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LEAD THE FUTURE IN PUBLIC AFFAIRS



Your Path to Leadership: Master in Public and International Affairs

Unlock your potential to shape the future of global governance with the prestigious Master in Public & International Affairs (MPIA) program at York University’s Glendon School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA). As Canada's first bilingual School of Public and International Affairs, we offer a unique, cutting-edge education that sets you apart in the competitive world of public policy and international relations.

Welcome to Master in Public & International Affairs

Skills You'll Learn

- Analyze the key challenges in Canadian public life.
- Place Canada’s public institutions in their  global content.
- Apply the core knowledge and tools of public management and policy.
- Work effectively in both English and French.

Careers

As a Master in Public & International Affairs graduate, you are well-equipped to become a leader and changemaker.

Civil service in provincial or federal government.

International organizations, such as the UN, NATO or UNESCO.

Public Servant or Diplomat at a Canadian Embassy abroad.

Visit the Career Centre for more career options in Public & International Affairs.

Admission Requirements

The Master in Public & International Affairs is open to students who hold an honours undergraduate degree or equivalent from an accredited post-secondary institution, with a minimum grade point average of B+ in the final two years of study. You also must be proficient in one of Canada’s official languages (either French or English) and have a working knowledge of the second official language.

For more details on requirements, visit York University’s Faculty of Graduate Studies admission page.

For more details about fees and fundings.

Join the GSPIA webinar to learn more!

Want to learn more about the program, scholarship options, paid internship component, and connection opportunities with high-level practitioners? Register for one of our webinars below.

Register Here

Hands-On Experiences

Apply the concepts and theories you’re studying to real-world challenges. Engage in guided practical experiences in the classroom, workplace, community and abroad. These are some opportunities for Master in Public & International Affairs students.

Complete an internship within the provincial or federal government, or within either a non-governmental or international organization, such as Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada; the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs; the Prime Minister’s Office; Canadian Border Services Agency and the United Nations.

Get up close and personal with movers and shakers from the world of diplomacy and governance, thanks to Weekly Colloquiums hosted by Associate Professor Francis Garon.

Choose to join the Dual Degree Program with the Université de Strasbourg or to take on a one-term exchange with Université Laval in Québec, Sciences-Po Paris, Université de Strasbourg.

MPIA Streams

Term

Course(s)

Credits

01

The Policy Process
Research Methods
Colloquium
1 Elective

10.5

02

Public Management
Economics and Public Policy
Colloquium
1 Elective

10.5

03

Internship

6

04

3 Electives

9

05

2 Electives
Capstone Seminar

9

Total

45

A total of 45 credits will be required to complete the Master’s degree.

You will have the opportunity to complete an internship (with a federal or provincial government, non-governmental organization or international organization), normally during the summer between Year I and Year II. If you do not complete an internship you will be required to complete six credits in lieu.

At least one-third of your course credits must be taken in your second language – English or French. This means a minimum of four courses in your second language. (The Colloquium, Internship and Capstone Seminar do not count towards the language requirement).

Term

Course(s)

Credits

01

The Policy Process
Research Methods
Colloquium
1 Elective

10.5

02

Public Management
Economics and Public Policy
Colloquium
1 Elective

10.5

03

Internship

6

04

3 Electives

9

05

Major Research Paper

0

Total

36

Students who choose the MRP option will be exempted from the two elective courses in their second term of the 2nd year (last academic term) and exempted from the Capstone Seminar. The MRP is a substantial piece of original research in which students write about an original topic in public and international affairs. Their MRP is expected to situate the topic within the broader literature as well as the relevant theory, to explain the methodology and critique the sources used. Students pursuing this MRP option must first obtain permission from the Graduate Program Director.

A total of 36 credits will be required to complete the Master’s degree.

You will have the opportunity to complete an internship (with a federal or provincial government, non-governmental organization or international organization), normally during the summer between Year I and Year II. If you do not complete an internship you will be required to complete 6 credits in lieu.

