With a mission to produce the knowledge and leaders necessary to secure a more just and peaceful world, Fletcher has defined leadership in global affairs for nearly nine decades. 

For students, employers, and our ever-changing world, Fletcher continues to innovate the teaching and practice of global affairs, delivering the essential knowledge, training, and networks required to lead effectively in the 21st century.  

Why students choose Fletcher

Fletcher’s faculty lead by example. As influential, sought-after advisors to world leaders in foreign affairs, business and finance, trade, aid, development, and defense, Fletcher faculty contribute to solving the world’s most vexing problems, all while training the next generation. 

Within a framework combining theory and practice, Fletcher students analyze problems through the intersections of areas as diverse as climate, energy, gender, economics, immigration, security, and tech—looking around corners, exploring across disciplines, and leveraging diplomacy in new ways to find paths to solutions. 

Prepared with relevant knowledge and technical skills, historical contexts, and interdisciplinary analytical training, Fletcher graduates are unfazed by the growing complexity of an increasingly interconnected, interdependent world, making them uniquely valuable to employers. 

A distinctly global community and a category-of-one alumni network 

As members of our diverse global community, students see beyond traditional, transactional notions of international affairs and embrace perspectives not previously considered. Students learn from each other daily- inside and beyond the classroom. 

Our global alumni network is uncommonly committed, connected, and dedicated to the success of each other and to that of our current students, bound by a collective mission of improving our world. At Fletcher, we don't just study global affairs, we shape them. 

Daniel W. Drezner, PhD, Professor of International Politics, shares reflections on the current state of global affairs and on Fletcher as a world-class destination for research and scholarship in the 21st century. 

What is the greatest challenge confronting today’s leaders in global affairs? 

"Over the past five years, the world has endured pandemics, wars, mass protests, climate change, supply chain stresses, and political instability within the most powerful country in the world. The only certainty about the near future is continued uncertainty. Amassing and wielding power in such an environment is a considerable challenge.” 

Learning from history 

Drezner, whose course “The End of the World and What Comes After” prepares future leaders to draw new perspectives from history. He notes that the periods of achievement, such as the Renaissance, emerged from periods of tremendous uncertainty, pandemic, war, and religious oppression. 

How does Fletcher prepare students to shape global affairs? 

“The interdisciplinarity of The Fletcher School allows our faculty and students to think about these conundrums from an array of different perspectives. From the role of force to the role of history to the role of science to best business practices, Fletcher helps to prepare students how to troubleshoot the next wave of short-term crises -- and, hopefully, lay the groundwork to avoid the deeper crises that loom on the horizon.” 

How does The Fletcher School empower students to approach international cooperation?

In 1933, Fletcher was founded as the first graduate school of international affairs in the United States, when the country struggled to emerge from the Great Depression and when nationalism, fascism, and xenophobia were on the rise. Our founders were committed to the pursuit of peace and justice and determined that international cooperation should be deepened to address common challenges around the world. We are globalist in our stance and Interdisciplinary in our analysis of challenges.

COVID-19 and the economic crisis it provokes brings into stark relief the scale and kinds of crises that this generation of Fletcher students will face, whatever career paths they pursue. Inequality and global health are compounded by crises still to come—climate change, nuclear proliferation, and cyber threats. Resilience, flexibility, analytical capability, and a strong network are attributes traditionally associated with Fletcher graduates. Strengthening teaching about these crises across all our fields of study and bolstering hard skills will prepare students further.

The beginning of this decade focused on global inequality, rising conflict, the end of an era of globalization, and the need to decarbonize. Now, the recovery from the pandemic will push the world onto a trajectory that helps us to thrive through this decade and beyond—or not. Our students, who will go into global business and finance, into international organizations and civil society, or into government as diplomats across departments, are at the front line of society’s success.

How does Fletcher prepare students to become leaders equipped to manage crises and global risk?

