Students who choose to pursue graduate studies at IWP do so with the goal of becoming integrated strategic thinkers. They seek to learn all the arts of statecraft and how best to coordinate them in the formulation of effective policy. At IWP, students are exposed to one of the most intensive, practical and yet inexpensive MA programs available in Washington, D.C. on a per hour basis.
Value: You get more for your dollar at IWP
The Institute is very competitive when considered from the perspective of cost per hour of instruction.
IWP’s three MA programs break down to costing students $97 per hour of instruction. Compared with Johns Hopkins SAIS ($160 per hour of instruction), Georgetown University (about $130 per hour of instruction), George Washington University (about $151 per hour of instruction), American University ($123 per hour of instruction), Fletcher ($140 per hour of instruction), the Institute’s hours of instruction are less expensive than those in other similar schools.
Rigor: You get more classroom hours at IWP
At IWP, you will get plenty of classroom time. IWP’s three Master of Arts degrees require 52 credit hours of coursework, which translates to 588 total hours of instruction.
Does it matter how many hours students spend in the classroom? We would argue that it does.
Engagement: Your hours in the classroom are quality time
In the classroom, our students spend time with our faculty of scholar-practitioners — who have actually done or are doing what they teach. For instance, our course on HUMINT is taught by a Senior Intelligence Officer with 28 years or experience in the CIA’s Clandestine Service. Our classes on political risk, propaganda, and political warfare are taught by a professor with high-level experience in government, education, and the private sector. Some of our core courses on American founding principles and foreign policy and Western moral tradition are taught by a retired Air Force colonel who served as Deputy National Security Advisor to the Vice President. Our course on Islam and Geopolitics is taught by a Eurasia expert who served as Senior Advisor to the Director of Voice of America.
“I understand things better when I can see their real application, so I appreciate the faculty at IWP,” comments student Sarah Dwyer. “The professors here command more than just a knowledge of subject matter but also a capacity to explain how the principles we learn in class are applied in the field.”
At IWP, classroom time is quality time. Our small class sizes (student-faculty ratio of approximately 13:1)* allow for productive group discussions, in addition to regular classroom lectures.
This intensive instruction in the classroom and opportunity for individual attention helps students become knowledgeable about all the arts of statecraft, as well as the topics that are more immediately relevant to their careers.
The people choosing IWP understand the value of a two year program. Says one alumnus in the intelligence community (Class of 2011), “I can safely say almost every class at IWP has helped me in various ways so far in my career.”
Says another alumnus (Class of 2009), “Attending IWP has been the most significant and transformative personal and professional experience I have had to date.”
And that’s priceless.
*For non-directed study/non-language courses, the ratio for Fall 2013 is 12.67 to 1.