The Global Affairs Major

The Global Affairs major gives students multidisciplinary training to understand and address challenges that we confront as concerned citizens of the world. By their nature, these challenges demand fluency in the approaches and frameworks from multiple disciplines—including economics, history, and political science—as well as an ability to translate between scholarship and practice.

Students must successfully complete eight introductory requirements before they can declare the global affairs major. The Yale College Programs of Study contains details of all introductory and major requirements.

The major requirements have been updated and will apply to students entering the major during the fall of 2025 and after; students accepted into the major before fall 2025 must fulfill the requirements that were in place at the time of their acceptance.

Advanced global affairs majors have options unique to their major: in addition to their senior thesis, they may complete a senior thesis or a capstone course, a unique, group-based policy project, supervised by a faculty member.

Global Health Studies Multidisciplinary Academic Program

The Global Health Studies Multidisciplinary Academic Program (GHS MAP) offers students at Yale College the opportunity to engage critically and analytically in global health from multiple disciplinary approaches and perspectives. The GHS MAP supports students in developing and balancing an appreciation for biomedical and technical issues related to diseases and their treatment and prevention, with an understanding of the historical, social, economic, and political concerns that are implicated in how health is determined and experienced in the twenty-first century.

The program also exposes students to relevant research methodologies to develop their understanding of how knowledge in global health is constructed and how these approaches could inform their academic pursuits and future careers. For more information, visit https://jackson.yale.edu/academics/global-health-studies. 

Human Rights Certificate program

The Jackson School’s certificate program in human rights for current Yale undergraduates offers an interdisciplinary exploration of human rights, providing students with the analytical, conceptual, and practical skills essential for in-depth study. There are two versions of the certificate: one that is nonselective and uncapped and a second that is intensive and selective.

The Certificate in Human Rights (uncapped/nonselective) is open to all Yale undergraduates and will require the specific introductory course (GLBL 3102, Introduction to Human Rights: Human Rights in a Turbulent World), plus four elective courses in human rights. These electives are tagged in Yale Course Search with the human rights elective attribute. The electives will be categorized as being either domestic (YC Human Rights Domestic) or international (YC Human Rights International) as an area of study; students will be required to take at least one of each area of study in the four electives that they take. Students have the option to add the human rights certificate in Yale Hub.

Undergraduate Summer Fellowships

Many Jackson undergraduates spend their summers abroad. The school provides fellowships for student projects including internships and independent research projects related to global affairs. For more information, visit https://jackson.yale.edu/academics/the-global-affairs-major/summer-experience as well as https://jackson.yale.edu/academics/the-global-affairs-major/undergraduate-research.

Five-Year B.A.-B.S./M.P.P. Program

The B.A.-B.S./M.P.P. degree program in global affairs offers Yale College students interested in the field of global affairs the opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree from Yale College and an M.P.P. degree from the Jackson School of Global Affairs in a five-year joint program.

Undergraduate Requirements In their four years of Yale College enrollment, students complete a standard Yale College major. So long as students are on track to complete their major and degree requirements, as stipulated by Yale College, students may count up to 4 Jackson School–approved course credits toward their M.P.P. degree. To be eligible for the fifth year of the B.A.-B.S./M.P.P. program, students must be officially awarded their undergraduate B.A. or B.S. degree by the end of the spring semester preceding the fifth year. Students who have not completed all degree requirements for the B.A. or B.S. will not be able to enroll in the fifth year of the B.A.-B.S./M.P.P. program and receive financial aid until the undergraduate degree is posted to their academic transcript.

Master’s Program Requirements Students accepted into the five-year program must complete a total of 12 course credits, including Jackson's core courses, over the course of their fourth and fifth years. At least two of those core courses must be taken during the senior year at Yale College. It is also required that students demonstrate proficiency in a modern language (L4) and complete an approved summer internship or a project. Students must maintain a grade average of High Pass (HP) with at least two Honors (H) grades. All students must complete Jackson’s noncredit leadership and ethics training workshop. During the fifth year, students are in full-time residence at the Jackson School and must complete at least 8 course credits. All students must meet with the assistant dean for graduate education to map out their curriculum. See Master in Public Policy in Global Affairs section for additional details on degree requirements.