Committee on International Relations

The Committee on International Relations (CIR) is a graduate program at the University of Chicago offering a Master of Arts degree in international relations. Established in 1928, it is described as the oldest graduate program in international relations in the United States. The program is housed within the University's Social Sciences Division and combines interdisciplinary social-science training with focused study of international affairs. CIR was created by University of Chicago scholars including Hans Morgenthau and Quincy Wright. Its intellectual identity has long been associated with the study of international security, but its academic scope extends substantially further. Areas represented in the program include international political economy, development, international institutions, globalization, international law, human rights, comparative politics, regional studies, conflict, and political identity. The program's design encourages students with different substantive and disciplinary perspectives to work together and develop more sophisticated interpretations of international politics and economics. The standard degree is completed through a demanding combination of coursework, preceptorship, research, and a master's thesis. Students normally take three credited courses per quarter. The curriculum includes core study in international security and international political economy, together with non-credit thesis workshops and a perspectives course led by CIR preceptors. Students select additional graduate-level courses subject to program rules governing approved courses, Social Sciences Division coursework, and coverage across fields of study. CIR organizes academic work around several broad fields: international security, conflict studies, and contentious politics; international political economy and development; comparative studies in political institutions and identity; human rights, environment, and international law; and research methods in the social sciences. Each student is assigned a preceptor whose expertise is matched to the student's interests, such as war, regional studies, or international economics. Students also choose a faculty adviser and complete a substantial master's thesis, supported by required workshops during the first year. The program offers a competitive second-year specialization option for students seeking deeper preparation for doctoral study. It also participates in joint-degree arrangements, including BA/MA, MA/MA with the Harris School of Public Policy, MBA/MA, and JD/MA pathways, subject to University of Chicago eligibility and program requirements. Graduates may continue into doctoral education or pursue careers in government, policy, international organizations, research, and the private sector. CIR's positioning rests on small-scale graduate education, analytical rigor, intellectual pluralism, and close faculty engagement rather than on commercial products. Its public identity is tied to the University of Chicago's broader reputation for theoretical and empirical social-science research. The program's historical prominence in international security and its interdisciplinary curriculum make it a specialist academic brand serving students and researchers interested in global politics, economics, law, institutions, and conflict.

The Committee on International Relations was established at the University of Chicago in 1928 by a group of professors that included Hans Morgenthau and Quincy Wright. Its creation placed the study of international relations within an interdisciplinary university setting at a time when the field was still developing as a distinct area of academic inquiry. The program is recognized as the oldest graduate program in international relations in the United States. From its beginning, CIR developed an identity centered on the systematic study of international politics rather than on a single professional specialization. International security became one of its most visible areas of distinction, and the program became associated with influential work on war, strategy, conflict, and the foundations of international order. At the same time, its faculty and students also contributed to research on international political economy, international institutions, globalization, comparative politics, development, regional studies, human rights, and international law. The program's structure reflects the University of Chicago's broader emphasis on analytical training and intellectual debate. CIR students study alongside peers with varied theoretical and regional interests, while faculty and preceptors provide guidance connected to individual research agendas. This combination of a small cohort and broad course access is intended to encourage debate across disciplinary boundaries and to connect abstract arguments about international affairs with empirical research. The modern master's curriculum requires core work in international security and international political economy, supplemented by approved graduate courses selected across the program's fields. Students also complete required workshops supporting the development of their master's theses. A preceptor is assigned according to the student's interests, and a separate faculty adviser helps supervise the thesis. The resulting degree is designed both as a terminal preparation for public, private, and policy-oriented work and as a foundation for further doctoral study. CIR has expanded the ways students can pursue the degree through joint programs and a selective second-year specialization. Joint-degree options have included combinations with public policy, business, law, and University of Chicago undergraduate study. The specialization track is intended for students who need additional research depth, especially those considering PhD study at Chicago or elsewhere. Today, CIR remains part of the University of Chicago's Social Sciences Division. Its continuing academic scope covers international security, conflict and contentious politics, international political economy and development, comparative political institutions and identity, human rights, environmental issues, international law, and social-science research methods. The program's historical continuity, interdisciplinary structure, and thesis-centered training remain central to its identity.

• 1928

  Committee founded

  [1]Committee on International Relationsen.wikipedia.org

  The University of Chicago established the Committee on International Relations through the work of professors including Hans Morgenthau and Quincy Wright.

• Interdisciplinary international-relations curriculum developed

  [2]Committee on International Relations — University of Chicagocir.uchicago.edu

  The program became associated with international security while also developing teaching and research across political economy, institutions, development, comparative politics, law, human rights, and regional studies.

• Joint-degree pathways offered

  [1]Committee on International Relationsen.wikipedia.org

  CIR developed joint-degree options involving University of Chicago undergraduate study, public policy, business, and law.

• Second-year specialization established

  [2]Committee on International Relations — University of Chicagocir.uchicago.edu

  The program introduced a competitive second-year specialization for students seeking additional preparation for advanced graduate research.

An academically rigorous, interdisciplinary, and relatively small graduate program specializing in international relations, with particular historical strength in international security and broad coverage of global political economy, institutions, law, human rights, development, and comparative politics.

• Graduate degree · 1928

  Master of Arts in International Relations

  CIR's principal offering is a rigorous master's degree combining required study in international security and international political economy with elective graduate coursework. Students work with a preceptor and faculty adviser, complete thesis workshops, and produce a substantial master's thesis. The degree is intended for students seeking careers in government, policy, research, international affairs, or private-sector roles, as well as for students preparing for doctoral study.

• Advanced graduate specialization

  Second-year specialization

  The second-year specialization allows selected CIR students to pursue a research topic in greater depth than is normally possible during the one-year master's curriculum. It is particularly suited to students planning to apply for PhD programs. Admission is competitive and depends on the program's annual selection process.

• Joint academic degree

  Joint-degree programs

  CIR participates in several combined-degree pathways, including BA/MA study for eligible University of Chicago undergraduates, MA/MA study with the Harris School of Public Policy, MBA/MA study with the University of Chicago business school, and JD/MA study with the University of Chicago Law School. Availability and eligibility are governed by the relevant University programs.

1. 1Committee on International Relationsen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Committee on International Relations — University of Chicagocir.uchicago.edu