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OSU School of Global Studies offers a unique master's degree in public diplomacy

Tuesday, September 29, 2020

America's heartland may seem like an unlikely place to study public diplomacy and global communication. However, the OSU School of Global Studies offers one of the few programs in the country where students can gain the knowledge and expertise to conduct global communications program and work in the U.S. diplomatic corps.  The program's success is due primarily to a collection of Oklahoma State University (OSU) communications professors with deep ties to the profession, who came together at OSU over the past few years.

 Public Diplomacy – government-sponsored communications that aim to inform and influence foreign publics about a nation's strategic objectives – is a burgeoning interdisciplinary field that borrows from international relations, communications, public relations, media, and branding.  Students studying in public diplomacy may work for the U.S. State Department, foreign embassies overseas, multinational corporations, and international non-governmental organizations (NGO's).

 The OSU School of Global Studies has brought together leading public diplomacy scholars, professionals, and diplomats to teach, guest lecture, and supervise research with M.S. students.  Dr. Jami Fullerton and Dean Randy Kluver, who have written five books between them and have published countless academic articles on the topic, anchor the program.  Dr. Skye Cooley, a well-known expert on global media and disinformation and assistant professor in the School of Media and Strategic Communication, also works with public diplomacy students.  Other scholars from the government, such as Dr. Shawn Powers, former director of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, and from academes, such as Dr. Guy Golan, a premier public diplomacy scholar and public relations professor now at Texas Christian University, are teaching remote online courses in the program. Additionally, active foreign service officers and former diplomats frequently lecture and host workshops with public diplomacy students.

"This is a cool program because we have working professionals teaching us important and current issues," said public diplomacy student Maddy Sheriff from Prosper, Texas.  "It is super interesting learning about topics that I never imagined knowing.  Our instructors are working in the government and have personal connections with diplomats worldwide."

The MS in Global Studies with a Public Diplomacy emphasis can be completed in 18-24 months. It includes 30 hours of coursework and a 3-hour capstone experience, which typically involves an overseas internship.  OSU Global Studies students have been placed as interns in the U.S. State Department in Washington and U.S. Embassies abroad, among other posts. To learn more about the program, contact program coordinator Cara Eubanks at cara.menasco@okstate.edu or come by the Wes Watkins Center room 201.

MEDIA CONTACT: Lyn Putnam | School of Global Studies and Partnerships | 405.744.5496 | lyn.putnam@okstate.edu

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