School of Diplomacy and International Relations

The School of Diplomacy and International Relations (SODIR)^[1] is the international affairs school of Seton Hall University, a private Roman Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in collaboration with the United Nations Association of the United States of America,^[2] it was the first school of international relations to be founded after the Cold War. The school offers both undergraduate and graduate programs.

The school was founded in 1997, and welcomed its first class in the Fall of 1998. Among the founding members was its first dean, Ambassador Clay Constantinou, a former U.S. diplomat and graduate of Seton Hall Law. The school was later named in honor of retired Goldman Sachs executive and philanthropist John C. Whitehead, who served as deputy secretary of state under President Ronald Reagan from 1985–89; Whitehead also headed the United Nations Association of the United States of America and was the Chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. As the first school of international relations in the post–Cold War era, the Whitehead School was founded with a need to “prepare the next generation of global leaders.”^[2]

The school's founding was supported by the United Nations Association of the United States of America, with which it still enjoys a close relationship.^[2] Its close proximity to New York City has also historically allowed its students and faculty to participate in U.N.-sponsored functions. Consequently, students from the school often interact with U.N. diplomats. The alliance with UNA-USA has also afforded students opportunities to receive internships and employment with various organizations of the U.N.

In June 2013, it was announced that John C. Whitehead asked for his name to be removed from the school. Andrea Bartoli, an international conflict resolution expert who has served in academic and diplomatic positions for more than two decades, joined the school as dean in July 2013. Subsequently, the school launched three new academic and research centers in the spring of 2014: The Center for United Nations and Global Governance Studies, The Center for Peace and Conflict Studies, and The Center for Emerging Powers and Transnational Trends. These new centers are in addition to the Center for Global Health Studies.

The School offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees, a Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts in Diplomacy and International Relations, as well as an Executive M.S. in International Affairs, available in on-campus, online, and hybrid formats. It also offers graduate certificates and a United Nations Intensive Summer Study Program. The UN program may be taken as a three credit course for credit or not for credit. In addition to its formal academic programs, the school is often a venue for professional workshops and conferences.

The school also offers several dual-degree programs in collaboration with other academic units of the university. These include:

• M.A./J.D. with the Seton Hall University Law School
• M.A./M.B.A. with the Stillman School of Business
• M.A./M.P.A. with the College of Arts and Sciences's Political Science department
• M.A./M.A. in Asian Studies with the College of Arts and Sciences's Asian Studies department
• M.A./M.A. in Strategic Communication with the Seton Hall University College of Communication and the Arts

In addition to these programs, the school also offers a ten course Executive M.S. in International Affairs for mid-career professionals.

Undergraduate students are required to complete at least two internships and graduate students are required to complete at least one internship prior to graduating. Both undergraduate and graduate students have the opportunity to spend a semester in Washington, D.C. as part of the school's collaboration with the United Nations Foundation.^[3]

The school hosts lectures as part of its World Leaders Forum. Two previous United Nations Secretaries-General, Kofi Annan and Ban Ki-moon, have participated in the forum, as well as Sinn Féin Leader Gerry Adams, Iranian President Mohammed Khatami, Nobel Peace Laureate John Hume, President of Israel Shimon Peres, former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, Liberian peace activist and Nobel Laureate Leymah Gbowee, United States National Security Advisor Susan Rice, United States Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power, and the President of the 72nd United Nations General Assembly Miroslav Lajčák. Other heads of state have included former Polish President Lech Wałęsa, and former Prime Minister Tony Blair.

The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations is an internationally-distributed periodical produced by the school's graduate students. It is indexed by Columbia International Affairs Online, the International Relations and Security Network, Public Affairs Information Service, International Political Science Abstracts, America: History and Life and Historical Abstracts, and Ulrich’s Periodicals Directory.

• Official website