Finance in the real world

Finance is fun. Really.

The BC Finance Club is a 40-member tour-de-force of personality and progress. Finance wasn’t studied at SAIS Bologna at the outset 57 years ago. But in recent years it found its home in the curriculum and is now a specialization under the International Economics concentration.

Pondering higher finance

Why? Because finance plays a key role in the global economy, influencing development, environmental management and myriad other issues of interest to SAISers.

What does the Club do? Answer: Lunch & Learns, Field Trips (including a visit to the Ducati factory), meetings with alumni in finance, tailored career services sessions, online stock market games.

Our members explore what finance means in the real word and get a sense of how learning about finance might change their perspective or future career path. The real draw is that we’re able to provide opportunities that just don’t fit into a Finance class.

Prof. Roger Leeds

The Finance Club is lucky to have the support of Prof. Roger Leeds, whose classes make up the Finance foundation for all SAIS Finance students. At our last meeting he was MC for a a showing of the movie “Inside Job”. Nearly 50 students attended (not in the least lured by pizza and beer). The movie, based on the 2008 financial crisis, was followed by a Q&A session with Prof. Leeds.

The Q&A lasted until the school closed for the night -- and then continued at a local osteria.

We plan to join the Finance Club in DC, and we hope the next group of bolognesi continue the tradition in SAIS Bologna. I mean, why not? Ridiculously popular, lots of fun, and incredibly informative.

Who could resist?

Larissa Muir (BC'12)

Beyond final exams, a glimpse of Spring

It's exam period at SAIS Bologna. You can tell by the look on students' faces. As they work their way through finals, there is something on the horizon: the Spring semester. Which for most of our students is their last semester in Bologna before transferring to Washington.

In the Spring, students will be able to choose from more than 30 courses, half of which are offered only in Bologna. Click here to view the course listing.

Some courses are similar from year to year. Prof. John Harper will offer his debating course, always well attended, again this year. Some readers may remember a previous post that highlighted segments of debate in his class last year.

Prof. Erik Jones will teach an advanced research seminar for SAIS Bologna and also for SAIS DC students, who will via video hookup.

Prof. Michael Plummer will return from a stint heading the Development Division of the Trade and Agriculture Directorate of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris. Prof. Plummer will teach a course that always attracts a large number of students: Asian Economic Development.

Each year some things do change. There will be a new course in Global Energy, part of the Energy, Resources and Environment concentration, and another in International Financial Markets.

The Spring semester will feature new speakers and seminars under the auspices of the Bologna Institute for Policy Research (BIPR). More on that later this week. You can have a look at past speakers by viewing BIPR's webpage.

Amina Abdiuahab

FAQs at Open Day

Missed Open Day at SAIS Bologna last week and wondering what happened?

Worry not. Below are questions that were raised by the several dozen prospective applicants who attended.

Q: Am I required to choose a concentration when I apply?

Prospective students and faculty members enjoy
a coffee break.

A: In the application you are asked to indicate your concentration preference. The choice you make when you apply is not binding, and you can switch to a different concentration when you start your studies at SAIS Bologna. The only concentration one cannot switch into once one has started SAIS is International Development. If you are interested in IDEV (SAIS jargon for International Development), you should indicate it as your first choice on the application. In your letter of admission you'll learn whether or not you have been admitted to the IDEV program.

Q: My undergraduate degree was taught in English but in a country where English is not an official language. Am I required to submit TOEFL or other English proficiency scores?

A: Yes. However, we will consider exceptional circumstances. Keep in mind that strong scores will give you a chance to present the best possible dossier to the Admissions Committee. They look for an indication that a candidate can handle the challenging English curriculum here. The best way to do so is to take the TOEFL,  IELTS or Cambridge Proficiency in English (CPE) exam and perform well. We understand that these tests are not always perfect tools, but they are important benchmarks that can offer you a chance to stand apart.

Prof. Erik Jones presents the European Studies Program.

Q: I understand GRE and GMAT scores are not required for non-U.S. citizens who want to start their studies at SAIS Bologna. However, they are strongly recommended. How much weight do they carry in an application?
A: GRE and GMAT scores can help strengthen your profile. That said, they are not a requirement, and one is not at a disadvantage if GRE or GMAT scores are not submitted. We understand that standardized tests are not a perfect tool, but like TOEFL scores, they can help you put your best foot forward and enable you to stand apart.

