MAIS Student Experience

CIS graduate students in class with Professor Mark Raymond, fall 2023

Students in the MAIS program study in the heart of the beautiful University of Oklahoma campus in Norman, a relaxed college town that's just a short drive from Oklahoma City. As a graduate student at OU, you will have access to visiting speakers, workshops, performances, art exhibitions, sporting events and festivals. You will also have the benefit of OU's libraries, fitness facilities, academic support services and even a Graduate Student Life Center for meeting, studying and graduate student community.

Brad Crofford '15

Analyst, U.S. Government Accountability Office

"The MA in International Studies at OU provided me a multi-disciplinary framework to understand and engage a world where complex problems—and complex solutions—rarely fit neatly in any one discipline. I had the opportunity to hear renowned speakers from the academic and the policy worlds, publish articles in student journals, complete internships in Washington, D.C. and Oklahoma, and participate in a variety of student organizations. The critical thinking, multi-disciplinary mindset, and global fluency that the MAIS hones has served me well in every role I have held since graduation, including in the private sector, the non-profit sector, and government."

MAIS Alumni Profiles

Wondering if MAIS will be the right fit for you?

Read on for insight from our alumni on the benefits of the program, the aspects they valued most, and how they apply the skills and knowledge they gained through MAIS in their current careers.

Jonathan Fitzgerald '21

MAIS Concentration: International Security
Current Position: Foreign Affairs Officer, U.S. Department of State

Tell us about what you're doing currently?
I am a Foreign Affairs Officer in the Office of Agricultural Policy at the U.S. Department of State. My office supports U.S. foreign policy objectives by developing strategies and solutions that enable nearly $200B in agricultural exports, millions of U.S. jobs, a sustainable agricultural landscape and science-based approaches to innovation. We also coordinate with the NSC and U.S. interagency on U.S. engagements on agricultural trade and food security issues in multinational forums like G-7, G-20, APEP, IPEF, ASEAN, the US/AU partnership, COP28, etc. In my specific role, I am the lead on public diplomacy/press work, and support G-7, G-20, Near Eastern and South/Central Asian Affairs.

What do you value most about your MAIS experience?
MAIS at OU taught me the value of empathy in diplomacy. In my office, we regularly meet with stakeholders and interlocutors who do not have a positive perception of the United States, or do not share our viewpoints on various issues or policies. Knowing and understanding the other's point of view is critical to ensuring any engagements are productive. Additionally, when having to craft public messaging for specific audiences, knowing their backgrounds and sensitivities is vital.

What are your plans for the future?
I want to remain at the U.S. State Department for the foreseeable future, and use my civil service foreign affairs position as an eventual bridge into the U.S. Foreign Service.

Ore-Oluwa Runsewe '21

MAIS Concentration: Global Economics

Current Position: Program Specialist, Rockefeller Institute for Policy Research and Public Affairs, West Virginia University

Tell us about what you're doing currently.
Currently, my role at the Institute requires me to work with other members of the Institute to plan, analyze and execute programs in partnership with state and local policymakers, agencies and nonprofits in West Virginia. I prepare internal reports and analyses for projects in the state and devise economic development projects such as market reports and economic impact analyses for cities and counties. I also liaise with nonprofits in West Virginia and other states requesting state and county data.

What do you value most about your MAIS experience?
The people I met in the program are what I value most. My cohort was a melting pot of different backgrounds and nationalities, usually sharing their perspectives on international studies. They allowed me, an international student from Nigeria, to adapt quickly. Most of us have remained friends after the program. I also need to mention the professors who showed us how to expand our worldview to recognize the nuances in international studies and their relevance and links to policymaking in the United States. The knowledge I gained from those nuances has served me well in my current role.

What are your plans for the future?
As policymakers worldwide shift their focus from fossil fuels to clean energy and sustainability in their efforts to fight climate change, there is an increasing clamor for the extraction of metals and minerals to produce green energy, mostly from African countries. Making sure that the externalities of these green energy value chains are not outsourced to the world's poor like they are for fossil fuels is something to ponder. Though I currently live and work in West Virginia, I am looking at an independent project exploring how policymakers should craft sustainable policies around Africa's natural resources.

