Trade, Investment & Development
Emerging markets offer great career opportunities for students trained in the multidisciplinary fields of international trade, investment, and development.
Understanding the motivations behind the movements and exchange of goods, services, capital, ideas and people between countries, how those movements impact people’s lives, and the international rules governing them is a vital part of international policy studies.
The Trade, Investment and Development track is designed for students interested in pursuing a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approach to these issues. The focus is not only on the poorest countries, but also the middle-income emerging market economies. Our approach to policy studies requires a comprehensive understanding of geography, history, culture, and economic structure as a prerequisite to effective policy design, implementation and analysis.
The Trade, Investment and Development track prepares students for careers in a globalized world, populated by international organizations, institutions, workers, firms and nation-states. Understanding the culture and interests of this complex group of stakeholders is vital to crafting, implementing, and analyzing the impacts of policies related to trade, investment, and development. An experienced, international faculty will help you acquire the skills needed to be an effective professional in your choice of a wide range of potential career paths. You will be introduced not just to the latest theories and conventional wisdom, but also to an analytical skill set that reflects the state of the art in professional practice.
Trade, Investment, and Development Track Requirements (60 credits required)
The Trade, Investment and Development track provides students with a foundation of policy analysis, economics, and global politics, and expands students’ competencies with introductory and advanced coursework. In addition, students are encouraged to gain professional development experience in the field through internships and practical experiences. Students work with Academic Advisors to develop a study plan to link their academic program with their career goals.
Core Requirements (20 credits)
- IPOL 8501 Policy Analysis (4 credits)
- IPOL 8505 Global Politics (4 credits)
- IPOL 8504 Data Analysis for Public Policy (4 credits)
- Economics AND Trade/Development Core Course (8 credits)
Choose one of the two options listed below:- Trade Focus: IPOL 8515 Introduction to Trade Policy (4 credits) AND IPOL 8520 International Economics (4 credits) OR
- Development Focus: IPOL 8551 Development Economics (4 credits) AND IPOL 8529 Development Theory and Practice (4 credits)
Seminars (12 credits)
Select 12 credits from the approved seminar list** provided below. Contact your assigned Academic Advisor for more information. The IPS Program Chair must approve any requests to take seminars, courses or workshops that do not appear on the following lists:
- IPOL 8601 – SEM: Advanced Topics in Trade Policy (4)*
- IPOL 8602 – SEM: Latin American Development Challenges & Public Policy (4)
- IPOL 8613 – SEM: Illicit Drug Markets (4)*
- IPOL 8615 – SEM: Trade & Environment
- IPOL 8617 – SEM: Partner with Business for Sustainable Development (4)*
- IPOL 8619 – SEM: Economic Analysis of Emerging Markets (4)
- IPOL 8620 – SEM: Gender and Development (4)
- IPOL 8621 – SEM: Climate and Security (4)
- IPOL 8623 – SEM: Business Models for Sustainable Development (4)
- IPOL 8638 – SEM: US & East Asia Trade & Investment Policy (4)*
- IPOL 8644 – SEM: Program Evaluation for SCOs (4)*
- IPOL 8647 – SEM: US-Mexico Relations (4)
- IPOL 8648 – SEM: Global Economic and Environmental Governance (4)
- IPOL 8653 – SEM: International Water Policy (4)
- IPOL 8656 – SEM: Advanced Economic Development (4)*
- IPOL 8661 – SEM: Trade and Development (4)
- IPOL 8681 – SEM: Quantitative Methods for Trade (4)
- IPOL 8686 – SEM: International Trade Negotiation Simulation (4)*
Culminating Experience (6 to 12 credits)
The Culminating Experience connects practical, professional experience to the academic curriculum. Students demonstrate that they have mastered concepts and skills gained in the classroom by applying them in a professional setting and reflecting on their experiences via projects and research papers in advanced courses.
Students may fulfill the Culminating Experience requirement through the following opportunities:
- International Professional Service Semester
- Development Project Management Institute Practicum
- Winter term Practica
- Frontier Market Scouts Practicum
- International Internships
- Graduate Research Assistantships
For more ideas on how to fulfill this requirement, please visit the Monterey Abroad section or contact your Academic Advisor.