Q: How long should my statement of purpose be? 
A: We recommend that you submit a statement of aims between 500 and 600 words. Part of the challenge is to convey concisely to the Committee why you want to study at SAIS, how you would benefit from the program and what you would bring to the Center.

Q: I recently wrote a paper. Can I use that as my analytical essay?
A: It's best not to. A paper is likely to go well over the limit of 600 words. The essay allows the Admissions Committee to see how you write and develop your analytical thinking in a few hundred words. Like the statement of purpose, the challenge is to stick to the word limit while conveying your thoughts. You can use the topic of a paper for your analytical essay -- but keep it tight.

Q: Do I have to convert my overall undergraduate grade into a GPA?

Nelson answers questions from prospective students.

A: No. But we do require a guide to your university's grading system. Here is a link to a website that will help you convert your grades into letter grades. Last year we received applications from 72 countries. You can see how these guides to the different grading systems helps us assess your academic performance.

Q: Do I need to translate my transcripts?
A: We accept transcripts in English and Italian. Transcripts in other languages will need to be translated by an official translator.

Q: How much does a solid academic performance weigh in my application?
A: When we assess your dossier, we will look at your academic performance. However, academic performance, while important, is not be the only thing we take into account. We like to get a 360-degree view of our applicants. Academic performance is a part of the landscape but not the only part.

Q: How important is work experience?
A: Exposure to the job market can help strengthen your profile. However, it is not a requirement, and lack of work experience will not be a deal breaker. If you have undertaken internships in the past, make sure you mention them.

Q: How is financial aid awarded and how do I apply for financial aid?
A: Scholarships are awarded on the basis of need, merit and academic promise. There is a form with instructions included in the application. If you are interested in a specific scholarship administered by SAIS Bologna, be sure to mention it. Please make sure you mention any other scholarships or loans that you are applying for. This will give us a complete picture.

Prospective students listen to the faculty presentations.

Amina Abdiuahab

Professor calls SAIS Bologna students "a breed apart"

What do SAIS, economics and global warming have in common? Charles Pearson's expertise.

Pearson studied at SAIS. Later he taught at SAIS and headed the International Economics department for 17 years. He taught at SAIS DC, SAIS Bologna and Hopkins-Nanjing.

We spoke to Prof. Pearson while he was in Bologna this week teaching a three-part seminar on economics and the challenge of global warming. The seminar is one of several "mini courses" that are longer than the traditional 90-minute lecture but more compact than a semester course. His most recent book is "Economics and the Challenge of Global Warming".

In our interview below, Prof. Pearson, who now lives in Thailand and teaches at the Diplomatic Academy in Vienna, discusses changes at SAIS, his mini course and the connection between economics and climate change.

What has changed most at SAIS since he was a student? A SAIS education now costs more, he says, and students want to make sure it can lead to a good job. Solid training in economics helps land such jobs, he says.

Asked about SAIS Bologna, Prof. Pearson says he has always been envious of Bologna Center students, calling them "a breed apart".

No disagreement there from us in Bologna.



If you are reading this on email, you can view the video here.

Nelson Graves

What's new? A blog and a catalog

Here are two sources of information on SAIS that you may find useful and even entertaining.

A new blog

First, our colleagues at SAIS DC have launched a blog. You will find theirs a bit different from ours -- here's to diversity -- but similar because it, too, gives voice to students' views and provides practical information, in a friendly way, on applying.

We would encourage prospective applicants to keep tabs on both blogs. Almost all SAIS Bologna students end up spending time studying in Washington before graduating from SAIS, and so it's important for applicants to the Bologna Center to know what goes on in DC.

Permit me to remind our readers that the SAIS Bologna and SAIS DC Admissions offices handle different pools of applications:

• All U.S. citizens, as well as non-U.S.citizens wishing to start their studies in Washington, have their applications managed by SAIS DC.
• Non-U.S. citizens who want to start in Bologna have their application managed by SAIS Bologna.

We broached the complicated issue of one program/two Admissions offices in a recent post. If you have questions on the different procedures, you can always drop us a line at admissions@jhubc.it.

A new catalog

The second new source of information is SAIS Bologna's  academic catalog. If you are considering applying to SAIS Bologna, you might want to download the catalog so you can refer to it from time to time.

