The Fletcher School at Tufts University

The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (doing business as The Fletcher School at Tufts University and The Fletcher School) is the graduate school of international affairs of Tufts University, in Medford, Massachusetts. The Fletcher School is one of America's oldest graduate schools of international relations and is well-ranked in its masters and doctoral programs.[3][4] As of 2017, the student body numbered around 230, of whom 36 percent were international students from 70 countries, and around a quarter were U.S. minorities. The school's alumni network numbers over 9,500 in 160 countries, and includes ambassadors, diplomats, foreign ministers, high-ranking military officers, heads of nonprofit organizations, and corporate executives.

The Fletcher School at Tufts University
TypePrivate
Established1933
Parent institution
Tufts University
DeanRachel Kyte
Academic staff
98[1]
Students700
Location
Medford
,
Massachusetts
,
U.S.
ColorsOrange and Black[2]
   
AffiliationsAPSIA
Websitefletcher.tufts.edu

History
Old logo of the school.
Goddard Hall, 1939

The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (legal name) 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 to a school of law and diplomacy. Fletcher envisioned "a school to prepare men for the diplomatic service and to teach such matters as come within the scope of foreign relations [which] embraces within it as a fundamental and thorough knowledge of the principles of international law upon which diplomacy is founded, although the profession of a diplomat carries with it also a knowledge of many things of a geographic and economic nature which affect relations between nations."[5]

The Fletcher School 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 in 1935. Between 1963 and 1965, Mugar Hall was constructed. In 2020, the institution rebranded itself as "Fletcher, The Graduate School of Global Affairs" while retaining "The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy" as the legal and official name. The re-branding of Fletcher proved to be controversial among students and alumni, which resulted in the school returning to its former branding.

Organization

On October 1, 2019, Rachel Kyte assumed the role of Dean of The Fletcher School becoming the thirteenth dean of the school. Formerly the chief executive officer of Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) and special representative of the UN secretary-general for Sustainable Energy for All, Kyte previously was the World Bank Group vice president and special envoy for climate change. Rachel Kyte completed the hybrid residence/online Global Master of Arts Program (GMAP) and has been a professor of practice at the school since 2014. Prior deans of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy have been ambassadors, senior military leaders including admirals, tenured professors, and career diplomats. Admiral James Stavridis, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe, served as dean from 2013 to 2018. He had earlier received his MALD and Ph.D from the school. Ambassador Stephen Bosworth, dean from 2001 to 2013, was a career diplomat, a three-time U.S. ambassador, and a former director of policy planning for the U.S. Department of State.

On its campus in Medford, Massachusetts, The Fletcher School offers multi-disciplinary instruction in international affairs through several master's degree programs and a Ph.D. program.[6] 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 (ILO); Diplomacy, History and Politics (DHP); and Economics and International Business (EIB).[7]

The Fletcher School 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, 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 (a Ph.D. in the case of historians, political scientists, and economists; and a J.D. in the case of lawyers). In 2013, the faculty to student ratio in Medford is 1:8.6.[8]

Academics
Fletcher rankings[9]
World rankings
Foreign Policy – Graduate Programs 6th

The school has seven degree programs: its flagship two-year Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy (MALD); a one-year Master of Arts for mid-career professionals; a one-year, mid-career Master of Arts (via the Global Master of Arts Program) that combines online and residential learning; a Ph.D. program; a Master of International Business (MIB); a Master of Global Business Administration, an online program combining the study of business with international affairs; and a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in International Law. Additionally, there are several joint and dual degree and certificate programs.

The school has been a leader and innovator in hybrid education (online combines with residency). Its master's degree for mid-career professionals through its Global Master of Arts Program (GMAP) is unique amongst international relations degrees. The year-long program combines three 2-week residencies (two at The Fletcher School and one at a different international location each year) with instruction covering topics such as negotiation, international business and economic law, international trade, economics and politics from a global perspective.[10]

Programs of study
  • Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy (MALD)
  • Master in Global Affairs (MGA)
  • Master of International Business
  • Master of Laws (LL.M.) 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 (GMAP), 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 Global Business Administration, a 16-24 month online degree program
  • 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[11]
Cabot Intercultural Center, 2010
Mugar Hall, 2009
Goddard Hall, 2010

Research

Fletcher has a number of research centers and institutes, including:

Affiliated programs
  • The Center for South Asian and Indian Ocean Studies[12]
  • The Global Development and Environmental Institute[13]
  • Refugees and Forced Migration Program[14]

Publications

Noteworthy faculty

Notable alumni
Main article: List of Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy alumni

The Fletcher School has over 9,500 alumni living around the world in 140 countries, including hundreds of sitting ambassadors, award-winning journalists and authors, global business executives and leaders of international peacekeeping, humanitarian and security initiatives.[18]

References
  1. "Find Fletcher People | Tufts Fletcher School". Fletcher.tufts.edu. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
  2. "Fonts and Palette | Tufts Fletcher School". Fletcher.tufts.edu. Archived from the original on December 23, 2015. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
  3. "The Best International Relations Master's Programs". Foreign Policy. January 3, 2012. Archived from the original on March 13, 2016. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
  4. "The Best International Relations Schools in the World". Foreign Policy. Foreign Policy Magazine. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  5. Russell E. Miller, Light on the Hill: A History of Tufts College 1852–1952 (Boston: Beacon Press, 1966), 571.
  6. "Academics | Fletcher". fletcher.tufts.edu. Archived from the original on May 23, 2017. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  7. Archived June 17, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  8. Archived October 23, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  9. Foreign Policy – Top 50 International Affairs Schools
  10. Anderson, Linda (June 11, 2001). "Programme with an international flavor: Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy: With students from 21 countries, GMAP aims to 'plug a gap that the MBA does not fill". Financial Times. p. 14.
  11. "Fletcher Degree Programs | Fletcher, The Graduate School of Global Affairs at Tufts University". fletcher.tufts.edu. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  12. "Center for South Asian and Indian Ocean Studies". ase.tufts.edu. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  13. "Global Development and Environment Institute". ase.tufts.edu. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  14. "Research Activities & Impact | Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy". nutrition.tufts.edu. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  15. "Articles". The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  16. "Fletcher Security Review". Fletcher Security Review. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  17. "Praxis, Fletcher Journal of Human Security | Fletcher". fletcher.tufts.edu. Archived from the original on March 28, 2017. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  18. "Alumni | Tufts Fletcher School". fletcher.tufts.edu. Retrieved June 16, 2017.

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