Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Bulletin of Yale University
 
Introduction
Departments and Programs
Research Institutes
Policies and Regulations
Financing Graduate School
General Information
 
Cowles Foundation
The Economic Growth Center
Institution for Social and Policy Studies
International Security Studies
Yale Center for International and Area Studies
Yale Center for the Study of Globalization

The Cowles Foundation

30 Hillhouse, 432.3702

Director
John Geanakoplos

The Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics at Yale University seeks to foster the development of theoretical, mathematical, and statistical methods of analysis for use in economics and related social sciences. All members of the professional research staff have faculty appointments in the Department of Economics or another social science department at Yale. The foundation sponsors a working paper series and a seminar series. It also maintains a library of materials related to its special areas of research activity.
 

The Economic Growth Center

27 Hillhouse, 432.3610

Director
Christopher Udry

The Economic Growth Center is a research organization within the Yale Department of Economics that was created in 1961 to analyze, both theoretically and empirically, the process of economic growth and the economic relations between low and high income countries. The research program emphasizes the search for regularities in the process of growth and changes in economic structure by means of cross-sectional and intertemporal studies and the analysis of policies that affect that process. An increasing share of the research involves statistical study of the behavior of households and firms as revealed in sample surveys by the application of microeconomic theory. Current projects include research on technology development, choice and transfer, household consumption, investment and demographic behavior, agricultural research and productivity growth, labor markets and the returns to education of women and men, labor markets and migration, income distribution, and international economic relations, including monetary and trade policies. The Center's research faculty hold appointments in the Department of Economics and other departments at Yale, and accordingly have teaching as well as research responsibilities.

The Center administers, jointly with the Department of Economics, the Yale master's degree training program in International and Development Economics, in which most students have experience as economists in foreign central banks, finance ministries, and public and private development agencies. It presents a regular series of workshops on trade and development, on the microeconomics of labor and population, and on economic history and includes among its publications book-length studies, reprints by staff members, and discussion papers.

The Economic Growth Center Collection, housed in a separate facility at the Social Science Library, is a special collection focused on the statistical, economic, and planning documents of developing countries, including government documents. 

Institution for Social and Policy Studies

77 Prospect, 432.3234

Director
Donald P. Green

Executive Committee
Stephanie Spangler (ex officio), Jeffrey Alexander, Andrew Barron, Alvin Klevorick, David G. Pearce, Peter Salovey, Ian Shapiro

The Institution for Social and Policy Studies (ISPS) facilitates interdisciplinary inquiry in the social sciences and research on important public policy subjects. Recognizing that important social problems cannot be studied adequately by a single discipline, the Yale Corporation established the Institution for Social and Policy Studies in 1968 in order to stimulate interdisciplinary collaboration within the University. Faculty and students from many departments in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and from Yale's graduate and professional schools are involved in a variety of activities. These include numerous interdisciplinary faculty seminars, research publications, postdoctoral programs, and the undergraduate major in Ethics, Politics, and Economics. Through these activities, ISPS seeks to shape public policies of local, national, and international significance.

Among the major programs at ISPS are: the Agrarian Studies Program, James Scott, director; the Program in Ethics, Politics, and Economics, Seyla Benhabib, director; the Yale University Interdisciplinary Bioethics Project, Robert Levine and Margaret Farley, directors; and the Center for the Study of American Politics, Alan Gerber, director.

For more information, refer to the ISPS Bulletin and the Web site, www.yale.edu/isps.

International Security Studies

31 Hillhouse, 432.6242

Director
Paul Kennedy

International Security Studies (ISS) supports interdisciplinary research and teaching in grand strategy, international history, and security studies, with particular reference to diplomatic and military history. Its goals are to fill the critical national need for trained leaders; to discover flexible and fruitful ways to recognize, define, and analyze security issues; and to provide a forum for independent critiques of policy thinking and policy making on these issues. United Nations Studies at Yale (UNSY), directed by Bruce Russett, exists under the umbrella of ISS. UNSY is a policy-relevant think-tank on key issues concerning the future of the United Nations. Neither ISS nor UNSY are degree-granting programs: they facilitate the work and welcome the participation of students from all academic departments and the professional schools.

ISS offers research grants and internship support for Yale graduate and undergraduate students. Like UNSY, it sponsors conferences, lectures, seminars, and workshops. Current or recent projects at UNSY include a collaborative study with the World Bank on The Political Economy of Civil Wars; an analysis of Democracy, Interdependence, International Organizations, and Peace; the Yale-United Nations Oral History Project, which collected over ninety interviews with United Nations personnel; and The Public Papers of Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, which has recently published a three-volume edition of Dr. Boutros-Ghali's public papers.