The catalog includes information on a range of subjects:

• SAIS Bologna life
• SAIS Bologna services
• Admissions
• Degrees
• Curriculum
• Faculty

Academic catalogs have come a long way from my days as a student (OK -- keep your comments to yourselves). Back in those days, the catalog was a hefty and colorless tome that included fine print on the courses, a word or two on intellectual honesty and, if you were lucky, an academic calendar.

We think the new SAIS Bologna catalog tackles a greater range of issues and gives a more rounded picture of our institution than the run-of-the mill brochure.

(I can hear your question: Why are you publishing the 2011-12 academic catalog now? Here's the short answer: It takes time to edit, synthesize, cut down the number of pages and save trees!)

Last thing: Some of you may have noticed that we have launched a Twitter feed called @SAISBolognaBlog. To follow it, click on this icon in the upper right-hand section of the blog:

Nelson Graves

Meet Prof. Mark Gilbert

History. How old fashioned, right?

Well, no.

Just try to make sense of what is happening in the euro zone without knowing some history. How many of you are convinced you have a firm understanding of how the Arab Spring came about without some knowledge of history?

As SAIS, there is no history concentration per se. History is intertwined with just about everything that is studied. It is a thread that stretches through every concentration.

Prof. Mark Gilbert grew up near Lincoln in England. He teaches intellectual and political history at SAIS Bologna. He is the latest professor to be profiled in this blog.

What courses are you teaching?
"Intellectuals & Politics" and "The End of European Imperialism" in the Fall Semester; "Peace & War" and "Europe in the Cold War" in the Spring Semester

Your degrees?
BA in Politics from Durham University; Ph.D in contemporary history from the University of Wales

Where have you taught?
Dickinson College (Pennsylvania), University of Bath (UK), University of Trento (Italy)

How long have you been teaching at SAIS Bologna?
Since 1999 as an adjunct at varous times; since September 2010 as a full-time member of staff

A link to a recent publication/oped/academic work by you?
http://www.amazon.com/European-Integration-Mark-F-Gilbert/dp/0742566641

Anything special about SAIS Bologna?
The sense of community, definitely. And not just between current faculty and students. The alumni really care about the Center's future and are a pleasure to meet.

Anything special about Bologna?
The warmth and generosity of the Bolognesi, which belongs to another age. The reds and ochres of the walls at sunset. Mind you, it is less clean and tidy than it used to be.

Your favorite book?
"War and Peace" or "Homage to Catalonia". I can never decide between the two. Anything by Tom Wolfe. Jane Austen, C.P. Snow, Tolkien, Leonardo Sciascia's "Candido", Vaclav Havel. Biographies. The first volume of Robert Skidelsky's biography of Keynes is a marvel. So is Michael Ignatieff's biography of Isaiah Berlin, which is a book I should have loved to have written myself.  

Hobbies?
Mountain walking, snowshoeing, listening to jazz, theatre, squash before my knees caved in, cycling since. Travelling, of course.

A quote?
I'm doing this from memory, but Giovanni Guareschi, the author of the Don Camillo stories, says somewhere that "people in the city rush everywhere, hastening to save every single second and don't realize they are throwing a lifetime away." I think this is true and it is worse now than when he was writing (the 1950s).

Meet Prof. Winrich Kühne

SAIS professors are academics, practitioners or both. Today we introduce you to Winrich Kühne, a practitioner par excellence who has a Ph.D and a publishing record to boot.

The latest edition of La Rivista has an interview with Kühne, who is the Steven Muller Professor in German Studies. The article lists some of his many accomplishments: founder and former director of the German Center for International Peace Operations in Berlin; longtime consultant to the German parliament and government; senior adviser to the European Union's former Crisis Prevention Network; member of the international advisory board of the U.N. Department of Peacekeeping Operations' Lessons Learned Unit; a member of election observer missions in Namibia, Malawi, Angola, Mozambique and South Africa.

Kühne is too modest to mention it, but in 2009 SAIS Bologna students awarded him, together with Thomas Row, the Johns Hopkins University Alumni Association Excellence in Teaching Award.

----------------------

What course are you teaching?
Two courses: "War, Conflict, State Failure and Democracy in Sub-Saharan Africa" and "Theory and Practice of Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding". In the courses I link academic teaching very much with real life experience in the field.

