Educating the new diplomat at Fletcher

An innovative new graduate program will partner the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy with the Department of Defense to train professionals in the public sector.

The program, known as GMAP 2, is an expansion of the three-year-old Global Masters of Arts Program (GMAP). An intensive 12-month program, GMAP 2 is designed to give professionals with real-world experience a more complete understanding of international relations.

GMAP 2 will differ from its predecessor through its focus on the public sector. The programs students will be mainly composed of professionals from American and foreign governments, as well as from businesses dealing with governments. GMAP 1 was more focused on the private sector, the United Nations, and non-government organizations.

The partnership with the Defense Department will allow the agency to select some of its employees to attend Fletcher, where their tuition of $47,500 will be reimbursed by the government. This is the first time the Defense Department has partnered with a university for a joint graduate program.

"We have a large community of people working in security co-operation with other countries of the world," Lieutenant General Tome Walters, director of the Defense Security Co-operation Agency, told the Financial Times. "And we had identified a need for more professional education, particularly for government civilian employees."

The first GMAP class will begin in July, and each of the three terms are composed of three weeks of reading, two weeks of residency, and 11 weeks of online studying. The first and last residencies take place at Fletcher, and the second one is held at an international site. Under first GMAP program, the international sites included Spain and Costa Rica.

Walters identified the program's structure, including the small amount of classroom time, to be crucial to creating military leaders who understand the current world environment. Students have "have no time for personal life -- they basically give it up for one year, dedicating themselves to their job and to the program," said Deborah Nutter, director and senior associate dean of the program.

Applicants are required to have at least eight years of professional experience and hold a mid- to high-level position with international responsibilities.

The GMAP program has accepted between 35 and 40 students each year, which are then broken into four- to six-member teams. Members of each group work and interact with one another throughout the term -- studying, completing assignments, and establishing relationships.

All major aspects of the international world order are covered in the GMAP program. The curriculum consists of eight courses, ranging from "International Politics" to "Transnational Social Issues," which enables students to procure a "360-degree view of the world," Nutter said.

Most assignments are group work projects, allowing to students to learn how to distribute responsibilities productively and efficiently.

GMAP's online component is necessitated by the global distribution of participants and their high-ranking positions which make it difficult for them to leave work for extended periods of time, Nutter said. The program's online component also allows students from different parts of the country or world to work together on assignments.

Nutter emphasized the fact that GMAP "is not distance learning." GMAP faculty attempt to reduce distance barriers through both phone and online contact with students.

The program has attracted a broad range of participants in its first three years, and Nutter said students so far have been pleased with its mix of long-distance, classroom, and field learning.