ISS's focus is on its Grand Strategy Project. The Project seeks to revive the study and practice of grand strategy by preparing students to be leaders by teaching them to appreciate and apply the principles of grand strategy; by devising methods to teach grand strategy at the graduate and undergraduate levels; and by promoting a broader recognition of the centrality of grand strategy to successful leadership. The Project, launched in January 2000, combines historical depth and analytical range with the belief that training future leaders is the best long-term investment ISS can make in the future.

ISS and UNSY's Annual Report is available at www.yale.edu/iss, as is ISS's Grand Strategy Project Review. Inquiries should be directed to International Security Studies, Yale University, PO Box 208353, New Haven, CT 06520-8353. Further information on ISS can also be found at www.yale.edu/iss; on UNSY at www.yale.edu/unsy.

Yale Center for International and Area Studies

Luce Hall, 34 Hillhouse, 432.3410
www.yale.edu/ycias

Director
Ian Shapiro

The Yale Center for International and Area Studies (YCIAS) is Yale University's principal agency for encouraging and coordinating teaching and research on international affairs, societies, and cultures around the world. YCIAS seeks to make understanding the world outside the borders of the United States, and America's role in the world, an integral part of the liberal education and professional training at Yale University.

YCIAS includes more than twenty research and educational affiliates, specializing in interdisciplinary and problem-oriented, comparative studies of different world regions. They include: African Studies Council; Canadian Studies Committee; East Asian Studies Council; European Studies Council; International Affairs Council; Latin American and Iberian Studies Council; Middle East Studies Council; South Asian Studies Council; Southeast Asia Studies Council; Center for the Study of Globalization; Central Asia Initiative; European Union Studies Program; Fox International Fellowships Program; Genocide Studies Program; Georg Walter Leitner Program in International and Comparative Political Economy; Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition; Global Migration Program; Globalization and Self-Determination Program; Hellenic Studies Program; Program in Agrarian Studies; and Program on Order, Conflict, and Violence.

The Center provides opportunities for scholarly research and intellectual innovation; awards nearly four hundred fellowships and grants each year; encourages faculty/student interchange; sponsors more than five hundred lectures, conferences, workshops, seminars, and films each year (most of which are free and open to the public); produces a range of working papers and other academic publications; and contributes to library collections (exclusive of Europe) comprising 1.4 million volumes in the languages of various areas. Through Programs in International Educational Resources (PIER), it brings international education and training to educators, K-12 students, the media, businesses, and the community at large.

Additionally, it administers six undergraduate majors (African Studies; East Asian Studies; Ethnicity, Race, and Migration; International Studies; Latin American Studies; and European and Russian Studies), four graduate degree programs (African Studies; East Asian Studies; International Relations; and European and Russian Studies), and several joint-degree programs with the schools of Law, Management, Forestry & Environmental Studies, and the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health.

New for 2004–2005, YCIAS sponsors graduate certificates of concentration through its Councils on African, European, Latin American and Iberian, and Middle East Studies. Students may pursue the certificates in conjunction with graduate-degree programs in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the professional schools. Admission is contingent upon the candidate's acceptance into a Yale graduate-degree program. To complete the certificate, candidates must demonstrate expertise in the area through their major graduate or professional field, as well as show command of the diverse interdisciplinary, geographic, and cultural-linguistic approaches associated with expertise in the area of concentration. Award of the certificate, beyond fulfilling the relevant requirements, is contingent on the successful completion of the candidate's Yale University degree program. Students who complete the required additional work will receive the relevant certificate from YCIAS.

While the general requirements for the graduate certificate of concentration are consistent across all councils of YCIAS, the specific requirements of each council may vary according to the different expertise required for its area and are reflected in their application, monitoring and award forms. Guidelines, detailed rules, and application forms can be picked up at the relevant council or downloaded from the YCIAS Web site at www.yale.edu/ycias. Applications may be submitted by students admitted to a graduate program at Yale or during their program of study but no later than the beginning of the penultimate term of study. Each council may set limits on the number of candidates for their program in any given year.

General Requirements:

  1. Six courses in the area of concentration (in at least two different fields).
  2. Language proficiency in at least one language of the region beyond proficiency in English. For some councils and for some individual circumstances, proficiency in two languages beyond English is required.
  3. Interdisciplinary research paper.

Details on General Requirements

Course Work
Students must complete a total of six (6) courses focused on the area of concentration from at least two different fields including the Foundations Course (as designated by the council). Of the remaining five courses only two may be “directed readings” or “independent study.” Please note:

  • No more than four courses may count from any one discipline or school.

  • Courses from the home field of the student are eligible. Courses may count toward the student's degree as well as toward the certificate.

  • Literature and advanced language courses at the graduate level may count toward the six-course requirement but not elementary or intermediate language offerings.

  • Course work must demonstrate broad comparative knowledge of the region rather than focus on specific country.