Your degrees?
Ph.D in International Law, University of Munich and Tuebingen, Germany

Where have you taught?
My work experience is much more important than my teaching although I taught at the University of Munich for a while and lectured at many German and international academies as well as research and training institutes.

Important stages of my working life:

• Director of the German Center for International Peace Operations (ZIF) 2002-2009
• Deputy Director of the German Think Tank Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP) 1995-2002; before I was head of its Africa Department
• many field trips to Africa and other places where conflicts were going on or in the process of being managed or even resolved.

How long have you been teaching at SAIS Bologna?
Since 1991 after former SAIS Bologna Director Steve Low recruited me at a Winston House conference near London. As I enjoyed the Center, the students and the staff so much, not to mention beautiful Bologna, I kept returning although it was not easy in certain phases of my professional life to harmonize the Bologna schedule with tough professional demands, in particular the development of the German Peacekeeping Training Center.

A link to a recent publication/oped/academic work by you?
"Peace Operations and Peacebuilding in the Transatlantic Dialogue" (2009)

Anything special about SAIS Bologna?
Great place to teach and to learn!

Anything special about Bologna?
After more than 20 years I still love walking around between teaching hours and exploring its many picturesque "stradine" and corners.

Your favorite book?
Oh God, there is more than one...

Hobby?
Tennis, skiing and being idle whenever possible

A quote?
"While we are planning life it is doing something else." One of my favorite quotes which I learned in Africa.

From BC to DC

What's it like to be a SAIS student who spends a year in Bologna and then moves to Washington, DC?

I took advantage of a brief stopover in the U.S. capital last month to speak to two students who recently settled in Washington after studying last year in Bologna. Who better to describe the experience that about one half of SAIS students share: a first year of study in Italy followed by a second and final year in DC?

Marcus Watson worked in London for three years as a corporate lawyer before starting SAIS in the autumn of 2010. His concentration is International Development -- little wonder given experiences he has gained working in Tanzania and Uganda.

Even before Shoko Sugai graduated from college in 2009, she had helped victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and of the 2006 Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Her concentration is Conflict Management.


View Larger Map

In the short film below shot on the SAIS DC campus, Marcus and Shoko discuss the challenges of moving from Bologna to Washington: difficulties finding housing and the "bidding system" to get into popular classes. Shoko says it's a "little bit chaotic" living for nine months in Italy and then picking up stakes for the U.S.

Any regrets?

"I really do believe that if you go to Bologna and then come to DC, you get the best of both worlds," Shoko said.

"I think the experiences definitely complement each other," Marcus said.



If you are reading this on email, you can view the video here.

Nelson Graves

Meet Prof. Gianfranco Pasquino

What course are you teaching?

Contemporary Italian Politics (Fall semester)

Political Systems of the Developing World (Spring semester)

Your degrees?

SAIS, MA in International Relations, 1967 (very proud of it)

Where have you taught?

U. of Bologna, U. of Florence, UCLA, SAIS DC, SAIS Bologna Center since, at least, 1976

How long have you been teaching at SAIS Bologna?

Hence, about 35 years

A link to a recent publication/oped/academic work by you?

My University of Bologna Profile: http://www.unibo.it/docenti/gianfranco.pasquino

Anything special about SAIS Bologna?

Exceptional: it changed my life. I am a SAIS Bologna alumnus from 1966.

Anything special about Bologna?

Small and beautiful with a great University (and the Bologna Center)

Your favorite book?

"Auto da fé," by Elias Canetti

Hobby?

I am a moviegoer.

A quote

"Il cielo stellato sopra di me; la mia coscienza in me." - Immanuel Kant

Diversity and careers

Our recent poll gives me a chance to discuss two of SAIS Bologna's distinctive features.

The poll asked readers what they thought was best about SAIS Bologna. Here are the results:

Diverse student body - 36%

Career preparation - 26

Camaraderie - 18

Courses & faculty - 10

City of Bologna - 5

European perspective - 5

That means that more than one third of the respondents consider "diversity" to be SAIS Bologna's key asset.

"Diversity", of course, can mean different things to different people, and it can work in unpredictable ways.

(I have landed two jobs in my life in large part because I happened to be a "diverse" candidate. In one, I had an advantage over another candidate because I did not speak the language of the country where the job was located and so could ostensibly bring an impartial eye to a post that needed it. In another, I was a male applying for a job at a company where there were predominantly women, and the hiring managers wanted more gender balance. Some irony in both cases.)