Electives (up to 14 credits, with at least 4 credits from the list of approved electives)
Select up to 14 credits with at least 4 credits from the list** of approved electives. Contact your assigned Academic Advisor for more information.
Approved Electives**:
Seminars:
- IPOL 8601 – SEM: Advanced Topics in Trade Policy (4)*
- IPOL 8602 – SEM: Latin American Development Challenges & Public Policy (4)
- IPOL 8613 – SEM: Illicit Drug Markets (4)*
- IPOL 8615 – SEM: Trade & Environment
- IPOL 8617 – SEM: Partner with Business for Sustainable Development (4)*
- IPOL 8619 – SEM: Economic Analysis of Emerging Markets (4)
- IPOL 8620 – SEM: Gender and Development (4)
- IPOL 8621 – SEM: Climate and Security (4)
- IPOL 8623 – SEM: Business Models for Sustainable Development (4)
- IPOL 8638 – SEM: US & East Asia Trade & Investment Policy (4)*
- IPOL 8644 – SEM: Program Evaluation for SCOs (4)*
- IPOL 8647 – SEM: US-Mexico Relations (4)
- IPOL 8648 – SEM: Global Economic and Environmental Governance (4)
- IPOL 8653 – SEM: International Water Policy (4)
- IPOL 8656 – SEM: Advanced Economic Development (4)*
- IPOL 8661 – SEM: Trade and Development (4)
- IPOL 8681 – SEM: Quantitative Methods for Trade (4)
- IPOL 8686 – SEM: International Trade Negotiation Simulation (4)*
Courses:
- IPOL 8509 - Intro to International Negotiations (4)
- IPOL 8520 - International Economics (4)*
- IPOL 8525 - Trade Laws & Institutions (4)*
- IPOL 8535 - Professional Practice of Commercial Diplomacy (4)*
- IPOL 8551 - Development Economics (4)*
- IPOL 8554 - US Trade Policy (2)*
- IPOL 8555 - Money Laundering & Terror Finance (4)*
- IPOL 8565 - Intro to Network Analysis (4)*
- IPOL 8573 - US-China Trade Relations (2)
- IPOL 8579 - The China Factor
- IPOL 8585 - International Organizations (4)
- IPOL 8593 - GP&S Colloquium: Emerging Markets (2 or 4 credits)*
- IPOL 8589 - Immigration Issues US-Latin America (In Spanish)*
- IMGT 8540 - Quantitative Analysis for Business (4)*
- IMGT 8620 - Country and Political Risk Analysis (3)
- IMGT 8623 - Money, Banking and International Finance (3)
- IMGT 8629 - International Financial Markets (3)
- IMGT 8642 - Modeling & Forecasting (3)*
- IMGT 8650 - Practicum: Frontier Market Scouts (6)*
- IMGT 8661 - The Essentials of Business Modeling (1)*
- IMGT 8669 - Market Research Strategy for Base of Pyramid (1)*
- IMGT 8688 - ESG Risk Assessment (3)
Workshops:
- WKSH 8556 - Intro to Mediation Training Workshop
- WKSH 8588 - China: Emerging Role in World Economy
- WKSH 8592 - Social Innovation Investing (1)
- WKSH 8567 - Grants and Contracts for International Development (1)*
- IMGT 8602 - Financial Issues China-Global Context (1)*
- IMGT 8636 - Business Strategies for Poverty Alleviation (1)
- IMGT 8664 - Social Entrepreneurship (1)*
*Spring 2012 Semester Course Electives
**Please note that this is a list of courses offered during the 2011-2012 academic year. Course offerings will vary by semester.
Advanced Language Requirement (12 credits)
Students must complete at least 12 credits of their degree in one language at the 300-level or above (200 level or above for Arabic and Spanish). Please review our language proficiency requirements for more details about this component of your degree.















