Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy


The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy is the graduate school of international affairs of Tufts University, in Medford, Massachusetts. Fletcher is well-ranked in its masters and doctoral international affairs programs. As of 2017, the student body numbered around 230, of whom 36 percent were international students from 70 countries, and around a quarter were U.S. minorities. The school's alumni network numbers over 9,500 in 160 countries, and includes ambassadors, diplomats, high ranking military officers, heads of nonprofit organizations, and corporate executives.

History

The Fletcher School was founded in 1933 with the bequest of Austin Barclay Fletcher, who left over $3 million to Tufts University upon his death in 1923. A third of these funds were dedicated to a school of law and diplomacy. Fletcher envisioned "a school to prepare men for the diplomatic service and to teach such matters as come within the scope of foreign relations embraces within it as a fundamental and thorough knowledge of the principles of international law upon which diplomacy is founded, although the profession of a diplomat carries with it also a knowledge of many things of a geographic and economic nature which affect relations between nations."
The school opened in 1933. One of the first buildings acquired was Goddard Hall which was converted into a library. Tufts assumed exclusive responsibility for the administration of The Fletcher School in 1935.

Organization

On October 1, 2019, Rachel Kyte assumed the role of Dean of The Fletcher School. Formerly the chief executive officer of Sustainable Energy for All and special representative of the UN secretary-general for Sustainable Energy for All, Kyte previously was the World Bank Group vice president and special envoy for climate change, leading the Bank Group’s efforts to shift its operations and campaign for the Paris Agreement. Rachel Kyte holds an Master of Arts degree from the Fletcher School, via the Global Master of Arts Program and has been a professor of practice at the school since 2014.
On its campus in Medford, Massachusetts, The Fletcher School offers multi-disciplinary instruction in international affairs through several master's degree programs and a Ph.D. program. Regardless of the degree program in which they are enrolled, students have the opportunity to select from among more than 170 courses across three divisions: International Law and Organization ; Diplomacy, History and Politics ; and Economics and International Business.
The Fletcher School employs more than 30 full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty as well as a variety of adjunct and visiting professors, and benefits from faculty at partner schools within Tufts, including the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. The full-time Fletcher faculty includes economists, international law theorists, historians, and political scientists who hold the academic ranks of professor, associate professor, assistant professor, and lecturer. All faculty members hold terminal degrees in their respective fields. In 2013, the faculty to student ratio in Medford is 1:8.6.

Academics

The Fletcher School has seven degree programs: a two-year Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy ; a one-year Master of Arts for mid-career professionals; a one-year, mid-career Master of Arts that combines online and residential learning; a Ph.D. program; a Master of International Business ; a Master of Global Business Administration, an online program combining the study of business with international affairs; and a Master of Laws in International Law. Additionally, there are several joint and dual degree and certificate programs.
The school also offers an executive master's degree for mid-career professionals through its Global Master of Arts Program. The year-long program combines three 2-week residencies with instruction covering topics such as negotiation, International business and economic law, international trade, economics and politics from a global perspective.

Programs of study

Research

The Fletcher School has a number of research centers and institutes, including:
The Fletcher School has over 9,000 alumni living around the world in 140 countries, including hundreds of sitting ambassadors, award-winning journalists and authors, global business executives and leaders of international peacekeeping, humanitarian and security initiatives.