I think the diversity that respondents to our poll were thinking of stems to a large extent from the range of nationalities. This year we have 43 nationalities (48 including dual passports), up from 34 last year and the largest number of nationalities in the Bologna Center's 57 years.


View SAIS Bologna 2011-12 class in a larger map

With 43 nationalities among 200 students, everyone is in a kind of minority. Even our U.S. students, who make up 44% of the class, are in a minority because they are outnumbered by non-Americans and, of course, are living in a foreign country.

This sense of being in a permanent minority is part of the SAIS Bologna learning experience. One is constantly confronted by different points of view. One's assumptions are regularly challenged. You cannot hide behind conventional wisdom because in such a place, it is neither conventional nor necessarily wisdom.

Students who thrive at SAIS enjoy learning from and about others. They are willing to give of themselves because they understand that others want to learn about them, too. It is one important reason why SAIS students are expected to participate in classes -- because so much of what is learned here comes from sharing experiences from such a wide range of backgrounds.

Of course with the diversity of nationalities comes a mix of religions, beliefs, languages and economic circumstances -- all part of the learning experience. Some of our students have been in the workforce for some years, others are coming directly from undergraduate study.

I'm delighted that our readers recognize that diversity is part and parcel of what makes SAIS Bologna special.

A word on careers: It is true that SAIS considers itself a professional school. Most of our graduates take up jobs after finishing a SAIS master's (but by no means all -- check out the number of SAIS professors who continued studying and got their Ph.Ds at SAIS). Who wants to invest in a graduate school without the prospect of landing a good job afterwards?

While SAIS does not guarantee graduates will get the job of their choice, our students do very well. We like to think that a SAIS education prepares students for a wide range of careers throughout their working lives. You'll see many SAIS graduates during their careers move between the public and private sectors, from one industry into another,  from a multilateral institution into an NGO.

If you are considering applying to SAIS Bologna, think of it as a long-term investment, one that will bring you benefits throughout your working years. Certainly our alumni see it that way.

Nelson Graves

Technology and Int'l Relations: Not Such Strange Bedfellows

SAIS Bologna's curriculum has changed over the years, evolving as it should. International relations are in constant flux. And while our program does not shift with every passing breeze, it keeps up with the times.

Who would have thought, when SAIS was founded more than six decades ago, that technology would soon play such an important role in shaping relations among nation states?

For that matter, how could an engineer become director of SAIS Bologna? Prof. Kenneth Keller, who has a Ph.D in chemical engineering, will be glad to answer that.

Martin Ross, who recently graduated from SAIS Bologna, took Prof. Keller's "Science, Technology & International Relations" class last year.

What is the course all about?

"This course examines how advances in science and technology as well as the dynamics of technological development affect relations among nations in matters such as autonomy, national security, relative economic strength, environmental protection, cultural identity and international cooperation. It illustrates these effects with examples from the current international scene, and it considers various approaches to negotiating international agreements in areas affected by these science and technology considerations."

I asked Martin, who comes from Canada, what the course meant to him.

"I have been interested for many years in the technical side of what to do when the existing IP address space runs out," he said.

Martin receiving his prize at graduation

"Luckily the course gave me the opportunity to explore the policy and political aspects relating to Internet governance in a much more detailed manner than I was able to previously.  The paper was especially timely as the first public large scale purchase of IP addresses by Microsoft from the defunct Nortel occurred a few months after I wrote the paper. The uptake towards the next generation of the Internet protocol continues to be slow and several auction internet sites have already sprung up."

Our readers have already seen award-winning papers by Christina Politi and Annabel Lee. Here is a paper that Martin submitted in Prof. Keller's class and which won him, too, a C. Grove Haines prize for academic excellence at graduation in May.

Nelson Graves

Getting to the core

Earlier this month we published a post with a question from the final exam in International Monetary Theory. It was an opportunity to expose incoming students to the kind of question they will be facing soon and also to the Economics requirements.

Today we turn to another set of obligations: the core requirements.

Before getting into the nitty gritty of the core requirements, a word on why. SAIS students come from very diverse academic backgrounds. This year in Bologna we had 34 nationalities, and for 2011-12, students from 45 different countries have enrolled.

To ensure that all SAIS graduates have acquired a common set of useful skills and knowledge, we require them to meet a set of requirements in Economics, languages, history and political science.

