Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy


The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy is the graduate school for international relations at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, United States.
Fletcher is one of America's oldest graduate schools of international relations. Each fall, Fletcher admits an average of 330 students to its various programs, of whom 40 percent are international students and around a quarter are U.S. minorities.

History

The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy was founded in 1933 with the bequest of Austin Barclay Fletcher, who left over $3 million to Tufts University upon his death in 1923. A third of these funds were dedicated “for the establishment and maintenance of a School of Law and Diplomacy, to be known as The Fletcher School of Law or "The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy." Fletcher envisioned "a school to prepare people for diplomatic service and to teach such matters as they come... within it...a fundamental and thorough knowledge of the principles of international law upon which diplomacy is founded... also a knowledge of many things of a geographic and economic nature which affect relations between nations."
The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy thereafter opened in 1933 under the joint administration of Harvard University and Tufts College. One of the first buildings acquired was Goddard Hall, which was converted into a library. Tufts College assumed exclusive responsibility for the administration of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in 1935. Between 1963 and 1965, Mugar Hall was constructed and later renovated in 2016 to serve the expanding needs of Fletcher.
Since 2020, the school has de-emphasized its "Law and Diplomacy" mandate. Tufts University usually refers to it as "the Fletcher School." Its academic focus is weighted to climate activism and social justice. Only about one-third of graduates go on to government diplomacy roles.

Academics

On its campus in Medford, Massachusetts, the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy offers multi-disciplinary instruction in international affairs through several master's degree programs and a Ph.D. program. Regardless of the degree program in which they are enrolled, students have the opportunity to select from among more than 170 courses across three divisions: International Law and Organization ; Diplomacy, History and Politics ; and Economics and International Business.
The school has eleven degree programs: its flagship two-year Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy ; a one-year Master of Arts for mid-career professionals; a one-year, mid-career Master of Arts that combines online and residential learning; a Ph.D. program; a Master of International Business ; a Master of Global Business Administration, an online program combining the study of business with international affairs; and a Master of Laws in International Law. Additionally, there are several joint and dual degree and certificate programs.
Fletcher students complete a capstone project during their final year for students in 2-year programs or their final semester for students in 1-year programs. The capstone project is expected to demonstrate scholarly and/or professional analysis, and it acts as an opportunity for students to draw on their methodological, analytical, and substantive learning in a comprehensive written study. In consultation with faculty advisors, the specific form of the final project can differ widely.
The school's Global Master of Arts Program is unique amongst international relations degrees. The year-long program combines three 2-week residencies with instruction covering topics such as negotiation, international business and economic law, international trade, economics and politics from a global perspective.

Programs of study

  • Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy
  • Master in Global Affairs
  • Master of International Business
  • Master of Laws in International Law
  • Master of Arts in international relations, a 1-year residential program
  • Master of Arts in international relations, via the Global Master of Arts Program, a 1-year hybrid residential/internet-mediated program
  • Master of Arts in Humanitarian Assistance, offered jointly with the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University
  • Master of Arts in Transatlantic Affairs, offered jointly with the College of Europe
  • Master of Science in Cybersecurity and Public Policy, offered jointly with the School of Engineering at Tufts University
  • Master of Global Business Administration, a 16-24 month online degree program
  • Global Master of Arts Program, a hybrid three 2-week residencies program for mid-senior career professionals
  • Doctor of Philosophy in International Relations
  • Doctor of Philosophy in Economics and Public Policy, offered jointly with the Tufts University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

    Research

Fletcher has a number of research centers and institutes, including:
  • The Center for International Environment and Resource Policy conducts interdisciplinary and policy-relevant research on pressing environmental issues.
  • The Edward R. Murrow Center of Public Diplomacy was established in memory of the journalist and former head of the United States Information Agency.
  • The Fares Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies organizes public lectures, conferences, and roundtables to create a greater understanding of the region and its challenges.
  • The Hitachi Center for Technology and International Affairs focuses on the management of innovation and technological change and the advancement of economic and financial integration.
  • The Institute for Business in the Global Context conducts research and organizes interdisciplinary conferences on contemporary issues in international business.
  • The Institute for Human Security promotes research and education at the intersection between humanitarianism, development, human rights, and conflict resolution.
  • The International Security Studies Program is a distinct field of study within the multidisciplinary curriculum of The Fletcher School.
  • The Russia and Eurasia Program is dedicated to teaching and research on a broad range of historical and contemporary issues related to Russia, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Caucasus.
  • The World Peace Foundation, provides intellectual leadership on issues of peace, justice, and security of foreign parties, and provides financial support only for projects that it has initiated itself.

    Affiliated programs

  • The Center for South Asian and Indian Ocean Studies
  • The Global Development and Environmental Institute
  • Refugees and Forced Migration Program

    International collaboration

Fletcher is an active member of the University of the Arctic. UArctic is an international cooperative network based in the Circumpolar Arctic region, consisting of more than 200 universities, colleges, and other organizations with an interest in promoting education and research in the Arctic region.

Publications

  • The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, a student-managed foreign policy journal, founded in 1975 and published biannually.
  • Fletcher Security Review, an online and print journal focused on security studies.
  • PRAXIS: The Fletcher Journal of Human Security, an annual peer-reviewed academic journal covering human security produced in collaboration with Fletcher's Institute for Human Security. It was established in 1981. In 2012 it became an online-only journal. The journal covers a different theme each year. It is produced by Fletcher students in coordination with the school's Institute for Human Security.

    Faculty

The Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy employs more than 30 full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty as well as a variety of adjunct and visiting professors, and benefits from faculty at partner schools within Tufts, including the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. The full-time Fletcher faculty includes economists, international law theorists, diplomats, historians, and political scientists who hold the academic ranks of professor, associate professor, assistant professor, and lecturer. All faculty members hold terminal degrees in their respective fields. In 2013, the faculty to student ratio in Medford was 1:8.6.

Notable faculty