Collin Douglas '17

MAIS Concentration: Global Security Studies

Current Position: J.D. Candidate / 2L, University of Georgia School of Law

Tell us about what you're doing currently.
I started at the University of Georgia School of Law in 2020 and I'm currently in my second year. I am Executive Articles Editor for the Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law Volume 51, and I am also on the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration moot team. Last summer I interned with The Documentation Center of Cambodia and helped put together a military training curriculum on international and Cambodian law on the protection of cultural heritage.

What do you value most about your MAIS experience?
My time in the MAIS program was pivotal for me because it gave me an opportunity to hone in on the issues and kinds of work I really enjoyed. Courses like Professor Raymond's International Relations Theory class and Professor Heinze's International Law class gave me a wonderful opportunity to get an up-close look at how international relations and international law are used in the real world. TA-ing was very beneficial to me not only because I made great friends, but also because it made me engage deeper with the material in order to effectively lead class discussions. My thesis work is probably what best prepared me for my career, because it helped me be able to articulate arguments, synthesize lots of research and data, and manage my time to create an acceptable end-product.

All of these skills and experiences have benefitted me in, and directly translated to, my time working in politics after I graduated and while in law school. The most valuable skill in any kind of work is to be prepared enough to have an opinion, or to give a helpful insight, and the MAIS program contributed greatly to this skill.

Julia Harth '20

MAIS Concentration: I was in the BA/MA program, and I also received a BA in Art History. My concentration was technically Economics and Development, but I really had more of a cultural/area studies focus. My thesis — with Dr. Dace Demir and Dr. Joshua Landis, plus Dr. Erin Duncan-O’Neill from Art History — was about developing cultural inclusivity in art museums.

Current Position: Graduate teaching associate and doctoral student in Arts Administration, Education and Policy, Ohio State University

Tell us about what you're doing currently.
I am currently a graduate teaching associate and doctoral student in the Arts Administration, Education and Policy Department at The Ohio State University in Columbus. My specialization is Museum Education and Administration, and I teach a class titled Visual Culture: Investigating Diversity and Social Justice. As a first-year student I’m still narrowing my research focus, but I am interested in exploring topics of critical multiculturalism, decolonial pedagogy, post-critical museology, and global museum governance.

What do you value most about your MAIS experience?
The MAIS program prepared me for this stage of my academic career in a practical sense, and it also sparked some of my research interests. Because of my time at OU, I started my PhD program with a clear understanding of the expectations and demands of academia.

One of the aspects I value most about the MAIS program was the support I received to pursue opportunities that excited me, even when they didn’t follow a traditional path. With the help of my advisor, Katie Watkins, I was able to incorporate programs in Israel, Mexico, and Spain, classes across campus, and multiple internships at art museums into my plan of study. The flexibility and encouragement to engage in interdisciplinary learning experiences was formative in terms of my perspectives, scholarship and professional trajectory. I am also grateful for the community that the MAIS program fostered; having such positive relationships with professors and strong friendships in my cohort was a highlight of my time at OU.

What are your plans for the future?
I’m not sure exactly what next steps will be, but I’m carrying all of this with me as I think about teaching and learning in the art museum!

Tasden Ingram '20

MAIS Concentration: U.S. Foreign Policy and National Security

Current Position: Analyst, Analytic Services (ANSER)

Tell us about what you're doing currently.
I work for an independent, public service institute called Analytic Services (ANSER) in northern Virginia as a government contractor. Currently I support the Office of the Secretary of Defense focusing on industrial policy and defense manufacturing where I develop briefs and reports, and assist with investment strategy and industry engagement across the U.S. to ensure we can produce and maintain all the systems used by the Department of Defense.

What do you value most about your MAIS experience?
One of the major benefits during my time at OU was the faculty. Their professionalism, experience with government and international organizations, research backgrounds, and willingness to speak with me about my ambitions had a significant impact on where I am today. As a young adult or recent graduate, entering the workforce no matter the job or company is intimidating. I received continuous support from the faculty at MAIS which encouraged me to pursue a career in government that's often unfamiliar to college students.

