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By Arturo Ramos (MALD '01) The Fletcher School is set to become the first graduate school of international relations to launch a technology-assisted distance learning program. The Global Master of Arts Program (GMAP) will target diplomats and officials at non-governmental organizations who are unable to complete a full year of residency on the Medford campus. The program will be initiated in the fall of 2000. A $1 million grant from Tufts University prompted the creation of GMAP, according to Deborah Nutter, Associate Dean at Fletcher and Director of GMAP. Planning and recruitment for the program, which is part of Fletcher's new strategic plan, has been underway for several months. MarJean Knokey, former Director of Admissions and current Admissions and Activities Manager for GMAP, traveled to Washington, D.C. last week with Nutter on the first of several planned recruitment trips. GMAP recently launched an informational web site (http://www.tufts.edu/fletcher/gmap) and is now accepting applications for its inaugural class. Fletcher is following the lead of several renowned professional schools that have recently launched similar programs, including Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, whose technology is being adapted for GMAP. "In 1933, we were the first graduate school of international relations. We set the standard then, so let's do it again," said Nutter. In a letter addressed to alumni, Dean Galvin stated that GMAP would allow the school to perform its mission in a modern fashion and strengthen its commitment to educating diplomats. GMAP's high level of interactivity between professors and students and among students is in sharp contrast to the non-instructor led, non-interactive nature of the typical state university correspondence school, Nutter emphatically stated. GMAP students will receive three two-week sessions of residency and 20 hours per term of face-to-face instruction with each course's professor, versus the 32 hours received on average by students in full-term residency on the Medford campus. "We're not going to diminish the Fletcher degree," stated Nutter. The program aims to attract high-caliber students who have at least eight years of professional experience and currently hold a management position with international responsibilities. Nutter foresees no more than 35 students being admitted in any given year. The GMAP curriculum targets the "new diplomat" and will include courses in multiple disciplines, such as International Negotiation, International Trade Economics and International Economic and Business Law. Several current Fletcher School professors, including Academic Dean Joel Trachtman, have already signed on to teach the courses. Although she recognizes that technology at Fletcher has recently been problematic, Nutter said she does not foresee this being an impediment to the launch and success of GMAP. "[This program] has nothing to do with the technology at the school. We have recognized that there are problems… and have made decisions to improve," she stated. Comments? Write us at letter@fletcherledger.com |
