University of Southern California School of International Relations

Mission	To keep up with the bigger and better funded international relations programs on the east coast. The SIR faculty and staff are working hard to expand and improve their graduate and undergraduate programs; provide more research support for the faculty; and do more to expand the School's alumni/student network for mentoring, internships and job leads.
Established	1924
Official name	School of International Relations (SIR)
University	University of Southern California
School type	Private
Director	Laurie Brand
Location	Los Angeles, CA, USA

The University of Southern California School of International Relations (or SIR) is the 3rd oldest school of international relations in the world. A subdivision within the College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences, the school is known for teaching, and hiring faculty who concentrate in, a variety of worldviews.

History

The school traces its origins to the early 1920s and then-University of Southern California president Rufus B. von KleinSmid who held a strong interest in developing the study of international relations. In 1922, USC hosted the Pan-American Conference on Education that brought together university officials from 22 countries to discuss the importance of international education and cooperation. In 1924, the Los Angeles University of International Relations was founded, to later be renamed the USC School of International Relations (SIR). The founding occurred during the liberal-internationalist reaction to World War I; during this so called Grotian moment, many in international relations desired to end war, and thought education was the best means to that end. According to the school's website, its founding mission was "to furnish opportunities for the training of statesmen for consular and diplomatic service, of businessmen for commerce and business administration, and of teachers in departments related to world affairs in colleges and universities" [http://www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/ir/general/history.htm] . The school continued to grow during the Second World War and the Cold War; during the height of the latter, SIR housed the Research Institute on Communist Strategy and Propaganda. It was one of the first schools of international relations in the country to offer a PhD, became a charter member of the The Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs (APSIA), and helped to found the International Studies Association (ISA).

Areas of study

Contemporarily, the school offers concentrations in the following courses, of which international relations majors must chose

two: [http://www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/ir/programs/u-concentrations.htm]
*International Politics and Security Studies
*International Political Economy
*Foreign Policy Analysis
*Culture, Gender, and Global Society
*Regional concentrations:
**European Union
**Post-Soviet and Eastern Europe
**Latin America
**The Middle East
**The Pacific Rim
**Africa

Director

The current Director of SIR is Professor Laurie Brand. She earned her PhD from Columbia University and specializes in foreign policy in the Middle East; international political econony; and international politics and security.

The previous Director was Professor Steven Lamy, and before that Professor Jonathan Aronson.

Faculty

There are currently 24 permanent members of the faculty at the school. All have terminal degrees in their field, and have published numerous working papers, articles, and books.

Affiliated programs and institutions

In order to further the study of international relations, the school has created number of affiliates:
* [http://www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/ir/cis/ Center for International Studies] - CIS was established by the School of International Relations to promote advanced research and sustained discussion of theoretical and policy issues in international political and economic affairs.
* [http://www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/ir/calis/ Center for Active Learning in International Studies] - CALIS is a K-12 outreach program sponsored by the East Asian Studies Center (EASC) and the School of International Relations (SIR)
* [http://www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/ir/calis/tirp/index.htm Teaching International Relations Program] - TIRP is a community outreach program operated by the School of International Relations
* USC Center on Public Diplomacy - The University of Southern California Center on Public Diplomacy is a joint academic research, teaching and training Center created and run jointly by the USC Annenberg School for Communication and the USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences School of International Relations

External links

* [http://www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/ir/ School of International Relations website]
* [http://uscpublicdiplomacy.com/index.php USC Center on Public Diplomacy]