Master in
Global Affairs, major in Gender and Social Transformation
The Master in Global Affairs (MGA) is a professional graduate program designed for practitioners who seek to deepen their understanding of global issues and strengthen their capacity to act effectively in international environments. The program adopts a transdisciplinary approach, enabling students to examine the political, economic, social, and cultural forces shaping the international system and to develop the competencies needed to respond to them within their respective fields. It bridges theory and practice by combining conceptual grounding in global affairs with applied learning through case analysis, policy exercises, and professional skill development.
Program Outcomes
By the end of the program, graduates will be able to:
- Apply transdisciplinary knowledge to analyze complex global challenges.
Graduates will have integrated political, economic, social, and cultural frameworks to examine the forces shaping the international system and generate contextually grounded assessments of global issues relevant to their professional fields.
- Develop and implement evidence-based and context-specific responses to high-stakes global, regional, and local challenges.
Graduates will have leveraged their professional skills in policy analysis, strategic planning, and cross-sectoral engagement to design practical and ethical responses to systemic crises facing communities, ecosystems, and global institutions, driving change from within their organizations and sectors.
- Engage effectively and lead collaborative and cross-sectoral initiatives with stakeholders and social movements to advance inclusive social change and public impact.
Graduates will have mastered collaborative and inclusive methodologies that respect local knowledge and community agency through co-creating spaces and actionable strategies, facilitating cross-sectoral dialogues, and mobilizing resources and support to achieve social change.
- Exercise professional judgment and leadership with integrity in global contexts.
Graduates will have demonstrated a high degree of autonomy, ethical responsibility, and intercultural competence in navigating international environments, advancing the values of justice, inclusion, and sustainability in their professional practice.
Key Competencies Developed
By the end of the program, graduates will be able to develop the following key competencies:
- Gender-Transformative and Transdisciplinary Analytical Competency
- Integrate political, economic, social, and cultural frameworks to assess global issues as they manifest in specific professional and organizational contexts.
- Apply systems-level thinking and intersectionality to understand how global forces intersect with local, sectoral, and gendered realities.
- Translate complex and multidimensional problems into actionable analysis for decision-makers.
- Relate the complex issues in global affairs to the lived experiences and everyday realities of individuals and communities.
- Strategic and Transformative Practice Competency
- Design context-specific and evidence-based interventions in response to systemic crises and high-stakes challenges.
- Apply policy analysis, strategic planning, and program design skills across sectoral and organizational settings.
- Engage in cross-sectoral collaboration to mobilize resources and stakeholders toward practical solutions.
- Collaborative Governance, Stakeholder Engagement, and Movement-Building.
- Clearly communicate complex analysis to diverse professional, institutional, and public audiences.
- Facilitate dialogue and build trust and consensus among stakeholders with competing interests across cultural and institutional contexts.
- Present strategic recommendations and applied projects in professional and public forums, and influence decision-makers to adopt them.
- Ethical leadership and Global Citizenship Competency.
- Exercise independent and ethically grounded judgment in complex and uncertain international environments.
- Demonstrate intercultural competence and adaptability when operating across diverse institutional and cultural settings.
- Advance justice, inclusion, and sustainability across different professional, sectoral, and regional spaces.
- Public Engagement and Social Impact Competency.
- Practice co-design and collaborative principles for knowledge production.
- Convene and facilitate dialogues across structurally diverse stakeholders to ensure that power imbalances are mitigated, and historically silenced perspectives are centered.
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These competencies can be assessed through a variety of methods, including:
- Case analysis
- Policy briefs, papers, and reports
- Class simulations or scenario exercises
- Policy or program design projects
- Cross-sectoral group projects
- Oral presentations and public forums
- Capstone (writing, field work, and public defense)
- Reflective practice journal or portfolio
- Service-learning engagement
Total Program Units: 37 units
The following Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are addressed by this program:
Potential Careers
Graduates of this program may pursue the following careers:
Government and public sectors
- Policy officer or program manager in national government agencies
- Local government international cooperation or partnerships officer
- Legislative staff supporting foreign affairs or development committees
- Peace and security analyst
International and intergovernmental organizations
- Program officer or project manager at UN agencies, the ASEAN Secretariat, or other international development agencies
- Field coordinator or technical specialist for international development programs
- Monitoring, evaluation, and learning officer for multilateral or bilateral programs
Civil society and non-government organizations
- Program manager or country director for international NGOs
- Advocacy and campaign manager for human rights, gender, peace, or environmental organizations
- Community engagement or partnerships officer for development organizations
- Peacebuilding or conflict resolution practitioner for NGOs or international organizations
- Humanitarian program officer for emergency response and recovery initiatives
- Human rights monitor or protection officer
International business and corporate sector
- Corporate social responsibility (CSR) or sustainability manager with a global affairs focus
- Government relations or public affairs officer for multinational corporations
- International business development or market entry specialist for firms operating in multiple jurisdictions, particularly across Southeast Asia
CURRICULUM SUMMARY
Courses | Units |
MC Required Course | 1 |
1.      MSAA 6000 Miriam Spirituality and Advocacy | |
Specialization Courses | 18 |
1.     MGAS 7301 Gender Perspectives in Global Development 2.     MGAS 7302 Gender Analysis in Global Development 3.     MGAS 7303 Strategies for Social Movements and Social Change 4.     MIGA 7301 Global, Regional, and Multi-level Governance 5.     MIGA 7302 Creative and Transformative Leadership in Global Affairs 6.     MIGA 7303 Futures Thinking and Innovation in Global Affairs | |
Electives | 6 |
1.     MIGA 7501 International Trade and Finance 2.     Students can choose from the specialization courses of MAIS and MGA-Global Governance and Peacebuilding | |
Cognates | 6 |
1.     MISW 7322 Humanitarian Action in Complex Emergencies (MSW) 2.     MIGA 7502 Migration and Development Students enroll in courses offered within or outside the Sustainability and Social Transformation Area | |
Comprehensive Exams | 0 |
·        MIGA 7900 Comprehensive Exams |  |
Service-Learning | 3 |
·        MIGA 7901 Global Innovation Projects Lab | |
Capstone | 3 |
·        MIGA 7999 Applied Capstone in Global Affairs | |
Total Number of Units | 37 |