At least one-third of your course credits must be taken in your second language – English or French. This means a minimum of three courses in your second language. (The Colloquium, Internship and Capstone Seminar do not count towards the language requirement.

York University and the Université de Strasbourg are excited to offer a Dual Degree program involving York’s bilingual Master in Public and International Affairs and the Local and Regional European Administration Master’s degree of the Institut d’Études Politiques of the Université de Strasbourg.

A small and select number of students, from each institution, will complete their first year of academic studies in the Master in Public and International Affairs at the Glendon School of Public and International Affairs. As you already know, Glendon currently has several students from Strasbourg, as part of the Dual Degree.

The second year of their academic studies will then be completed in the Master in Public Administration at the Institut d’Études Politiques of the Université de Strasbourg. The IEP has confirmed recently that Glendon students would be eligible to take courses in other specializations of the Public Administration Degree, such as M2 Carrières et Action Publique or other "parcours".

Following the successful completion of these two years of study, the first in Toronto, Canada, and the second in Strasbourg, France, students will receive two graduate degrees, one from each institution.

The Dual Degree program with the Université de Strasbourg offers you the opportunity to combine the domestic and international aspects of public affairs not only in theory but also in practice. You will be taking courses at two leading universities and learning from faculty members with a wide range of expertise on both sides of the Atlantic. For anglophone students, you will be consolidating your knowledge of the second official language by being immersed in a native francophone environment. Strasbourg, the seat of the European Parliament and Council of Europe, will also offer many intellectually stimulating opportunities for Dual Degree candidates.

To see the full list of our courses, learn more here.

Notable Speakers

Aleqa Hammond

Former Prime Minister of Greenland

Nik Nanos

Founder of Nanos Research

Col. Luciani

NATO Officer

Dr Karida L. Brown

Sociologist and historian awarded the NAACP prize

Jon Allen

Canadian ambassador to Israël

Peter Harder

Canadian Senator

Patrick Van Gheel

Ambassador of Belgium to Canada

Glendon Global Dialogues

The Glendon Global Dialogues (GGD) complement the MPIA program, focusing on global issues and trends, through a forward-looking agenda. The GGDs, open to students, faculty, alumni, as well as the public, provide an important opportunity to bring exceptional talent to the campus and engage with the wider community. Attendees can take part in-person on campus or join online.

The first GGD was conducted in November 2023 included a panel of three addressing “Arctic Security: Are we ready for the future?” The panel included Ms. Aleqa Hammond, former Prime Minister of Greennland as well as Professors Gabrielle Slowey of York University and Kari Roberts of Mount Royal University. The hybrid event attracted participants. The session was opened by the reading of the land acknowledgement in Nunavik dialect by Raigilie Mackey, a Glendon student from Nunavik.

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Global Partnerships & Exchanges

Glendon Campus offers exchange programs with partner universities in Mexico, France, and Canada. These opportunities allow graduate students in public and international affairs to gain global perspectives and cross-cultural learning. Prepare for an international career by studying abroad and building a global network.

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Study Trip to United Nations HQ

For many of the students the highlight of the academic year was the study trip 7-9 April to the UN HQ. The students and staff are very grateful for the support of Ambassador Rae’s office, in particular Ms. Sarah Simoneau. The study programme included the opportunity to meet senior representatives of the UN as well as a one-on-one session with Canadian Ambassador to the UN, Bob Rae.

Over the two days students held discussion with:
• Ambassador Greta Gunnarsdottir, Director UNRWA
• Mr. Thomas Kontogeorgos, UN Dept of Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration
• Ms. Dlila Sadinlija, UN Genocide Prevention
• Mr. Samuel Martell, UN Climate, Peace and Security
• Ms. Brett Hanley, World Food Programme
• Ambassador Rae, Canadian Mission to the UN

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Internship Opportunities

One of the most important features of the MPIA is the summer internship programme which offers students the opportunity to take up assignments in the public sector, non-governmental organisations and international institutions. The aim is for the student to gain hands-on experience in public policy making and implementation. Our bilingual MPIA students are very attractive to hiring managers.