Solutions to today’s crises all require international cooperation; however, the current mechanisms for that are under extraordinary stress. Fletcher prepares students for international careers in all sectors while working to design and build the new mechanisms for international cooperation—on peace and security, health and well-being, and economic prosperity.

We have added new courses, and provide access to a global faculty remotely as well as in-person, and we will be bringing the outside world into our curriculum, non and extra curricula activities. We are propelling the conversation on decolonizing international relations with a third conference in a series this fall. We have worked on simulations as a critical part of strategic skill development, and we’ll expand and develop that through remote instruction.

How are policy-making mechanisms changing to adapt to a post-pandemic world?

Our curriculum and our location in New York City are ideal for anyone who wishes to be at the center of the world economy. Our location affords our students a wealth of internship opportunities, ranging from the United Nations and international nonprofit organizations to international think tanks and Wall Street.

The pandemic has shown how brittle some global systems are. Policy-making starts with asking the right questions, and that requires Interdisciplinary approaches and a global perspective.

At Fletcher, we believe we need scaffolding and scholarship. Scaffolding should be erected around the current mechanisms of international coordination and policy-making. How do we continue to support the global health regulations needed to allow countries to cooperate in managing a pandemic? How do we work together in responding to the highly synchronized, global economic downturn we experience as a result of the pandemic?

Beyond the scaffolding, what international economic or financial cooperation do we need for an era of global crises? Is it time for a new Bretton Woods moment? How do we manage and govern one-health policy globally? At Fletcher, we are asking and working on these questions.

As a senior advisor at the White House, you were a major player in negotiating the U.S.–China climate accord, paving the way for the Paris Agreement in 2016. What skills did you draw on that are taught at The Fletcher School?

Over the years, I often found myself referring to concepts that we teach at The Fletcher School, such as pursuit of mutual gain and identifying the zone of possible agreement. Originally, as a graduate student, and now, as a professor, over the years I have built up expertise about China’s economic development and global climate change policy. My interdisciplinary background was immensely useful in both the White House and the State Department.

At Fletcher, we endeavor to prepare the next generation of leaders to address the world’s most complex challenges. As a professor, I focus on incorporating experiential learning into our students’ curricula by focusing on real-world problems in our everyday studies. Additionally, each year I lead a delegation of students to the international climate negotiations, where they observe and participate in the global negotiations firsthand.

You’re the co-director of Fletcher’s Center for International Environment and Resource Policy and the director of the Climate Policy Lab. Climate change is considered one of the “toughest global challenges”; how does Fletcher prepare students to tackle these issues?

The fact that Fletcher has one of the oldest centers focusing on climate, energy, and the environment shows that the school recognized their importance long before they became the hot-button issues they are today. The work we do here is crucial because the world hasn’t yet figured out how to reconcile economic growth and development with environmental protection. The fate of the planet is at stake.

Thanks to Fletcher’s flexible curriculum, students can approach these challenges from different perspectives to develop an interdisciplinary, bespoke expertise. Whether via a national security lens, with a legal eye, or from a business or human security angle, we’re preparing students to tackle issues from a variety of perspectives. When graduates leave Fletcher, they go into the private sector, government roles, the World Bank, consulting firms, the United Nations, politics, NGOs—you name it—and they take their highly customized knowledge and capabilities with them.

What keeps you coming back to the table?

One of the most rewarding aspects of teaching Fletcher students is seeing them apply what they learn in the classroom to the challenging situations they face in the world. Each year, I am a little prouder because I can see how our growing network of alumni is doing so much good in the world.

I’m also excited that The Fletcher School will be welcoming our new dean on October 1st. Rachel Kyte will be Fletcher’s first female dean, and she comes to us with a wealth of experience, most recently as the CEO and special representative of the UN Secretary General for Sustainable Energy for All. There, she led UN efforts toward greater access to clean, affordable energy as part of its action on climate change and sustainable development. We’re also very proud that our new dean is a graduate of The Fletcher School’s Global Master of Arts Program.

