and geopolitical contestation. As Minister of State for Trade & Industry in Singapore, where trade accounts for three times our GDP, this is particularly important—and all the more relevant in a world where multilateral trade is being reconfigured.”
Minister of State for Trade & Industry and National Development, Government of Singapore
Katie Naeve MPP 2012
“Every aspect of my IGA experience has played a role in my career in international development—from coursework, to faculty-guided research, to student-to-student learning. Working in development finance, I am constantly leaning on my IGA coursework in areas as diverse as climate change and sustainability, public finance, governance and regulation, and international relations and diplomacy. I’m grateful for the diversity of coursework I was offered through the IGA curriculum that has enabled me to help solve intersectional challenges facing low-income communities around the world.”
Director, Impact-Linked Finance Collaborative
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
Acting on opportunities to break barriers, one at a time
Ananya Chhaochharia MPP 2024 uses her determination and HKS experience to break down barriers for women in India.
Pathways in Public Service: Sophie Faaborg-Andersen MPP 2023
Sophie’s experience at HKS prepared her for a career at the Department of Defense.
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
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
IGA Faculty Stories
Bunn assesses chemical weapon threat posted by Russia
James R. Schlesinger Professor of the Practice of Energy, National Security, and Foreign Policy Matthew Bunn assesses the threat and possible fallout of a chemical attack in Ukraine.
Burns returns after serving as U.S. envoy to China
Nicholas Burns, who served as the United States ambassador to the People’s Republic of China, rejoined the Harvard Kennedy School faculty in April 2025.
Former USAID administrator Samantha Power returns
Samantha Power, who served in the Biden administration as the administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, returned to HKS as the Anna Lindh Professor of the Practice of Global Leadership and Public Policy.
Former National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan at HKS
Jake Sullivan served as the 28th Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and is now a faculty affiliate of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and teaches courses in international and global affairs.
Roya Talibova explores responses to political violence
As violence escalates in our politics, Professor Roya Talibova sees her research as an intellectual challenge, but also a profoundly urgent mission.
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