Globally Engaged.
Professionally Skilled. Ethically Grounded.
The world conducts business, develops policy, and manages exchanges across borders. Erskine’s Master of Arts in International Studies (MAIS) prepares you to lead in a global economy. In one year, the MAIS program equips you with the professional skills employers expect and the ethical grounding of a Christian liberal arts education.
Become a Global Leader
Step into an international career with confidence and skill. Most graduate programs in international studies teach political theory; Erskine’s M.A. in International Studies pairs that theory with applied training so you graduate ready to step into a global role.
The program is built around five professional competencies:
- Negotiation & Conflict Resolution: manage disputes and build cooperation across cultures
- Law, Policy, & Process: understand the rules and institutions that govern global organizations and businesses
- Intercultural Communication: convey complex ideas to diverse audiences
- Leadership & Strategic Decision-Making: make ethical, evidence-based recommendations
- Project Management & Data Analysis: design and run complex international initiatives
Each competency is tied to specific courses, so you can show employers exactly what you are equipped to handle.
Designed for Working Professionals
The MAIS is offered online in accelerated 8-week terms so you can advance your career without leaving it. You will learn in a small cohort mentored by faculty who know your name and have lived and worked around the world.
Program & Curriculum
In the MAIS program, you'll complete 30 credit hours:
- 6 hours in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
- 6 hours in Law, Policy, and Process
- 3 hours in Intercultural Communication
- 6 hours in Leadership and Strategic Decision-Making
- 6 hours in Project Management and Data Analysis
- 3 hours of a capstone project or thesis
As a full-time student, you can complete the program in just 12 months, taking two courses in each 8-week term. Courses are offered online. For select courses, you can choose to join live online or in person on Erskine’s campus in Due West, South Carolina.
Tailored to Your Interests. Your course research and capstone project can be tailored to your professional interests, such as international sports, security and intelligence, cultural education, or economic development.
The college seeks to develop students in this degree program in the following ways:
- To develop student expertise in intercultural negotiation and conflict resolution by preparing students to manage disputes and facilitate cooperation
- To promote advanced proficiency in the analysis of global environments, enabling students to evaluate how institutional frameworks shape organizational outcomes
- To enhance intercultural communication skills, equipping students to effectively convey complex ideas to diverse audiences
- To cultivate leadership, enabling students to formulate ethical policy decisions
- To develop advanced competencies in project management and data analysis, empowering students to design and implement complex global initiatives using quantitative and/or qualitative methods
- Students will evaluate conflict dynamics and apply negotiation and mediation strategies to disputes.
- Students will assess the role of institutional policies and governance systems in shaping organizational outcomes.
- Students will effectively construct and convey strategic communications to diverse audiences.
- Students will demonstrate leadership by developing ethical, evidence-based recommendations for organizational decision making.
- Students will design and manage a project that uses quantitative or qualitative data analysis.
South Carolina’s economy is increasingly international. The state is home to more than 1,000 foreign-owned companies, and about 1 in 10 South Carolina jobs is tied to an international firm. Employers here and across the Southeast need professionals who can work across borders, cultures, and regulatory systems.
The MAIS prepares you for professional roles in fields such as:
- International business
- Trade, logistics, and supply chain management
- Diplomacy and international relations
- Security and risk management
- International development
- NGO leadership
- Global ministry
- Intercultural education
Unique in Its Field. Erskine’s MAIS is one of the few programs in the country to combine international relations, applied business skills, and a Christian liberal arts education in a single master’s degree.
Admission Requirements
- Completed graduate program application
- Bachelor’s degree with a cumulative 3.0 GPA
- Official transcripts from all colleges previously attended
- One-page cover letter stating your professional goals
- Current resume or CV listing three references
- Interview with the MAIS Program Director
A bachelor’s degree in business, international studies, international affairs, history, religious studies, or political science is the best foundation for the MAIS program. Students who hold a degree in another discipline are eligible for the program but may need to complete prerequisite courses.
Questions? Contact program director Dr. Christiane-Marie Abu Sarah at abusarah@erskine.edu.
FAQs
No. The program is interdisciplinary and welcomes graduates from many fields. Degrees in business, international studies, history, religious studies, and political science are the strongest preparation. Applicants from other fields may be asked to complete prerequisite courses.
Yes. The program is delivered online. For select courses, you can choose between joining live online or attending in person on the Due West campus.
Full-time students can finish in 12 months through six 8-week terms. For students who want to take the program at their own pace, all degree requirements must be completed within five years of admission.
Tuition is $550 per credit hour, or $16,500 for the 30-credit program.
The program is designed for working professionals, and its 8-week terms keep you focused on one or two courses at a time. The pace is accelerated: plan for about 17 hours of work per week for each course. However, those who wish to complete the program at a slower pace are welcome to take one course a semester.
The capstone is an applied project that produces research, policy analysis, and strategic recommendations on an international problem. The thesis is an original research study. Both begin with a proposal you develop in Project Design and Management, and both end with an oral defense before a faculty panel.
You may transfer up to six graduate credit hours that fit the MAIS curriculum, earned with a grade of B or higher at an accredited institution within the past three years.
The first cohort begins in Fall 2027.
Learn More
For more information about the MAIS program, contact Program Director Dr. Christiane-Marie Abu Sarah.
About the program director
Dr. Abu Sarah has spent more than two decades working in international business, human rights, and conflict resolution. She has led academic programs in more than 20 countries and served as a research associate at the Center for World Religions, Diplomacy, and Conflict Resolution. She holds a Ph.D. in History with a specialty in Global Interaction and Exchange. Her TED Talk, “How Do Daily Habits Lead to Political Violence?”, has been viewed more than 1.8 million times.
Learn from faculty with global experience
MAIS faculty have lived, worked, and researched around the world. Their experience includes:
- Conflict resolution and human rights work in the Middle East
- Published research on politics in Latin America and Southeast Asia
- A decade of legal work in U.S. immigration and asylum cases
- Financial and supply chain management for multinational companies
- Data science instruction for the U.S. Air Force