There are four core subjects:

• American Foreign Policy Since World War II
• Comparative National Systems
• Evolution of the International System
• Theories of International Relations

You can read about the core subjects here and here.

Here is chapter and verse with respect to the core requirements:

M.A. candidates must pass written examinations in two of four core areas (except students in European Studies, who take three European Studies comprehensive exams). Students are urged to pass one of these exams by the end of their first year and to pass both before beginning the second year. Students with an adequate background are encouraged to take the core examinations upon entry. During the year, students may prepare for a core examination by studying on their own, auditing or enrolling for credit in a core course. Core exams are graded with a letter grade. Only passing grades appear on the transcript. Students who fail a core exam twice are required to register for the corresponding core course for credit. After enrolling for credit, a student's result of any prior examination is eliminated from the transcript, and grading requirements for regular courses apply. Core exams are offered three times a year at the Bologna Center: first week in October and at the end of each semester. 

So you can satisfy the core requirements by taking core courses, passing core examinations without taking the course or a combination of the two.

As with Economics waiver exams, you can satisfy a course requirement by passing the exam but you will not receive credit towards the 16 courses that must be completed in order to receive the M.A. It does free you up to take other courses beside the basic Economics or core courses

Prof.Erik Jones

Note that these core requirements apply to candidates for the two-year Master of Arts in International Relations. The MAIA, MIPP and Bologna Diploma requirements are different.

All of that is so complicated that the questions on the core exam in Comparative National Systems may seem, well, comparatively simple. Here is a copy of the exam.

And here is a video of Prof. Erik Jones, who taught that course in Bologna this past Spring semester, discussing the core requirements and his course. He also explains why his office is full of boxes.



Nelson Graves

Concentrate on your future

Before we dive into concentrations, I would like to thank all of our candidates for attending your interviews. Now you can sit back and breathe a sigh of relief. The Admissions Committee will gather next week, and shortly after candidates will be informed.    

All SAIS students take up two concentrations. Each student needs to fulfill the requirements of International Economics. In addition, a student needs to choose either a Regional or Functional program of study.

The Regional programs focus on every area of the globe. The Functional programs include International Relations and its various strands -- conflict management, energy/resources/environment (ERE), international law, global theory and history, strategic studies -- as well as International Development.

If you have applied, you will have indicated either a Regional or Functional concentration on your application. The choice you indicated is not binding. During the first year a student has the chance to think things through, to attend different classes and to make a final choice. Your academic adviser will help you select your concentration and make sure it is aligned with your career goals.

International Development ("IDEV" in SAIS-speak) is the only program with capped enrollment. A limited number of students admitted to SAIS are accepted into IDEV, although courses are open to all SAIS students on a space available basis. Students are admitted directly to IDEV as part of the SAIS application process.

The International Economics concentration requires the successful completion of at least six economic courses. Four are required: intermediate microeconomics and macroeconomics, trade theory and monetary theory. The other courses can be chosen from a rather long list covering economic theory, development economics, quantitative methods and international finance.

If you have already taken intermediate micro or macro, or both, you can opt to take a waiver exam to place out of that course and to enroll in higher level courses. If you have not taken intermediate economics, pre- term is a good way to meet some of the requirements before the start of the academic year. 

You have already heard us mention the importance of languages at SAIS. We deem them so important that Regional concentrations require students to demonstrate proficiency in a language of that region, whether or not they have already passed a proficiency exam in a language from outside that region.

A student at SAIS Bologna can pursue any concentration. We recommend that candidates interested in concentrating in Asian Studies consider spending two years in Washington, partly because Asian languages are not taught in Bologna. However, there are some top-notch courses on Asia taught in Bologna. This term, Prof. Plummer is teaching "Asian Economic Development" and Prof. Pomfret is teaching "The Economies of Central Asia".

Any questions? You know how to find us.

Amina Abdiuahab

Joint and Cooperative Degrees: Extending your horizon

SAIS's curriculum is deep and broad. There's plenty of bread on the carving board, as the French would say, in both Bologna and Washington.

The curriculum in fact extends well beyond SAIS's walls. Students can pick from an array of joint degrees and cooperative programs.