Dyan Mazurana, associate research professor and co-director of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy’s Gender Analysis in International Studies and Women’s Leadership Program, is an expert in gender-based crimes committed during armed conflict. She consults with a number of governments, UN agencies, and nongovernmental organizations on how to tackle these tough problems.

You direct The Fletcher School’s Gender Analysis in International Studies program. Why is it important to incorporate gender into an international affairs education?

As I tell my students, “Anytime humans are involved, it’s always deeply gendered.” Fletcher students learn that gender plays a role in everything from refugee crises, peace operations, and international justice to the consequences of man-made crises and natural disasters.

I’m proud to say that Fletcher’s strong commitment to including gender analysis in its programming has made it one of the leading schools to study gender and international affairs at the master’s and doctoral levels. These courses are popular among male and female students.

To top it off, we’re not only “walking the walk” but “talking the talk.” Fletcher has among the highest percentages of women faculty in tenure and tenure-track positions and other senior-level faculty positions, of the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs member schools.

In addition to teaching, you’re also an active researcher, most recently looking at sexual harassment and assault among humanitarian aid workers. Tell us about your findings.

We looked at over two thousand surveys of aid workers and interviewed many who were survivors of sexual harassment and assault. We thought we’d find that most of those who were assaulting workers were members of armed groups or civilians in lawless areas. In truth, however, it was mostly the aid workers’ own colleagues, often men in supervisory positions or acting as security officers, and carried out in aid workers’ compounds. Women were the primary targets, but LGBTQ workers were also vulnerable.

As with recent reports of sexual harassment and assault in the entertainment industry, aid workers who tried to report these incidents often faced retaliation. In most cases, internal reporting results in the complaint crossing the desk of the upper-level person who perpetrated it or those who support him.

However, international media coverage of our findings has helped bring increased pressure on governmental agencies and the United Nations to do more to protect aid workers by strengthening reporting and investigation of sexual harassment and assault. That gives me hope.

Which students thrive at The Fletcher School?

Our students, despite hearing about these problems, are not deterred from their commitment to help make the world a better, safer place. They’re not shrinking violets. Some students make a career choice that will take them to trying environments, but we make sure they’re equipped with the skills needed to address global challenges across the sectors of government, business, and civil society. Students come to Fletcher first and foremost to learn, then to do. Fletcher attracts people of action, and we have a track record for graduating those who go on to positively impact the world. It is extremely rewarding and exciting to watch our graduates tackle new and important challenges each year.

Alnoor Ebrahim joined The Fletcher School in 2016 as a professor of Management, and teaches courses on Leadership, International Business Strategy, and Managing NGOs and Social Enterprises. Ebrahim has shared his expertise with the NGO Leaders Forum, the G8 and other major groups, and penned the award-winning book, “NGOs and Organizational Change: Discourse, Reporting, and Learning.” He received a Ph.D. in Environmental Planning and Management from Stanford University’s School of Engineering and has worked on projects with The World Bank, ActionAid International, and many leading organizations throughout his career.

You have a formidable background in academia and have also worked with the NGO Leaders Forum and a working group established by the G8. How has this experience informed your work as a professor at a school of international affairs?

So that my research can help tackle critical international issues, I am constantly engaging with global leaders on the challenges they face. The NGO Leaders Forum was a gathering of chief executive officers of the largest humanitarian development organizations based in the United States. I worked with a team to provide leaders with insights from research and policy that could help inform their discussions on core management challenges—such as how to design governance, impact measurement, and accountability.

I also served on an impact measurement working group established by the G8 to provide guidance to impact investors on how to measure the social impacts of their investments. I draw on these experiences in the classroom, as they pose real-world challenges, help inform new research, and provide networks for student projects and career connections.

Fletcher’s curriculum offers a strong multidisciplinary approach to international affairs. How does this broad view of today’s global landscape prepare students for long-lasting careers in a variety of sectors?

