Social and behavioral sciences - Political and international studies

In this program, you’ll learn how contemporary tactics of war and security threats impact all aspects of life. You’ll also gain insight into the strategies of irregular warfare, great power competition and the ways gray-zone warfare impacts modern conflict. Elements of irregular warfare you’ll explore include:

• Cyber and kinetic action
• Economic statecraft
• Information warfare
• Insurgency and counterinsurgency
• Narrative warfare
• Proxy wars
• Terrorism
• Weaponized interdependence

You’ll graduate equipped to drive policy-oriented solutions to conflicts in regional, national and international contexts. Additionally, an interdisciplinary focus will prepare you for roles in a complicated security environment characterized by powerful nations who want to compete, but avoid full-scale war.

The skills you’ll develop

This irregular warfare master’s concentration will build your knowledge of the economic, political, informational and technological tools of global competition. You’ll also gain insight into the complexities of responding to conflict with strength while maintaining peace. Upon completing the program, you’ll be equipped to confront security challenges domestically and abroad.

Your courses will combine theory and practical application to build a comprehensive understanding of modern conflict. Additionally, you’ll gain a set of transferable skills, such as:

• Conflict analysis and resolution
• Cultural competence
• Critical and strategic thinking
• Narrative communication in the context of irregular warfare
• Research and writing

Choosing the right global security master’s program for you

This program offers the flexibility to align your studies with your career goals by choosing from three tracks:

• Irregular warfare concentration: Emphasizes nontraditional conflict, insurgency, terrorism and counterterrorism. Ideal for military professionals, veterans, security analysts and those working in national defense, intelligence or international conflict response.
• Global security (general track): Presents a broad, interdisciplinary approach to global conflict, cooperation and security. Ideal for careers in diplomacy, humanitarian work, international organizations, journalism and public policy.
• Cybersecurity concentration: Focuses on cyber threats, digital infrastructure and the intersection of technology and security policy. Ideal for careers in intelligence, cybersecurity policy, government agencies, defense contracting and tech-sector security roles.

In this program, you’ll gain the foundational knowledge and practical skills for impactful global health work. Through coursework that engages global health partners and the applied internship, you’ll engage with critical health issues, including ONE Health, nutrition, maternal and child health, and infectious disease. You’ll also develop cross-cutting competencies in epidemiology, research design, monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL), crafting policy briefs, qualitative data analysis and more. The program emphasizes developing sustainable, culturally appropriate solutions and cultivating the ability to critically assess programs and research within diverse global contexts.

What can you do with a master’s in global health?

You’ll graduate well-positioned for careers across a variety of sectors, including roles with governmental and policy agencies, domestic and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), global research initiatives and innovative private-sector health companies. You may:

• Use this degree as a launchpad into new career paths focused on health equity, global health research or community-based interventions.
• Continue working in your current organization with the goal to advance into a new role.
• Combine what you learn in this program with previous work to pivot into consulting.

By earning this degree, you can bring cultural insight and analytical rigor to the work of improving lives worldwide — whether advancing policy, evaluating programs, managing health initiatives or conducting global health research.

Who’s a good candidate for this program?

Ideal global health master’s candidates for the global health master’s program are intellectually curious and motivated by a desire to address the root causes of global health inequities. This program aligns with your interests if you’re eager to explore not only the physical aspects of disease, but also the social, cultural, historical and evolutionary factors that influence health. You’re also an excellent fit if you seek to develop new frameworks and skills to approach health challenges in dynamic and context-specific ways. 

The program’s flexibility and relevance support established professionals and career changers who want to bring a more holistic perspective to health and well-being. You may currently be working in health care, public health, nonprofit, governmental or academic settings — or may be seeking a career shift into the global health field. In this program, you can build upon your professional experience or learn how to drive meaningful change if your background is unrelated.

This program prepares students for careers in a broad range of international affairs fields, while also building character-driven leadership skills to ensure success. You’ll learn directly from our all-practitioner faculty of distinguished leaders who have extensive experience working in the fields they teach. Our faculty includes numerous current and former ambassadors, generals, admirals, U.N. officials, congressional staff, NGO leaders and more.

Working in small classes, engaged and accessible professors share insights into current challenges in critical regions around the globe. Key learning areas include diplomatic tradecraft, human rights, international negotiations, international law and many other subjects designed to prepare the next generation of character-driven leaders.

Gain hands-on international affairs experience

In this program, you’ll have ample opportunities for optional hands-on and experiential learning. One such opportunity is Washington Week in Washington D.C. During this in-person, weeklong experience, you’ll meet with a variety of professionals and institutions working on complex and high-profile foreign affairs challenges. This includes experts from USG agencies, international organizations, foreign embassies, think tanks and NGOs. You’ll also learn about pathways into rewarding careers.

Additional voluntary opportunities you can choose to participate in include:

• Collaboration with foreign students — Collaborate with students at ASU's partner universities abroad, including the American University Kyiv.
• Independent research — Earn degree credit while conducting research on an international affairs topic under the guidance of a faculty member.
• Internships — Earn degree credit while completing internships related to international affairs.  
• Study abroad — Earn degree credit while studying at foreign universities.
• Weekly Zoom sessions — Build relationships with professors and fellow students and delve deeper into course content and current affairs.

As an additional benefit, you can also access ASU’s Leadership, Diplomacy and National Security Lab.

Global cybersecurity addresses digital threats that impact national security, international aid efforts and private-sector groups around the world. In this program, you'll examine the challenges posed by various threat actors, from state-sponsored hackers to decentralized criminal networks. You’ll also explore how cyber strategy, policy and defence mechanisms evolve and respond.

Courses are taught by leading experts from ASU’s Center on the Future of War and D.C.-based think tank New America, including former U.S. Cyber Command leadership and internationally recognized scholars. Case studies and policy exercises are grounded in real-world scenarios. These depict current cybersecurity trends, legal frameworks and strategic decision-making at the high levels.

Throughout the program, you’ll learn to:

• Analyze global cyber threats, including infrastructure risks, cybercrime and digital espionage.
• Examine the roles of government, private industry and international actors in cybersecurity strategy.
• Navigate policy development, legal frameworks and ethical considerations in cyber defense.
• Understand deterrence, attribution and resiliency in response to evolving digital threats.

Choosing the right global security master’s program for you

This program offers the flexibility to align your studies with your career goals by choosing from three tracks:

• Cybersecurity concentration: Focuses on cyber threats, digital infrastructure and the intersection of technology and security policy.
  • Ideal for careers in intelligence, cybersecurity policy, government agencies, defense contracting and tech-sector security roles.
• Global security (general track): Presents a broad, interdisciplinary approach to global conflict, cooperation and security.
  • Ideal for careers in diplomacy, humanitarian work, international organizations, journalism and public policy.
• Irregular warfare concentration: Emphasizes nontraditional conflict, insurgency, terrorism and counterterrorism. Ideal for military professionals, veterans, security analysts and those working in national defense, intelligence or international conflict response.