Stefanie Neumeier '17

MAIS Concentration: International Security and Area Studies (Europe)

Current Position: PhD candidate in Political Science and International Relations, University of Southern California

Tell us about what you're doing currently.
I'm currently a PhD candidate in Political Science and International Relations at USC. I just completed an M.S. in Applied Economics and Econometrics with a focus on Big Data. My broad research revolves around migration, refugee protection, human rights and social networks. I'm especially intrigued by how the for-profit sector has increasingly become engaged in the refugee protection space, and how this involvement affects the lives of minoritized groups such as asylum seekers and refugees. In my dissertation project, I use evidence from interviews and results from social network analysis and a survey experiment to investigate how public actors such as governments cooperate with the private for-profit sector to support and empower refugees in the U.S .and in Europe.

What was your focus in the MAIS program?
My concentration, I believe, was International Security and Area Studies. For the area, I focused on Europe in particular. When it comes to International Security, I took a lot of classes on International Relations/Security, National Security Leadership, and International Law. For my master's thesis, I conducted field work in Germany and interviewed German Congressional representatives, civil society organizations, and local politicians to explore the causal mechanisms behind the German migration policy making process during the 2016 European refugee crisis.

What do you value most about your MAIS experience?
What stands out most during my time in the MAIS program was the unparalleled support and mentorship from faculty and staff. Professors always had an open door and ear and cared deeply about their students. I was encouraged to pursue the research that I was interested in and was mentored through the process of doing field research in Germany, writing an entire master's thesis, and applying and presenting my research at academic conferences. In addition, the quality and standards of the MAIS coursework prepared me well for transitioning into a PhD program. I was able to become a well-rounded researcher given the multi-disciplinary nature of the MAIS.

Other accomplishments and projects:
I have completed a chapter publication with Prof. Mark Raymond (we're working on an updated version to be published again in 2022), presented at all major political science and IR conferences, and am currently working on two other collaborative projects. One is with a Covid-19 research team on how trust in different actors and institutions influences support for Covid-19 mitigation measures; the other is with a UK migration research team on how big events (exogenous shocks) change discourse networks on immigration and refugee protection in the UK.

Sarah Jane Short '18

MAIS Concentration: Economic Development

Current Position: International Relations and Foreign Direct Investment Coordinator, Oklahoma Department of Commerce

Tell us about what you're doing currently.
I currently perform a dual role. First of all, my team and I manage diplomatic interactions the State of Oklahoma works to maintain with our associated consulates, as well as international visiting dignitaries and guests. Additionally, I work to increase foreign direct investment into Oklahoma by engaging with international companies and trade organizations to negotiate business expansions from overseas to Oklahoma to create more and higher paying jobs for Oklahomans and to further strengthen the Oklahoma economy through diversification.

I started at Commerce only two months after my official completion of the MAIS program as Foreign Direct Investment Manager, the only internationally focused business recruiter for the team. My role expanded about a year ago when the Department of Commerce accepted the responsibility of the Office of International Protocol formerly housed under the Secretary of State, taking our Global focus beyond business development into a larger diplomatic role. (My colleague Christy Busch is the new Chief of Protocol, and a graduate of the undergrade IR program of OU. It is also fun to mention that the third and final member of the Global team at Commerce, Jesse Garcia who is the International Trade Specialist, is an OU IR undergrad alumni as well!)

What do you value most about your MAIS experience?
My role requires knowledge of the international system, diplomacy, and the functions related to global economics and trade. These were all key points of education in the MAIS program at OU, and I use what I learned in these courses every day. Perhaps most importantly, the research skills I developed in the program have been particularly invaluable because global relations and international commerce is so particular to every circumstance, and always changing. The economics and global relations education I received while in the program has served not only to form a framework of understanding for the field itself, but how to advance that understanding in a constantly changing world through more acute research of particular interests (usually depending on which countries have the most interesting economic, trade, and policy changes that may affect foreign direct investment opportunities for Oklahoma, or which dignitaries are visiting or hosting Oklahoma). This also necessitates staying up to date on important global trends and events worldwide (we never know which country may surprise us with a visit or an opportunity, and I am very fortunate to work with a team of international news lovers who keep us in the loop!) This means not only knowing how to research information, but how to determine what information is most significant and why.

Finally, I travel worldwide representing Oklahoma Commerce, often on my own, so the travel abroad experience required by the program has been vital for me to perform my job well. When a large delegation travels internationally representing Oklahoma, my previous experience helps me guide colleagues who have rarely traveled abroad, and to better assist international guests who are visiting the U.S. often for the first time.