Today’s complex international problems—such as climate change, poverty, human rights, security, and sustainable development—require an ability to work across disciplines. At The Fletcher School, we prepare students to work across the boundaries of economics, law, business, and diplomacy in order to craft integrative solutions. Whether public policy, diplomacy, or another field, careers today require an ability to see the big picture and to galvanize diverse stakeholder groups toward a shared purpose.

The business world is accustomed to periods of uncertainty. How do you train students to be nimble and adaptive regardless of their chosen career path?

Uncertainty in the global economy has many roots—political instability, security and cyber threats, and risks to our food supply from climate change. This means we must train students to analyze these broader underlying forces, develop public policies that can address them, and lead organizations that can anticipate and manage them. This is true not only of careers in business but also in government and in civil society.

My courses teach students that the central task of leadership is to frame the challenges in a way that motivates collective problem-solving. The solutions to complex problems will rarely come from the top but are almost always jointly discovered.

Michele L. Malvesti (F ’00 and PhD ’02) returned to her alma mater in January 2016 as a full-time Professor of Practice in International Security. Prior to enrolling as a student 18 years ago, she worked as a terrorism analyst in the intelligence community, and after receiving her Doctor of Philosophy and a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy, Malvesti went directly to the White House, where she served in the Office for Combating Terrorism on the National Security Council staff for more than five years.

How have your experiences on the National Security Council staff and in the intelligence community prepared you for the world of academia?

While working in Washington, I acquired collaborative, policy-specific skills for addressing global challenges. Fletcher faculty members like to fuse knowledge with practice in the classroom, so I often incorporate case studies and real-world examples from my time in government throughout my courses. At Fletcher, we’re preparing students to define pressing global problems and use interdisciplinary approaches to help solve them. If I can help students expand their problem-solving toolkit and adapt it to an increasingly complex, unpredictable world, then I have helped achieve our goal.

Fletcher class enrollment is split 50% male and female. You teach courses on National Security Decision-Making and International Cyber Conflict, and you also teach a course titled “Women in National Security.” How do you take your experiences of being a woman in this field and translate them into the classroom?

As with other members of the Fletcher community, I have been fortunate to work in organizations that were team-oriented, had a shared sense of mission, and fostered trust under conditions of high stress. My national security colleagues valued those teammates who were committed to duty and excellence—regardless of gender. That said, women continue to encounter situational and institutional obstacles in this field, and I am dedicated to fostering an honest dialogue on these very real challenges. One of the issues we tackle as a team in that particular course is the importance of valuing and leveraging diversity—in worldview, nationalities, cultures, and, yes, gender—in exercising leadership and effecting change. This approach aligns with the Fletcher School’s mission of preparing the world’s leaders.

As a Fletcher graduate and now professor, what aspects of the Fletcher community do you value, and what advice would you have for recent graduates?

With students and faculty from more than 70 countries, we often refer to The Fletcher School as a “mini UN.” We have a culturally rich and intellectually diverse student body and faculty, and I value the unique perspectives that each individual brings to learning inside and outside our classrooms. The Fletcher community is defined by a shared commitment to creating positive global impact, so my advice to our graduates is to continue making a difference in your chosen field, remain open to working in new areas based on changing contexts, and never, ever give up.

For more than 80 years, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, one of the world’s top ranked graduate schools for international affairs, has prepared the world’s leaders to be innovative problem solvers. Admiral James Stavridis assumed the deanship after an extraordinary career in the U.S. Navy, including a four-year term as Supreme Allied Commander at NATO. He discusses the shifting landscape of international affairs and the School’s five-year strategic plan to address new global challenges.

Why did The Fletcher School need a new strategic plan?

Regular assessment and fine-tuning is essential for any organization to remain relevant, especially in today’s fast-changing global environment. The new strategic plan will ensure that The Fletcher School continues to make good on its promise to deliver the very best professional education and scholarship on international affairs. Our collaborative approach to strategic planning put a core philosophy into practice—that we are smarter and stronger together.

