During his historic trip to China this past May, President Richard C. Levin spoke of the challenges inherent in making Yale a global university. As Yale moves into its fourth century, it is well prepared to face these challenges in large part because of the strong foundation built by the Yale Center for International and Area Studies (YCIAS).
Dedicated to interdisciplinary scholarship and the study of international affairs, YCIAS is one of Yale's principal gateways to the world. Since 1961, it has helped to define international education at Yale. Through its initiatives, students and faculty have been able to explore specific regions of the world, examine America's role in the world and study global issues affecting countries and people across the globe.
As the Henry R. Luce Director of YCIAS, Gustav Ranis has overseen the rapid growth of the center and its programs and the tripling of the YCIAS budget over the past five years. With more than 300 faculty member affiliates, YCIAS's strength lies in developing innovative activities and collaborations among faculty and students across disciplines.
"We have played a leading role in the internationalization of Yale by developing international programs and activities targeted to the needs of undergraduate, graduate and professional students," says Ranis. "YCIAS also places heavy emphasis on supporting faculty research because we recognize how much this contributes to the quality of the teaching and the experience of Yale students."
Comprised of 18 councils, committees, programs and special initiatives, YCIAS brings together faculty and scholars from the social sciences, humanities and the professional schools stimulating research on topics ranging from historical analyses of world trends to socio-economic evaluations of developing countries. "Through this cross-section of academic interests and fusion of knowledge, YCIAS brings an international and interdisciplinary strength and exposure to our students and faculty that is unrivaled at Yale," says Ranis.
The George Walter Leitner Program in International Political Economy and the Crossing Borders initiative illustrate YCIAS's innovative international, interdisciplinary effort. In addition to offering bi-weekly workshops featuring top U.S. and international scholars, the Leitner Program also supports faculty research through grants and work-in-progress workshops; student research; short-term visitors; annual conferences; a working paper series and a website (www.yale.edu/leitner). Focused on synergies between the fields of economics, political science and law, the Leitner Program has become one of YCIAS's most popular endeavors.
The Crossing Borders initiative -- a series of workshops, lectures and seminars -- enhances traditional area studies by taking a more comparative, problem-oriented approach. The initiative looks at area studies from a regional perspective as well as in terms of interactions between the global and the local. Studies and innovative courses have been concentrated in three areas: rethinking environment and development; migration and the nation-state; and language, culture and identity.
In addition to its manifold programs, YCIAS offers four regionally-oriented undergraduate majors in African, East Asian, Latin American and Russian and East European Studies. YCIAS also offers the International Studies double major as well as a major in Ethnicity, Race and Migration. Graduate students can pursue master's degrees in African Studies, East Asian Studies and Russian and East European Studies as well as a highly competitive International Relations program through YCIAS. They also have the opportunity to combine their international studies with four of Yale's professional schools -- the Law School, the School of Management, the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies and the School of Medicine's Public Health Program.
According to Ranis, these joint degrees provide an integrated education that combine two powerful and complementary programs, while protecting the integrity of each. "Graduates who have completed one of our six joint degree programs have been exceptionally successful in the job market," he adds.
YCIAS augments its undergraduate and graduate degree programs by sponsoring public lectures, conferences, workshops and expert roundtables. "Each year, YCIAS sponsors more than 500 lectures and conferences that bring together a wide range of participants from across the globe to Yale for discussion and debate," says Marilyn Wilkes, YCIAS public affairs officer.
Another role that YCIAS plays in the Yale community is the financial assistance it provides to graduate and undergraduate students to enhance their educational experience through travel. YCIAS offers more than 30 fellowships and grants enabling hundreds of students to travel every year to pursue field research, language programs or other activities overseas. A few of the more popular fellowships include:
* The Fox International Fellowship Program, which provides opportunities for two-way student exchanges between Yale and Moscow State University, Cambridge University, the Free University of Berlin, Fudan University in Shanghai, Tokyo University, Sciences Po in Paris and El Colegio de Mexico;
* The Tristan Perlroth Prize for undergraduates, which finances summer travel outside the United States to enhance students' understanding of foreign cultures and international relations; and
* The Richard U. Light Fellowship Program, which provides undergraduate and graduate fellowships for language study at institutions in China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Research grants are available for faculty as well.
Through its diverse faculty and alumni relationships, YCIAS offers extensive study abroad opportunities, career advising, course development and teaching, and postdoctoral training. "It is our enduring commitment to bring the world to Yale and to send Yale's representatives out into the international community," says Ranis. With this goal in mind, YCIAS sponsors collaborative research among scholars using an interdisciplinary approach to examine issues of common concern on a global or regional scale.
To ensure that the Yale community is exposed to the broadest international perspective possible, YCIAS hosts more than 50 international scholars and speakers each year. These individuals work closely with Yale's faculty and students during their time here. International scholars coming to do research, or to teach, can remain at YCIAS anywhere from a few weeks to a full year.
To meet the needs not just of Yale but of a rapidly changing world, YCIAS participates in the Junior Faculty Development Program. The program brings university professors from the newly independent states of the former Soviet Union to Yale in order to assist in the development of their teaching skills.
Responding to Levin's call to further internationalize Yale, YCIAS plans to announce later this year the first appointment to a newly created group of international, interdisciplinary professorships. Faculty throughout the University consulted in the identification of top, cutting-edge scholars who will be invited to Yale under joint appointments by arts and science departments and/or professional schools and departments.
This year has also seen the birth of YCIAS's project on globalization and self-determination. The project focuses on two challenges globalization poses to the nation-state -- the external and internal forces that threaten national sovereignty from "above", and political boundaries from "below." A Yale research team will investigate the nature and scale of both challenges, examining globalization's effect of increasing the ability of groups to achieve political independence while simultaneously lessening their ability to effectively exercise autonomy in the realm of policy choice. The project is funded by the Carnegie Corporation and includes key faculty members from anthropology, economics and political science.
YCIAS also brings the world to the broader New Haven and Connecticut community through its outreach initiative, Programs in International Educational Resources (PIER). PIER provides educators, businesses and the media, both locally and nationally, with unique services designed to broaden their understanding of regional and international issues. PIER sponsors two-week intensive summer institutes for Connecticut educators, an active lending library of teaching resources; a language and culture school partnership; educational programs for students and teachers at schools throughout the state; and summer field trips for teachers to Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. YCIAS also contains the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition, which examines experiences in the United States, Brazil and the Caribbean region.
"By bringing international scholars and lecturers to the Yale campus, financially supporting the research and travel of students and faculty abroad, and assisting with creating a diverse and challenging curriculum, the YCIAS provides vastly expanded opportunities for the entire Yale community," states Ranis. "Carrying out our mission will ensure that Yale University will be preparing leaders, not just for the United States, but for the global community in the 21st century."
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