Geneva Graduate Institute

The Geneva Graduate Institute is a specialist postgraduate school of international studies in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in 1927 as the Graduate Institute of International Studies, it later merged with the Institute of Development Studies and has no undergraduate college. It occupies the Maison de la paix, beside United Nations agencies and other international organizations. That location, not a collegiate or land-grant structure, is its defining fact.

Teaching is organized in anthropology and sociology, international economics, international history and politics, international law, and international relations and political science, plus interdisciplinary master's programs in development and international affairs. Research centers address trade, conflict, global health, and migration. The UN, WTO, ICRC, and permanent missions supply internships and thesis fieldwork.

Enrollment is about 1,000 students, all graduate, with more than 80 percent from outside Switzerland and more than 100 nationalities. Faculty include about 70 professors plus research and visiting staff. Alumni include former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, former Swiss foreign minister Micheline Calmy-Rey, and a large cohort of diplomats and officials in international organizations.

The Institute awards MA and PhD degrees and executive master's credentials, with small seminars, a thesis, and close supervision rather than large lecture courses. Instruction is in English and French. The academic year follows a European semester pattern. Scholarships and a limited number of assistantships support doctoral students. Graduate life is that of a compact international community in Geneva's international district.

In the Grad School Navigator directory, Geneva Graduate Institute lists 7 graduate programs across 4 subjects: 4 master's programs and 3 doctoral programs, with the widest choice in politics & international relations, economics and law.