In summer 2024, MPIA placed all but 4 of the 13 students eligible to take up summer internship assignments. Two took up posts with the federal government, two had assignments with federal MP constituency offices, two had assignments with the Ontario Public Service,and one worked with non-government organizations. In addition, 1 student was able to secure a position at the Belgian Embassy in Ottawa.

Building on our letter of cooperation agreement signed in April 2023 with the NATO Security Force Assistance Centre of Excellence (COE) in Rome, one MPIA student undertook an internship assignment at the COE. With the support of our Italian partners, the student was able to extend the study tour to the UN and spend a few days with the UN Department of Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration.

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Research & Fellowships

The GSPIA benefits from the generous support of several individual and corporate donors. From increasing access for students to funding scholarly works, donors make the GSPIA a rich and rewarding experience for students, faculty and staff. We would like to express our heartfelt appreciation to the BMO Financial Group for it’s sustaining support.

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Student Success Stories

Title: Project Officer
Company: UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning

Aletheia graduated from the Double-Degree MPIA programme at Glendon and IEP Strasbourg in 2018. She was offered a consultant position immediately following graduation at the UNESCO’s International Institute for Educational Planning, based in Paris, where she had done an internship earlier in 2018 within the R&D team.

Although she only started working as a full-time member on the R&D team a few months prior, she already had rare opportunities to participate in some very interesting things in the context of research on SDGs, education and cities.

After months spent defining and revising research tools and our analytical framework, with a small team of experts, they launched a pilot on the field early December 2018 – her first official UNESCO mission to the north of France – with approval from UNESCO to take the programme international in 2019-2020. The official online launch was live in late December, on the UNESCO-IIEP web page, Twitter and LinkedIn. She is deeply grateful for the important role the double-degree MPIA programme with Strasbourg played in the opportunities that presented themselves both during and after her studies.

— Aletheia Delivré, class of 2018

Allison graduated from the MPIA program in 2021. She wrote a Major Research Paper entitled ‘From Apology toward Reconciliation? Federal Policy Discourse about Services for Indigenous Children in Canada, 2008–2020, and she received the prestigious Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) and CGS-M for her research projects in the MPIA. Before starting at Glendon, she worked for two years at the Kyoto City Board of Education in Japan as a language teacher. She completed her bachelor’s degree in International Relations at the University of British Columbia in 2015.

— Allison O’Neil, class of 2021

Title: Senior Advisor, Partnerships & Special Initiatives 
Company: United Nations Foundation

Being named one of the country’s most powerful women is a distinction reserved for only a small group of inspirational leaders. But for Rochelle R. Atizado, a Glendon grad and first-generation Filipino Canadian, it was an honour that went far beyond just a line on her résumé—it was a reminder of the importance of representation.

After achieving her Bachelor of Commerce degree in Global Management from the Toronto Metropolitan University, Rochelle was eager to bring her career to a global level by continuing her education with a Master in Public & International Affairs at Glendon Campus. Glendon’s global approach also offered Rochelle the unique opportunity to bring her education beyond the classroom with an international internship at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York as an Editorial Intern. She then went overseas to the UN’s Geneva, Switzerland headquarters to work as a Humanitarian Affairs Intern. Now, back in New York as Senior Advisor, Partnerships & Special Initiatives, Rochelle spends her days fostering relationships with partners to advance the Sustainable Development Goals.

And despite the ‘imposter syndrome’ she experienced in her early career, her distinction as one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women demonstrates that she’s right where she needs to be.

— Rochelle R. Atizado, class of 2015

Directors & Faculty

Want to learn more about our faculty members? Click the button to discover their profiles and expertise.

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