Munk School of Global Affairs

Munk School of Global Affairs

Devonshire House, home to the Munk School
Established 2000 (2000)
Type Faculty
Parent institution University of Toronto
Location Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Director Stephen J. Toope[1]
Website munkschool.utoronto.ca

The Munk School of Global Affairs (also referred to as the Munk School) at the University of Toronto is an interdisciplinary academic centre with various research and educational programs committed to the field of globalization. It offers master's degrees in Global Affairs, European, Russian, and Asia-Pacific studies. The school also offers a certificate program in global journalism.

History

It occupies the historical Devonshire House, a former residential hall of the university's Trinity College, and in 2012 opened a second location at 315 Bloor Street West (Observatory Site) after an $80 million collective contribution from the Peter and Melanie Munk Foundation, the Government of Canada, and the Government of Ontario.

The School is located in the north and south wings of Devonshire House building on Devonshire Place, which is shared with Trinity College's John W. Graham Library. In 2012 the Munk School of Global Affairs opened its second location at the Observatory site at 315 Bloor Street West (formerly Admissions and Awards) which houses the offices of the Citizen Lab and the Master of Global Affairs program.

It was founded as the Munk Centre for International Studies in 2000, named after Canadian businessman and philanthropist Peter Munk who made a $6.4 million donation to finance the construction.[2]

The current director is Professor Stephen J. Toope, a noted expert on human rights, and public international law. Previously, he served as the President of the University of British Columbia.

Academics

Master of Global Affairs

The Munk School's Master of Global Affairs (MGA) program is two-year interdisciplinary professional degree aimed at equipping students with an awareness of global and financial systems, global civil society, and global strategic and security issues. Students are also encouraged to think critically and responsibly on global issues, and are provided with leadership training and management skill-building. The program requires students to complete a relevant internship with an NGO, an international organization such as the UN or WTO, or at an embassy or consulate abroad.

After a general first year of study, students specialize in one of three streams:

Global Economy and Markets
Global Civil Society
Global Institutions

As well, MGA students can also complete their degrees concurrently with an MBA at the Rotman School of Management or with a JD at the University Of Toronto Faculty Of Law.

CERES

The Master of Arts Program at the University of Toronto’s Centre for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies (CERES) offers students the opportunity to engage in a comprehensive, rigorous and hands-on study program. In addition to the top faculty in their fields, CERES provides generous funding to MA candidates through fellowships or financial support for internships, language training, and study abroad opportunities. In this two-year program, our students typically spend a summer or a semester engaged in research or training internationally, with advisory and logistical support from CERES. This field component alone sets the school apart from other MA programs. The diverse array of courses available to students of the MA program is supplemented by short intensive workshops. CERES hosts two or more per year on specialized topics of regional interest.

Joint and Collaborative Degrees

Collaborative Master’s/PhD Program in South Asian Studies
Collaborative Master’s Program in Asia-Pacific Studies
Ethnic and Pluralism Studies Collaborative Graduate Program
Fellowship in Global Journalism
The Dynamics of Global Change Collaborative Doctoral Program

Trudeau Centre

Established as a degree program in 1985 and as a centre in 2001, this multidisciplinary undergraduate program attracts some of the top-achieving students who go on to take positions in prominent international organizations such as the United Nations, work on social justice issues through non-governmental organizations, and pursue graduate degrees in law and social science. The Centre also provides opportunities to conduct original research in the field, engage with some of the world’s top researchers on the causes and resolution of violence and conduct internships at relevant organizations.

The Trudeau Centre for Peace, Conflict and Justice administers the Peace, Conflict and Justice program (PCJ) in the Munk School of Global Affairs.

The program provides undergraduates with an interdisciplinary education covering three central pillars: the meanings and causes of peace, conflict and justice; the lived experiences of living in the context of conflict and struggles for peace and justice; and approaches to resolving conflict and producing peace and/or justice. The topics of study are wide-ranging, including the study of peacemaking and peace-building, interstate war and intrastate conflicts, insurgencies, revolutions and rebellions, ethnic strife, global justice, and negotiation theory.

Scholars associated with the Centre work within and beyond the traditional purview of international affairs, studying interstate war as well as major conflict inside countries, including revolution, insurgency, ethnic strife, guerrilla war, terrorism, and genocide. They seek to identify the deep causes of this strife—from poverty, resource scarcity, and weapons proliferation to competing claims for justice and failures of foreign-policy decision making. It grew out of the Peace and Conflict Studies programme established by Anatol Rapaport in the early 1980s. In 1990, Thomas Homer-Dixon assumed the Directorship and continued in that role through 2001 when the programme was institutionalized as the Trudeau Centre. Homer-Dixon's Directorship ended in 2007. Wendy H. Wong is the current Director.

Undergraduate Programs

American Studies
Contemporary Asian Studies
European Studies
Hungarian Studies
International Relations
Munk One Program
South Asian Studies

Research Centres

Criticism

The school has been criticized by students and faculty for accepting $35 million dollars from Peter Munk and the terms of agreement between the school and Peter Munk.[3] Paul Hamel and John Valleau, faculty members at University of Toronto, stated that that agreement will allow Munk family to determine the university’s priorities in place of the faculty and students, reduce the academic independence and allow the Munk family even shape academic work.[4][5] [6]

Research and Public Education

References

  1. ↑ http://munkschool.utoronto.ca/profile/stephen-j-toope/
  2. ↑ news19971029 Archived April 11, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  3. ↑ "MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT made as of this 23th day of November 2009 between The Peter and Melanie Munk Charitable Foundation and the Governing Council of the University of Toronto" (PDF).
  4. ↑ "Profs allege donor influence". The Varsity. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  5. ↑ "The uneasy ties between Canada's universities and wealthy business magnates". Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  6. ↑ "U of T students protest Munk donation". The Star.
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