Fletcher School at Tufts University

The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy is the graduate school of international affairs of Tufts University, in Medford, Massachusetts. Fletcher is one of America's oldest graduate schools of international relations.[3][4] As of 2017, the student body numbered around 230, of whom 36 percent were international students from 70 countries, and around a quarter were U.S. minorities.

The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy
TypePrivate
Established1933
Parent institution
Tufts University
Academic staff
98[1]
Students700
Location, ,
U.S.
ColorsOrange and Black[2]
   
AffiliationsAPSIA
Websitefletcher.tufts.edu

History

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Excerpts from the Will of Austin B. Fletcher.
 
Fletcher's early twentieth century academic seal
 
Goddard Hall, 1939

The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy was founded in 1933 with the bequest of Austin Barclay Fletcher, who left over $3 million to Tufts University upon his death in 1923. A third of these funds were dedicated “for the establishment and maintenance of a School of Law and Diplomacy, to be known as The Fletcher School of Law or "The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy." Fletcher envisioned "a school to prepare people for diplomatic service and to teach such matters as they come...[and] within it...a fundamental and thorough knowledge of the principles of international law upon which diplomacy is founded...[and] also a knowledge of many things of a geographic and economic nature which affect relations between nations."[5]

The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy thereafter opened in 1933 under the joint administration of Harvard University and Tufts College. One of the first buildings acquired was Goddard Hall, which was converted into a library. Tufts College assumed exclusive responsibility for the administration of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in 1935. Between 1963 and 1965, Mugar Hall was constructed and later renovated in 2016 to serve the expanding needs of Fletcher.[6]

Academics

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Fletcher rankings[7]
World rankings
Foreign PolicyGraduate Programs 6th
Foreign PolicyPhD Program 22nd

On its campus in Medford, Massachusetts, The Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy offers multi-disciplinary instruction in international affairs through several master's degree programs and a Ph.D. program.[8] Regardless of the degree program in which they are enrolled, students have the opportunity to select from among more than 170 courses across three divisions: International Law and Organization (ILO); Diplomacy, History and Politics (DHP); and Economics and International Business (EIB).[9]

The school has eleven degree programs: its flagship two-year Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy (MALD); a one-year Master of Arts for mid-career professionals; a one-year, mid-career Master of Arts (via the Global Master of Arts Program) that combines online and residential learning; a Ph.D. program; a Master of International Business (MIB); a Master of Global Business Administration, an online program combining the study of business with international affairs; and a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in International Law. Additionally, there are several joint and dual degree and certificate programs.

Fletcher students complete a capstone project during their final year for students in 2-year programs or their final semester for students in 1-year programs. The capstone project is expected to demonstrate scholarly and/or professional analysis, and it acts as an opportunity for students to draw on their methodological, analytical, and substantive learning in a comprehensive written study. In consultation with faculty advisors, the specific form of the final project can differ widely.

The school's Global Master of Arts Program (GMAP) is unique amongst international relations degrees. The year-long program combines three 2-week residencies (two at The Fletcher School and one at a different international location each year) with instruction covering topics such as negotiation, international business and economic law, international trade, economics and politics from a global perspective.[10]

Programs of study

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  • Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy (MALD)
  • Master in Global Affairs (MGA)
  • Master of International Business (MIB)
  • Master of Laws (LL.M.) in International Law
  • Master of Arts in international relations, a 1-year residential program
  • Master of Arts in international relations, via the Global Master of Arts Program (GMAP), a 1-year hybrid residential/internet-mediated program
  • Master of Arts in Humanitarian Assistance, offered jointly with the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University
  • Master of Arts in Transatlantic Affairs, offered jointly with the College of Europe
  • Master of Science in Cybersecurity and Public Policy, offered jointly with the School of Engineering at Tufts University
  • Master of Global Business Administration, a 16-24 month online degree program
  • Global Master of Arts Program (GMAP), a hybrid three 2-week residencies program for mid-senior career professionals[11]
  • Doctor of Philosophy in International Relations
  • Doctor of Philosophy in Economics and Public Policy, offered jointly with the Tufts University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences[12]
 
Cabot Intercultural Center, 2010
 
Mugar Hall, 2009
 
Goddard Hall, 2010

Research

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Fletcher has a number of research centers and institutes, including:

Affiliated programs

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  • The Center for South Asian and Indian Ocean Studies[13]
  • The Global Development and Environmental Institute[14]
  • Refugees and Forced Migration Program[15]

Publications

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Faculty

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The Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy employs more than 30 full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty as well as a variety of adjunct and visiting professors, and benefits from faculty at partner schools within Tufts, including the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. The full-time Fletcher faculty includes economists, international law theorists, diplomats, historians, and political scientists who hold the academic ranks of professor, associate professor, assistant professor, and lecturer. All faculty members hold terminal degrees in their respective fields (a Ph.D. in the case of historians, political scientists, and economists; and a J.D. in the case of lawyers). In 2013, the faculty to student ratio in Medford was 1:8.6.[19]

Notable faculty

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Notable alumni

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The Fletcher School has over 9,500 alumni living around the world in 140 countries, including hundreds of sitting ambassadors, award-winning journalists and authors, global business executives and leaders of international peacekeeping, humanitarian and security initiatives.[21]

References

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  1. ^ "Find Fletcher People | Tufts Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy". Fletcher.tufts.edu. Archived from the original on December 28, 2015. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
  2. ^ "Fonts and Palette | Tufts Fletcher School". Fletcher.tufts.edu. Archived from the original on December 23, 2015. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
  3. ^ "The Best International Relations Master's Programs". Foreign Policy. January 3, 2012. Archived from the original on March 13, 2016. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
  4. ^ "The Best International Relations Schools in the World". Foreign Policy. Foreign Policy Magazine. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  5. ^ Russell E. Miller, Light on the Hill: A History of Tufts College 1852–1952 (Boston: Beacon Press, 1966), 571.
  6. ^ "Mugar Hall | Tufts Learning Spaces Planning & Upgrades". Retrieved August 2, 2022.
  7. ^ Foreign Policy – Top 50 International Affairs Schools
  8. ^ "Academics | Fletcher". fletcher.tufts.edu. Archived from the original on May 23, 2017. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  9. ^ [1] Archived June 17, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ Anderson, Linda (June 11, 2001). "Programme with an international flavor: Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy: With students from 21 countries, GMAP aims to 'plug a gap that the MBA does not fill". Financial Times. p. 14.
  11. ^ "Master's Programs | The Fletcher School". fletcher.tufts.edu. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  12. ^ "PhD Programs | The Fletcher School". fletcher.tufts.edu.
  13. ^ "Center for South Asian and Indian Ocean Studies". ase.tufts.edu. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  14. ^ "Global Development and Environment Institute". ase.tufts.edu. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  15. ^ "Research Activities & Impact | Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy". nutrition.tufts.edu. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  16. ^ "Articles". The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  17. ^ "Fletcher Security Review". Fletcher Security Review. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  18. ^ "Praxis, Fletcher Journal of Human Security | Fletcher". fletcher.tufts.edu. Archived from the original on March 28, 2017. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  19. ^ [2] Archived October 23, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  20. ^ "NEW PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF BRUNEI DARUSSALAM PRESENTS CREDENTIALS | Meetings Coverage and Press Releases". press.un.org. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
  21. ^ "Alumni | Tufts Fletcher School". fletcher.tufts.edu. Archived from the original on June 23, 2017. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
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42°24′28″N 71°07′18″W / 42.407662°N 71.12169°W / 42.407662; -71.12169