Expanding Multidisciplinary Education

To understand all the dimensions of international problems, students need to be cross-trained in fields that have previously been the province of specialists. The International Initiative funds new interdisciplinary courses for both graduate and undergraduate students in international fields. Many of these new courses will be team-taught by faculty from different departments, such as political science and engineering.

Existing graduate programs also will expand. For example, the master's program in International Policy Studies will broaden and deepen its curriculum and double its enrollment. Similarly, the School of Education's graduate program in International Comparative Education will gain faculty and graduate student support.

Reaching Beyond Stanford

Stanford currently provides courses, workshops, and conferences, both on campus and internationally, that reach not only academics but also politicians, journalists, nonprofit executives, and corporate and government leaders. There is a constant exchange of visiting scholars and research findings between the university, the policymaking community, and the public.

The three themes of the International Initiative—security, governance, and human well-being—provide new focus for the ongoing international conversation for which Stanford is a key forum. The university's multidisciplinary approach also will involve more faculty from more fields in this conversation. From working to better inform voters in newly democratizing states to bringing in officials in developing nations to study with Stanford faculty, the initiative will promote better understanding worldwide of the complexity of international problems and their solutions.