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The Fall semester has begun. New students have come from all corners of the globe – from Thailand to Liberia, from the USA to Georgia, from Canada to India – to pursue their Master's or Ph.D. degree of International Relations and Diplomacy at AGS in Paris alongside our continuing graduate students and the two study abroad undergraduates from Arcadia University who have joined us to explore Paris, learn about France, and do graduate coursework in international relations.

"Through AGS I am able to open up to new cultures as our school welcomes students from all around the world. Through this advantage we, students, are able to discuss various subjects and critical situations happening worldwide, and to study those problems from different angles and perspectives," says Fazola Nasretdinova, from Ouzbekistan, who is in the second year of the International Relations and Diplomacy M.A. at AGS while also starting her dual master's degree in Diplomacy and Strategic Negotiation at Université Paris Sud.

With courses such as the History of the Modern Middle East, Contemporary Sub-Saharan Africa, International Public Law, and NGO management, among others, students will be able to approach International Relations through various lenses: regional, historical, legal, economic, political, diplomatic. Throughout the courses, AGS emphasizes the combination of academic and professional perspectives, taking advantages of the resources and connections that Paris offers. This semester, for instnace, the Foreign Policy tutorial will be co-taught by Professor Ruchi Anand and a practising Ambassador posted in Paris.

"What I have found here is a place where learning a new language and learning about issues that impact the international community is supported by the faculty and the myriad international social justice initiatives and movements, both governmental and non-governmental, that Paris hosts." says Robert Simmons, M.Ed, one of the new students. Simmons holds a B.A. with a concentration in African Studies, History and English from Rutgers university in New Jersey, USA, and an M.Ed. in Social Justice and Education from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, which took him to the University of Oxford, Trinity College for a summer doing research on feminist studies in black fiction. He adds: "In the near future, I would like to work with Spanish and French speaking communities of the African diaspora, and I believe my time at AGS, and in Paris, will greatly support that goal."

In her welcome address on registration day, Professor Servidio-Delabre, the President of the School of International Relations and Diplomacy, stressed the importance of tolerance as a means and end of that discipline. "I am very proud of our students, who have all come to AGS to acquire the knowledge and skills to support their desire to understand and help others. I strongly believe that our students will make a difference in the world."