Aula Magna, University of Bologna
(courtesy of the university)

Master's candidates at SAIS can apply to receive a degree from both SAIS and the following programs:

• MBA at Wharton
• MBA at Tuck (Dartmouth)
• J.D. at Stanford
• J.D. at University of Virginia
• Master of Health at Johns Hopkins's Bloomberg School
• Master of Public Administration at Syracuse University

For more information, click here.

Diplomatic Academy of Vienna
(photo by Peter Burgstaller)

In addition, the Bologna Center offers cooperative programs with the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna, the University of Bologna and the University of Bologna-Forli'. A cooperative program with Sabancı University in Istanbul is also available.

University of Bologna-Forli'
(courtesy of university website)

These programs permit reciprocal recognition of work done at the other university, so that qualifying students can earn two master's. For more information, click here.

A word of caution: These joint and cooperative programs have quite specific admissions and graduation requirements, so it's best to read up on them carefully.

But they offer a whole spectrum of opportunities that sets SAIS apart.

Sabancı University
(courtesy of university website)

Nelson Graves

"Now I get it!"

Economics is one of the academic pillars at SAIS. We wrote about this in December and have come back to it from time to time. All SAIS students take economics as part of their course of study; understanding of economics is essential for anyone wishing to play a leadership role in the international arena.


Today our guest blogger is Çiğdem Akin, an assistant professor who this year is teaching Macroeconomics and International Monetary Theory. Prof. Akin received her Ph.D from George Washington University, her master's from the International University of Japan and her undergraduate degree from Bogaziçi University in Turkey. She has worked at both the IMF and the Asian Development Bank Institute in Tokyo.

Economics is not a simple field of study. It requires logic, an ability to grasp abstract problems and the capability to simplify real issues and to isolate key concepts. Because economics is analytical in nature, it can be a difficult subject to teach and learn.

Over the many semesters that I have been a professor of macroeconomics and international monetary theory, I have often encountered students professing at the beginning that they are "not an economics person" or even that they "hate economics".

Slope is no issue for
 Çiğdem Akin

Yet they are willing to confront "the economics monster" at SAIS because they know that rigorous economics training is one of the unique characteristics that sets SAIS apart from other graduate programs in international affairs.

As a teacher, I face the challenge of converting a room full of students from varying academic backgrounds and with different levels of enthusiasm and confidence into a collection of people who can reflect positively on their economics education at SAIS.

So how do I approach teaching economics at SAIS?

First, combining theoretical concepts with real-life examples and policies has helped me keep the class materials relevant to students at SAIS.

For example, in the Macroeconomics course this past semester I used the subprime mortgage market crises in the United States as a case study.

Using cross-country comparisons, our students applied theoretical economic models and analyzed a wide range of topics: the functioning of financial markets; patterns of international interdependency; governments' fiscal policies and their implications for debt sustainability; deflation; monetary policies such as quantitative easing, and unemployment in the context of the current global recession.

Light reading for Prof. Akin

In the coming semester, students will deepen their understanding of open economies in the International Monetary Theory course. They will write research papers on the recent debt crises in the euro zone; the emergence of BRIC economies; the changing pattern of global economic balance of power, and the implications for growth of global financial integration.

The students will conduct hands-on research using macroeconomic data, read academic or policy-oriented research papers from the IMF and follow current policy debates through publications such as the Wall Street Journal or the Economist.

When students integrate theory into their own experiences, they gain the intuition, inter-disciplinary skills, critical thinking and curiosity to understand economic problems.

Learning is a cooperative experience at SAIS. A crucial component of teaching economics at SAIS is to encourage our students to work in study groups for assignments and problem sets. Students from diverse backgrounds learn to cooperate, apply their analytical and quantitative skills, manage their time and use available resources to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

At SAIS, we take pride in one-on-one education. I make myself available for students after class and often outside of office hours. Students appreciate this supportive and welcoming attitude and overcome any initial fear of economics.

I am always full of pride when a student I am helping tells me, “Now I get it!” 

Students appreciate the relevance and the strength of our economics training when they apply for internships or jobs in international finance, public policy, business or economic development in the public or private sector. During summer vacation, many of my former students have sent me thank you letters indicating that what they learned in economics helped them succeed in positions with organizations as diverse as the U.S. Treasury, an investment bank in London or an NGO working to alleviate poverty in Latin America.

At the end of the day, making a difference in the lives of generations of students by expanding their understanding of global issues and helping them become better world citizens is what makes teaching economics so rewarding at SAIS.