How has the world of international affairs changed since you studied at Fletcher and how will the School respond?

Fletcher graduates have always had the advantage of seeing the world through multiple lenses—how economics, politics, history, business, and law intersect and contribute to peace and prosperity. Renowned economist and alumnus Charles Dallara refers to this unique multidisciplinary training as the “Fletcher prism.”

I would say that interdisciplinary work is deepening rather than changing. It used to be that government drove innovation through its defense and science laboratories. Today, most of the cutting-edge work is being done in the private sector—not only in IT, but also in clean energy, agriculture and biology. Cross-sector work has become essential.

But to be effective, 21st century leaders need both knowledge and the professional skills to get things done, and those skills are changing particularly in the area of communications.

What improvements is the School planning in the area of communications?

We have already enacted many of them and are seeing the impact of a school-wide commitment to outreach, with a 50% growth in engagement with the press and 200% increase in video views.

For starters, we have added communications courses taught by professional print and television journalists and new co-curricular programming such as the TED-styled “Fletcher Ideas Exchange.”

Expanding Fletcher’s reach and influence in the D.C. area, we have forged a new partnership with the Atlantic Council, which will include scholarly exchanges, panels, and workshops that resonate throughout the policy community and in the press.

We also see great potential in the Edward R. Murrow Center and are raising funds to reposition it as a global hub for thoughtful analysis and reporting on international issues.

In addition, we have completed construction on a campus-based television studio to enable Fletcher faculty and experts to participate in interviews with news outlets around the world.

These efforts will not only create opportunities for 21st century skills-building but also move Fletcher scholarship into the real world, where it will have the biggest impact.

Diplomacy. Negotiation. A commitment to security—human, economic, political, military. These are the argot of the trade for just about any statesman or practitioner of diplomacy, politics, and business. Dr. Mohamad ElBaradei will tell you this without hesitation. Following a 50-year career in the practical realm of diplomacy and global affairs, the director general emeritus of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and co-recipient of the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize will join The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy as its first Nobel-Laureate-in-Residence. Dr. ElBaradei discusses this new chapter in helping to prepare future leaders at the oldest graduate-only institution of international affairs in the U.S.

How have your experiences at the IAEA and your role in the transition in Egypt prepared you for the world of academia? What lessons do you hope Fletcher students will take with them into their careers?

Both at the UN and the IAEA, I have seen how the world operates, particularly in terms of global security, global equity, the correlation between the two, and how diplomacy is put to practice. Looking at the situation in Egypt and everywhere else, you come to realize that we need a change of mindset, particularly now. Because of the pace and scope of interconnectedness we are experiencing, the concept of security has changed and global security has become indivisible: insecurity anywhere is insecurity everywhere. And it is no longer just military power. It’s energy efficiency, it’s climate change, it’s the stability of financial markets, but above all it’s the universal respect for human dignity and human rights.

What attracted you to Fletcher and what do you hope to gain from your experience as Nobel-Laureate-in-Residence?

For our security, we have to establish global systems based on equity and compassion. The reality of our world today makes it imperative that we examine issues like increasing inequality polarization and insecurity. All this needs to be probed in an intellectually rigorous setting with the hope to develop a paradigm suitable for the 21st century. It’s time to take a step back and to reflect, to interact with students and faculty, and to be immersed in a culture of learning. The global student body and its diversity of backgrounds is one of the aspects that attracted me to Fletcher.

What career advice do you have for new Fletcher graduates?

Go after what you think you would love to do. Wherever you go from here—whether in finance, diplomatic or other government service, or at an NGO working on human rights and development—everything you do will be a contribution to a more humane and secure world. Also, in any field that you enter now, you will need to hone your negotiating skills. Negotiation doesn’t happen in a vacuum, though; it has to be within a framework of law and norms and looked at from multiple perspectives. The skills that Fletcher’s multidisciplinary education offers have valuable and broad applications in a wide range of careers. The key is to love what you do and always follow your moral compass.