| Mission | The SIR faculty and staff are working hard to expand and improve their graduate and undergraduate programs; provide more research support for the faculty; and do more to expand the School's alumni/student network for mentoring, internships and job leads. |
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| Established | 1924 |
| Official name | School of International Relations (SIR) |
| University | University of Southern California |
| School type | Private |
| Director | Laurie Brand |
| Location | Los Angeles, CA, USA |
The University of Southern California School of International Relations (or SIR) is the 3rd oldest school of international relations in the world. A subdivision within the USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences, the school is known for teaching, and hiring faculty who concentrate in, a variety of worldviews.
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The school traces its origins to the early 1920s and then-University of Southern California president Rufus B. von KleinSmid who held a strong interest in developing the study of international relations. In 1922, USC hosted the Pan-American Conference on Education that brought together university officials from 22 countries to discuss the importance of international education and cooperation. In 1924, the Los Angeles University of International Relations was founded, to later be renamed the USC School of International Relations (SIR). The founding occurred during the liberal-internationalist reaction to World War I; during this so called Grotian moment, many in international relations desired to end war, and thought education was the best means to that end. According to the school's website, its founding mission was "to furnish opportunities for the training of statesmen for consular and diplomatic service, of businessmen for commerce and business administration, and of teachers in departments related to world affairs in colleges and universities" [1]. The school continued to grow during the Second World War and the Cold War; during the height of the latter, SIR housed the Research Institute on Communist Strategy and Propaganda. It was one of the first schools of international relations in the country to offer a PhD, became a charter member of The Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs (APSIA), and helped to found the International Studies Association (ISA).
Contemporarily, the school offers concentrations in the following courses, of which international relations majors must chose
two:[2]
The current Director of SIR is Professor Laurie Brand. She earned her PhD from Columbia University and specializes in foreign policy in the Middle East; international political economy; and international politics and security.
The previous Director was Professor Steven Lamy, and before that Professor Jonathan Aronson.
There are currently 24 permanent members of the faculty at the school. All have terminal degrees in their field, and have published numerous working papers, articles, and books.
In order to further the study of international relations, the school has created number of affiliates:
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