Çiğdem Akin

Meet Professor Doctor

SAIS Bologna would not be the institution it is without its faculty. Applicants often like to contact a professor to discuss the program. We encourage such communication. We thought it would be good to give some space in this blog to a faculty member to talk about what makes the place special for them. So meet Mahrukh Doctor, who is a visiting associate professor.


Mahrukh is a SAIS graduate and received her D.Phil. from Oxford. She speaks English, Hindi, Portuguese and German.

Hello!

I have been an adjunct professor at SAIS Bologna for the past 5 years and this year I am Visiting Associate Professor. I taught two courses in the Fall Semester – one on Latin American Politics and the other an Introduction to Development. In the Spring Semester, I will teach a course on contemporary Brazil.

My Fall Semester classes had an excellent group of students – lively and full of questions. Just what I like, since it keeps me on my toes! Teaching a highly motivated group of students is always an interesting and rewarding experience. As an applicant, an important point to consider is that one of the best things about a SAIS education is the opportunity to learn from experienced professors (a mix of academics and practitioners) and from the diverse student body. The Bologna Center is particularly strong in this respect – both students and professors come from a wide variety of countries. In fact, I love to teach at Bologna precisely because of the mix of nationalities and life experience in the classroom.   

You are probably wondering what this means for you – the student. Most obviously, the class discussions benefit from the different academic backgrounds and work experience of many of the students. For example, my Development class had students from a number of countries: Italy, Germany, the UK, Austria, the U.S., Canada, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, China, South Korea, India, Nepal, Mexico, Argentina and Slovakia to name a few. They had work experience in Bangladesh, El Salvador, Iraq, Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Brazil, Ecuador, Haiti, India and many more developing countries. You can imagine what a good discussion this engenders both inside and outside the classroom.

Another important aim in my teaching is to get students to learn the practical skills relevant to their future careers.  Hence we have formal class debates and other assignments that develop such skills. For example, one of the graded assignments for the Development course was a group project that required students to make posters (later exhibited in the library) and to participate in a mini conference on the theme: Why Development Matters. Of course, these types of assignments not only develop professional skills, but also require you to learn about the relevant issues and lessons from the case studies reviewed.

Hope this gives you a flavour of what it is like to be a student here and how we, the professors, try to make your learning experience relevant, useful and enjoyable.

Mahrukh Doctor

The Economics requirement (gulp)

The application puzzle is coming together. You’ve hammered out your CV, your statement of purpose is almost ready, you've contacted your referees, your university is sending us your transcripts. Now you're thinking: "There is something missing. What could it be? Oh, I know! It’s Economics!"

Most of you are considering applying to SAIS because the master's program is unique. There is the opportunity to study in Bologna and Washington on campuses that complement each other. There are vast opportunities to learn languages. And there is Economics, truly one of SAIS's distinguishing features.

I studied law, not "the dismal science", at university. It was not until I listened to Çiğdem Akin, resident professor of Economics at SAIS Bologna, that I began to grasp the importance of this subject to an understanding of international relations. Put simply, it is difficult if not impossible to appreciate how the world works without understanding Economics. Economics permeates all areas of study at SAIS and, more broadly, provides the context and even the motivation for countless decisions by individuals and policymakers.

Here is an explanation of the importance of Economics at SAIS. "Whether you are interested in pursuing a career in international finance, public policy, business, or economic development, our program provides students with the knowledge, skills and abilities to succeed in both the public and private sector."

An example: my Admissions colleague Nelson Graves had had little if any Economics before coming to SAIS Bologna. In his first journalism job after graduating, he covered international finance from Washington and had a front-row seat on Latin America's debt crisis in the 1980s.

You may appreciate why you will be studying Economics at SAIS and how you will benefit. You should also know that to start classes, you will need to grasp the basics of both micro- and macroeconomics. You can satisfy this requirement through introductory courses, either as an undergraduate or independently. SAIS offers an online course during the summer before classes start to those without the basics. The choice is yours, and it's best that you consider as soon as possible how you will meet the requirement.

If you are not sure whether the course you plan on taking is right, send us an email with the course syllabus and we will let you know whether it meets the requirement.

There are also Economics requirements for graduating from SAIS. But that will be discussed in a future post by Professor Akin. So stay tuned.

Amina Abdiuahab