University of Washington
Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies
Snapshot
- Degrees Offered:
- Master of Arts in International Studies with nine options: International Studies (General); China Studies; Comparative Religion; Japan Studies; Korea Studies; Middle East Studies; Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies; South Asian Studies; Southeast Asian Studies
- Executive Master in International Studies (mid-career professional)
- Ph.D. in International Studies
- Annual Enrollment:
- 125-175
- Incoming Class Demographics:
- 27% International, 73% USA; Middle 50% of Incoming students GPA Range: 3.47-3.8, Average 3.66; 51% Male, 48% Female, 1% Non-binary
- Employment:
- 96% graduates enrolled in a higher degree or employed in the private, non-profit, and public sectors within 6 months after graduating
- National Resource Centers:
- Canadian Studies, East Asia, Global Studies, South Asia, Southeast Asia
- Full-time Faculty:
- 65
- Languages Offered:
- Over 40
Through its commitment to interdisciplinary and comparative teaching of the world’s regions, cultures and languages, the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington equips students to lead in a globalized world.
Located in Seattle, our program offers students unique access to a global hub of business, trade, philanthropy and culture strategically located on the Pacific Rim, with deep historical ties to Asia. To name a few, we are home to major multinational actors, including Boeing, Microsoft, Amazon and Starbucks, and philanthropic organizations like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the largest private foundation in the world. The area also has a strong military presence that includes the Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard.
Our graduates have found careers at these companies and organizations among others — and at the top levels of their respective governments and embassies abroad.
The Jackson School houses 21 centers and programs, of which five are federally funded under the prestigious Title VI federal program, to support and provide funding for the teaching and study of world regions and foreign languages, and generate public engagement in international affairs.
In 1983, the School was named for the late Sen. Henry M. Jackson in recognition of his strong support and lifelong interest in the field of international affairs.
To receive information directly from the Admissions Department, click here.
Changing Global Connections
Director Stanley D. Golub Endowed Chair The Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies University of Washington
How do your programs prepare students for a more open dialogue on the global stage?
Crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change have revealed the urgency and complexities of addressing global challenges. Effective responses require a combination of good policies, strong institutions, and public communication and engagement. The Jackson School prepares students to meet practical challenges through a mission of public engagement that combines these varied aspects. This allows for a more open dialogue on the global stage. Public engagement includes a variety of actors, ranging from governmental officials and policymakers to nongovernmental organizations and social movements to the media. Our faculty have expertise that spans themes as wide-ranging as disability rights, space policy, and environmental justice. We combine thematic areas with deep knowledge and professional ties to particular regions. This allows us to train students to learn about and to collaborate with communities and partners across the world.
What role do matters of identity play in international relations and policymaking?
Global dialogue requires an understanding of identity in international relations. One of our unique strengths is a robust program in comparative religion. Our school provides students with a deep understanding of the critical role of religious literacy for policymaking and conflict resolution. We also foreground the study of race, indigeneity, and gender and train students to think about the ways in which diasporic politics and global migration deepen the centrality of identity in global affairs.
What innovations have your program implemented in the last 15 months?
We have implemented a number of initiatives that are designed to further these objectives. We have recently set up a series of courses that seek to train students in public writing and engagement with the support of the Calderwood program. Our inaugural graduate Calderwood seminar, Religion, Freedom, and the Public Sphere, will be taught this coming winter. We have been expanding our cybersecurity program and some master’s degree students in a graduate course from this past year will have the opportunity to produce a NATO publication related to this course. We have also created an inaugural professor of practice position on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, which we will be filling in the coming year. Finally, we launched a speaker series titled, Protest, Race and Citizenship Across African Worlds, that emphasized the significance of global and regional understandings for an understanding of the complexities of racial inequality and justice in the United States.
How can we engage new voices and new perspectives in the fields of international relations?
One of the few positive dimensions that came out of the COVID-19 pandemic was a broadening of the use of technology for collaborative work across the world. This has shown the significance of digital-based international studies. Over the coming years, we will be expanding such pedagogical platforms to bring in new perspectives and finding ways to address voices that are marginalized by a lack of access to such technology.
Making a World of Difference in Uncertain Times
Director
Stanley D. Golub Chair of International Studies
The Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies
University of Washington
Why is a multidisciplinary approach important in addressing today’s global challenges?
The world is currently facing critical challenges. The effects of climate change and the current global pandemic highlight our interconnectedness across borders. These challenges intersect with the social tensions arising from inequality and movements for democratic and human rights. Such complexities demand innovative solutions that cut across traditional disciplinary boundaries. The Jackson School provides a unique interdisciplinary academic environment that sparks new ways of thinking about such pressing problems. Our expertise crosses the social sciences, humanities and professional schools. This allows us to develop complex understandings of the current challenges that we face.
What competencies does your program build inside and outside the classroom?
The Jackson School’s commitment to public engagement is a critical source of global leadership. Connections to local and global communities through its 21 outreach centers and programs allow students and the public to immerse themselves in firsthand global experience. Our School engages with broad cross-national issues and illuminates the ways in which such issues require deep understandings of particular places, historical contexts, cultural meanings and regional dynamics. We combine this with practical training that trains students to develop concrete solutions to pressing global problems.
We have a deep commitment to inviting practitioners from nonacademic fields to speak to students and teach special courses. In addition, the Jackson School houses six different federally funded centers and programs under the prestigious Title VI federal program, to support and provide funding for the teaching and study of world regions and foreign languages and generate public engagement in international affairs.
Our alumni are leaders in academia, industry, NGOs, tech, government and think tanks. Companies our alumni work in include Starbucks, Amazon, Boeing, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, UNICEF, PATH, U.S. State Department, NATO, Cornell University, University of Auckland in New Zealand, China Daily, Accenture, the Defense Intelligence Agency and McKinsey & Company.
What are advantages in studying in the Pacific Northwest region?
Our location in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest regions places our scholarship in the center of global public and private innovation. We offer access to research, engagement and networking connections with global decision-makers in trade, technology, military, philanthropy, business and the public sector. Located on the Pacific Rim, with deep historical ties to Asia, we are distinctively poised to address changes in the global political economy sparked by the growing significance of the Asia-Pacific region.