  • Course work must demonstrate a grasp of the larger thematic concerns affecting the region, e.g., environment, migration, or global financial movements.

  • Only those courses listed on the “Graduate Course Listings” provided by the Area Council may be used to fulfill course requirements. For courses not listed there, please consult with the certificate/qualification adviser.

  • A minimum grade of HP must be obtained or the course will not be counted toward the certificate.

Language Proficiency
In the major area language targeted for meeting the proficiency requirement, students must demonstrate the equivalent ability of two years of language study at Yale with a grade of HP or better. Language proficiency must encompass reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills plus grammar. Students may demonstrate proficiency through completing course work, by testing at Yale, or by other means as approved by the council adviser. When a second major language of the region beyond English is required, the relevant council will specify the target level.

Normally, when the candidate is a native speaker of one of the area's major languages, he/she will be expected to develop language proficiency in a second major area language.

Interdisciplinary Research Paper
A qualifying research paper is required to demonstrate field-specific research ability focused on the area of concentration. After they have completed substantial course work in the area, students must seek approval from the council faculty adviser for the research project they propose as the qualifying paper. Normally, the students will submit their request no later than the fourth week of the term in which they plan to submit the qualifying paper.

The interdisciplinary research paper may be the result of original research conducted under the supervision of a faculty member in a graduate seminar or independent readings course or in field research related to their studies. An M.A. thesis or Ph.D. prospectus or thesis may also be acceptable if it is interdisciplinary as well as focused on the area. The qualifying paper should examine questions concerning the region in a comparative and/or interdisciplinary context. It should also use resource materials from the region and/or resource materials in the language(s) of the region. Normally the paper should incorporate at least two of the following elements:

  • Address more than one country of the region of the area

  • Draw on more than one disciplinary field for questions or analytic approaches

  • Address a trans-regional or transnational theme relevant to the area

The paper will be read by two faculty members selected by the council adviser. The readers will be evaluating the paper for the quality of research, knowledge of the relevant literature and the depth of analysis of the topic. The qualifying paper must be fully footnoted and have a complete bibliography.

Progress Reports and Filing for the Award of the Graduate Certificate of Concentration

Students should submit a progress report along with a copy of their unofficial transcript to the Council faculty adviser at the end of each term.

A student who intends to file for the final award of the certificate/qualification should contact the council no later than the end of the term prior to award. No later than the fourth week of the term of the expected award, the candidate should demonstrate how he/she has or will have completed all the requirements in a timely fashion.

Yale Center for the Study of Globalization

Betts House, 393 Prospect Street, 432.1900, globalization@yale.edu
YaleGlobal Online Magazine: www.yaleglobal.yale.edu
Center Website: www.ycsg.yale.edu

Director
Ernesto Zedillo

The Yale Center for the Study of Globalization (YCSG) is devoted to examining the impact of our increasingly integrated world on individuals, communities, and nations. The Center's purpose is to support the creation and dissemination of ideas for seizing the opportunities and overcoming the challenges presented by globalization. It is focused on producing practical policies to enable the world's poorest and weakest citizens to share in the benefits brought by globalization. YCSG also explores solutions to problems that, even if they do not result directly from integration, are global in nature and can therefore be effectively addressed only through international cooperation. The Center draws on the rich intellectual resources of the Yale community, scholars from other universities, and experts from around the world.

On campus, the Center supports teaching and research on the many facets of globalization, while helping to enrich debate through workshops, conferences, and public programs. Faculty as well as graduate and undergraduate students receive support for research projects and activities that enhance the study of globalization, have policy implications, or further the following goals: (1) to produce and disseminate ideas that will help nations take advantage of globalization's opportunities and overcome its challenges, or (2) to explore solutions to problems that, even if they do not result directly from international integration, are global in nature and can therefore be effectively addressed only through international cooperation.

The Center furthers its mission through collaboration with a variety of institutions across the globe. Projects resulting from these collaborations provide the means by which YCSG can contribute toward influencing the attitudes and actions of policy makers, academics, and institutions. Natural opportunities exist to present the results of this work at Yale through seminars, colloquia, and public lectures. These collaborations include the following projects:

International Task Force on Trade and Finance for the U.N. Millennium Development Project

International Task Force on Global Public Goods

Commission on the Private Sector and Development

The World Bank

Ethical Globalization Initiative

Center for Global Development

In order to multiply the effects of the internal and external dimensions of the Center's strategy, YCSG has developed a global media instrument. YaleGlobal Online magazine (www.yaleglobal.yale.edu), the Center's flagship publication, explores the growing interconnectedness of the world and aims to analyze and promote debate on all aspects of globalization. The magazine posts three original articles per week, re-publishes and archives articles from around the globe, and offers video recordings of the Center's events at Yale.

Next: Policies and Regulations